Why I Write

Whether it is a book fair, author fair, a writers’ conference or any event where there are authors and an audience, there is one question that is always asked is, “Why do you write?” or “What got you started writing?”. Usually, this is asked by people who, deep down, would love to be writers. They just don’t know how to get started.

Some authors say they just always knew they were a writer, from the time they learned how to put pencil to page as a child. Some authors say it began due to one defining experience in their life. As for me, becoming an author has been a journey. Growing up, I was always talented in both reading and writing. But, I knew no creative outlet for it.

After my divorce in 1989, I began journaling for my own peace of mind. After God healed and delivered me about four years later I began studying God’s word, that led to writing essays, then Bible studies, followed by the church newsletter and then newspaper articles.

Over the years, I have written for newspapers, magazines, and websites. Then, I took the very long journey to self-publish my first book, Home Should Be Safe: Hope and Help for Domestic Violence Victims. Today I continue to write for all these opportunities and I write speeches, teach writing classes and speak at writers’ conferences. But, this is only the how.

The writing talent is a gift from God, my creator. When God created me in my mother’s womb he created within me the gift communicating, the gift of putting words together in a way that expresses information and feelings to all who will read and listen to those words.

After I received God’s healing and deliverance after my divorce I asked God two things. First, I prayed that God would show me what He did in me so that I could help someone else come to healing. Second, I asked God to let me do with words what my artist friends did with paint and canvas. God showed me two amazing visions of what he did in me and I share it whenever I share my testimony of healing and deliverance.

So, why do I write? I write to inform people. I write to encourage people. But, most importantly, I write to give glory to the God who created me, saved me, healed me, delivered me and restored me to him after the most painful period in my life. I write to give glory to the God who provided for me, protected me and helped me care for my family and raise my children to love God and who are now raising my grandchildren to love God.

To God be the Glory for all that I am and may ever become. May His will be done.

 

Tip of the Day May 21 2012

Submit your work to contests. Search writer’s websites or Google “Writing contests” will bring up a list of links to try. Be sure to check them out thoroughly to be sure they are legitimate. Good sites to check for contests are Writer’s Digest and Hope Clarks’s Funds For Writer’s.

Tip of the Day May 19 2012

Write for your children’s school newsletter. Most schools operate with a lot of volunteers and would be ecstatic to find a parent with a talent for writing willing to offer to write, edit or produce their newsletter.

Tip of the Day May 18 2012

Write for your church newsletter. Whether you write opinion pieces, news articles, feature articles, jokes,or comics, all these are opportunities to get your writing published. I first wrote articles for our church newsletter and later became the editor. I developed experience planning each month edition, assigning articles to other writers and gathering photos for each issue. You could also offer to write articles about your local church news for the denomination’s publications. Mine has several and I have had articles in the general magazine, the magazine for leaders and a regional magazine. Write songs for the music department if that is what you write.

If you don’t belong to a church, any club or social group can offer the same experience as long as it is a regular publication.

Breaking All the Rules

          Popularity was never one of my strengths. Most of my life people have told me I am “too this” or “not enough that”. Growing up on the tail end of the Baby Boomer generation I remember being told that boys didn’t like smart girls and proper ladies weren’t independent. My older brother use to tell me to, “quit using those big college words,” which was any word with more than two syllables. When I asked my parents, products of The Great Depression and World War II, about going to college my father had a real short answer, “No.” After all, I was just a girl; all I was going to do was get married and have kids. Well, I did marry and had two wonderful children who are now married with families and careers of their own. I am honored to be their mother and very proud of them. Unfortunately the marriage didn’t last and I found myself on my own with two young children to raise and an aging mother to care for at thirty-four years old.

          It’s amazing. My ex-husband told me that I was so predictable I was boring. Ever since my divorce life has forced me to do some unconventional things in unconventional ways just to survive and overcome a variety of obstacles. Those obstacles included the advice of people who were constantly offering well-meaning advice about how I should live my life, raise my children and care for my mother. The advice went something like this. “You want too much.” “You need to be content with what you have.” “You have to be practical.” “You can’t do that.” “That’s not the way it’s done.” “Why can’t you just settle for what you have?” “What makes you think you, or your children, can do that?” Without boring you with my successes and failures over the years, all in all, I am satisfied with most of my decisions and I’ve learned to live with most of my failures. The rest is a work in progress.

          For the last 15 years I’ve been developing a freelance writing career and last year I self-published my first book, Home Should Be Safe: Hope and Help for Domestic Violence Victims. This year I am working on working exclusively on developing as many ways as possible to earn income from my writing including opening my own independent publishing company.

          Yes, I’m breaking the rules again. I’m not self-publishing because I gave up on traditional publishing. I’m self publishing because I want to see my work through from beginning to end and I want to help other writers do the same thing. I already have two other writers interested in hiring me to either consult with them on publishing their book or actually publishing their book.

          So, starting today, I’m going to use every possible means to promote myself as an author, editor and publisher. Yes, I should have been doing this a long time ago. There is still a part of that “good little girl” inside me that really wants to follow the rules, but not at the expense of my hopes and dreams and the very real possibility that I succeed in a very unconventional endeavor.

          Stay tuned for the journey of a lifetime, at least for me.