Thursdays - Devotions for Writers"You must present as the Lord's portion the best
and holiest part of everything given to you." (Num 18:29 NIV)
As Christian writers we take our calling seriously, so we strive to produce inspiring devotions, challenging articles, and life changing stories.
But as hard as we work, aren’t there days when many of us ask, “Am I ever going to get it right?”
Our critique group explains that our work lacks the emotion needed for them to empathize with the character. The contest entry we submit with high hopes of winning doesn’t even place. The manuscript an editor loves, still can’t seem to win the hearts of the publishing board. Our article gets published in a magazine – and then we realize several paragraphs could have been written soooo much better.
“Am I ever going to get it right?”
The bad news—the answer is no. Not if you’re expecting perfection.
There will always be a better way to write something. After years of growing in their craft, authors who have been published for some time will confess to being almost appalled at their earlier works. Even if you’re absolutely thrilled with your published work, it’s likely that you’ll still find imperfections. A word may be misspelled. You may find punctuation incorrectly typed in.
The good news—it’s okay.
A high school art teacher expressed a belief that has stuck with me since I was seventeen. A sign of a true artist is the inability to be satisfied with the end result. A true artist will always seek ways to be better.
Writers are artists. We create with words. We create from our imagination.
It's impossible for our work to reach perfection. And the only way to get it right is to honor God and our calling by working hard and offering the best we can.
Then we need to leave it up to God, who in His infinite wisdom and power, can make it right for our readers, and touch those who need to be touched.
There’s freedom in that. Embrace it.
Have a great week!
But as hard as we work, aren’t there days when many of us ask, “Am I ever going to get it right?”
Our critique group explains that our work lacks the emotion needed for them to empathize with the character. The contest entry we submit with high hopes of winning doesn’t even place. The manuscript an editor loves, still can’t seem to win the hearts of the publishing board. Our article gets published in a magazine – and then we realize several paragraphs could have been written soooo much better.
“Am I ever going to get it right?”
The bad news—the answer is no. Not if you’re expecting perfection.
There will always be a better way to write something. After years of growing in their craft, authors who have been published for some time will confess to being almost appalled at their earlier works. Even if you’re absolutely thrilled with your published work, it’s likely that you’ll still find imperfections. A word may be misspelled. You may find punctuation incorrectly typed in.
The good news—it’s okay.
A high school art teacher expressed a belief that has stuck with me since I was seventeen. A sign of a true artist is the inability to be satisfied with the end result. A true artist will always seek ways to be better.
Writers are artists. We create with words. We create from our imagination.
It's impossible for our work to reach perfection. And the only way to get it right is to honor God and our calling by working hard and offering the best we can.
Then we need to leave it up to God, who in His infinite wisdom and power, can make it right for our readers, and touch those who need to be touched.
There’s freedom in that. Embrace it.
Have a great week!
Dawn
