Write a Book, Change the world!
Write a Book, Change the World!
This will be written for the generation to come, that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord. (Psalm 102:18)
A friend said, “Pastors who write books are on ego trips.” I begged to differ for a lot of reasons. For one thing, I’ve just finished my eighth and am now working on the ninth book!
In my opinion…
In one sense, people who write books are paragons of faith. They have no proof anyone will ever read what they write or if they will recoup the investment of their time and money. And yet, they write on.
Aren’t we thankful for people who write books!
After all…
When you write a book–any kind of book!–you give away a piece of yourself. You have spent countless hours secreted away laboring over a pad with a pen or typing away on the laptop. If you’re like me, you have wept and fussed, stopped to look something up, asked your spouse if this is the right word, and sent up periodic prayers that this would work and make a difference in someone’s life. You have abandoned the project for a time, returned to it when something was burning inside you and just had to come out, and eventually you decided “that’s enough” and sent it out to the world.
When people hold the book in their hands, they’re holding a piece of you.
When you write a book, you touch parts of the world you will never travel to, people you will never see, and make a difference you will not learn of in this lifetime. This is a faith venture of the first sort.
When they hold the book in their hands, they touch the fruit of your life.
When you write a book, you touch the future. Perhaps your book will live forever and never be out of print–does C. S. Lewis in Heaven see this and smile?–or someone will come across your book a century from now in some obscure storage and read it as a lark and find themselves being blessed. Either way, fruit massive or miniscule, you are sending your witness into the future.
When they hold the book in their hands, they hold a bit of history for themselves and a great deal of joy for you.
When you write a book, you force yourself to ask vital questions: Who am I addressing here? What do I hope to accomplish? Why do I think that I of all people have something to share? Am I willing to reveal my inadequacies to the world? to subject myself to the criticism of those who delight in finding fault with anything and everything? Can I do this for one reason and one alone, to obey the will of God?
When they hold the book in their hands, they have your answer to those questions.
When you write a book, you give your descendants a piece of you to carry into their lives. You bear a witness–if you do it right–in a way which possibly no one else in their lives will do. This means I may end up being the only grandparent or great-grand, etc., to put my testimony and witness into written form to help my descendants along the way. We send it forth in the hope that those yet unborn will find it and read it and be changed by it. That is our constant prayer.
When they hold the book in their hands, they learn more about God.
So, write your book, man and woman of God.
People far away and some in the distant future need to hear what you have learned, know what God has done in your life, see what has been revealed to you, as only you can tell it.
Do not listen to that voice inside saying that others have done it better. Sure they have. But this is not a competition. No one else can tell your story better than you. You are the authority on your testimony.
If you love the Lord Jesus Christ and there are people you love dearly, then writing your book can be a giant step to bringing them together.
Get to writing.
Where to start? I suggest you start keeping a journal. Whether that is on your laptop or whether you buy a hardbound “blank” book at Barnes and Noble and use a ballpoint pen, just get started. Write for yourself at first. You are not doing this for publication, but for the experience. After you write consistently for a time, you begin to develop “your voice.” Whatever else that means–and I’m not sure I can define it–it means you will be able to express yourself in clear ways.
Then, turn your laptop on, open a Word program and start an article. Write about anything you wish. Need help? Write about the best teach you had in school. Or the worst. The finest church you ever knew. Or the worst. Your best friend. Or your worst enemy. You get the idea.
In other words: Just start writing. Get it down “on paper,” so to speak. You can correct it later, but at first, just write!
Then, two days after writing something, come back to it and edit it. (I suggest you go online and find articles on how to edit. There is no shortage of these for you to benefit from.) Essentially, in editing you are trying to tighten your prose (say it in briefer, better ways) and correct your grammar.
One huge thing you must do: Have fun writing. If it’s drudgery, you will soon abandon it. I suggest if it seems laborious to you, you should change the way you are doing it (or the subjects) to make it fun.
I’m through. Good luck.
~~~~~~~~
Want to learn more about writing? Want more inspiration like this? Want to be part of a community of fellow writers of faith? Get involved with all of the opportunities through the Southern Christian Writers Conference! Join our Facebook group if you're not already part of it. Stay tuned right here on the blog to learn more about all of our upcoming SCWC events and activities (like regional workshops at the beach and in Tennessee, the opening of our SCWC Notable Book Awards contest, our our online Write-athon in September, and much more).
People far away and some in the distant future need to hear what you have learned, know what God has done in your life, see what has been revealed to you, as only you can tell it.
Do not listen to that voice inside saying that others have done it better. Sure they have. But this is not a competition. No one else can tell your story better than you. You are the authority on your testimony.
If you love the Lord Jesus Christ and there are people you love dearly, then writing your book can be a giant step to bringing them together.
Get to writing.
Where to start? I suggest you start keeping a journal. Whether that is on your laptop or whether you buy a hardbound “blank” book at Barnes and Noble and use a ballpoint pen, just get started. Write for yourself at first. You are not doing this for publication, but for the experience. After you write consistently for a time, you begin to develop “your voice.” Whatever else that means–and I’m not sure I can define it–it means you will be able to express yourself in clear ways.
Then, turn your laptop on, open a Word program and start an article. Write about anything you wish. Need help? Write about the best teach you had in school. Or the worst. The finest church you ever knew. Or the worst. Your best friend. Or your worst enemy. You get the idea.
In other words: Just start writing. Get it down “on paper,” so to speak. You can correct it later, but at first, just write!
Then, two days after writing something, come back to it and edit it. (I suggest you go online and find articles on how to edit. There is no shortage of these for you to benefit from.) Essentially, in editing you are trying to tighten your prose (say it in briefer, better ways) and correct your grammar.
One huge thing you must do: Have fun writing. If it’s drudgery, you will soon abandon it. I suggest if it seems laborious to you, you should change the way you are doing it (or the subjects) to make it fun.
I’m through. Good luck.
~~~~~~~~
Want to learn more about writing? Want more inspiration like this? Want to be part of a community of fellow writers of faith? Get involved with all of the opportunities through the Southern Christian Writers Conference! Join our Facebook group if you're not already part of it. Stay tuned right here on the blog to learn more about all of our upcoming SCWC events and activities (like regional workshops at the beach and in Tennessee, the opening of our SCWC Notable Book Awards contest, our our online Write-athon in September, and much more).
Love this! Thank you for the encouragement!!
ReplyDeleteThis is right on point. I'm in the midst of a book right now that's giving me fits. I believe in it, so I keep on writing. And this post makes me remember why. It's for that one person out there who might be facing a problem like my characters. And so I keep on keeping on. Thank you for the encouragement.
ReplyDelete