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| Christmas Gifts under a Christmas Tree |
These days, the grandchildren are more likely to scroll and click through Amazon to make their wish list. But the excitement is the same-the expectations and hope of finding that special something under the tree on Christmas Day.
I’m at the stage of life where it’s difficult to come up with a list when my husband and children ask for one. Many of the physical items I want or need come with a cord—but my husband claims a cord disqualifies it as a Christmas gift. Other things I could put on my list are courses or books on writing, but since those are for my writing business, he eliminates them, too. Sweet, but making a gift list becomes a challenge.
However, I have come up with a short list that every writer will probably agree they’d love to have for Christmas this year:
Time. If there’s one thing every writer I know wishes for, it’s more time to write. Generally, we have so many story ideas ruminating that we’ll never live long enough to write them all. Whether we write full-time, work a day job and write at night and on weekends, or care for the family while squeezing in writing time when we can, there’s never enough of it. So, yes, Santa, please bring me more time when I can concentrate on writing. (And please throw in a bit of self-discipline while you’re at it.)
Encouragement. Each of us needs encouragement from our family, our friends, and our writing buddies. Best of all is an encouragement/accountability partner who understands the frustrations of struggling to write and who challenges us to keep learning the craft and improving our skills while also reminding us God has called us to this journey. I’m grateful to have such a person in my life; if you don’t, I pray for you to find one this year.
Courage. Ironic this word is found in the previous item, “encouragement,” since those encouragers can help us take the steps needed to succeed in this industry. We need the courage to approach agents and publishers, to ask others to read our books, to write stories outside of our comfort zone, to learn what we don’t know. Most of all, we need the courage to expose ourselves, our emotions, our history through our characters, whether fictional or not. I think I’ll ask for a double dose of courage on my Christmas list.
Words. Most of all, what I want for Christmas this year are words—the right words, words that tell a story, words that reach into the hearts of readers and resonate with truth. I know Santa Clause can’t bring me this gift, and neither can my family or my friends. Only God can infuse such words into my heart so they flow out through my writing.
My Christmas wish this year? That every writer (including me) receives these four gifts and, as a result, feels God’s pleasure as we write.
Which of these gifts are you lacking right now? Let us know in the comments section below.
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4 things every writer wants for Christmas. @mwcoutu #SeriouslyWrite #writingtips #writerslife http://bit.ly/4gifts4writers
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| About the Author |
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| Marie Wells Coutu |
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| The Secret Heart by Marie Wells Coutu |
Marie is a regular contributor to Seriously Write. For more posts by Marie, click here.
