Writing for a Purpose

Where does my desire to write come from? (Or, more grammatically, “From where does my desire to write come?) There is something romantic about writing; something permanent about putting words to paper. There are stories in my head that scream to be formed with ink, journals that call to be filled with the moments of my day, papers that are sadly blank unless I fill them with words. There is something in the formation of sentences that fills a need within me, as though I’m making beauty out of words, pulling emotions from minds and setting them on paper.

It’s been almost ten years since I started writing. It’s a choice – to be a writer. But for me, it wasn’t a huge step. I love to read, I love to watch people, I love poetry. Picking up a pen and giving writing a try was a natural step. It also gave me excuses to read everything I could – it’s research; excuses to buy bigger purses – I need to always have a notebook with me; reasons to find quiet places and time alone to ponder, pray, and explore.

There is a strong tendency to mark the success of a writer with publication; good writers are successful and rich, right? I strongly disagree! Good writers don’t give up. Good writers continually have a need to discover the world through literature, through words, through ink. Good writers write bad sentences – and then play with the words until they sound right, until the emotion we want to evoke is standing right there on the page. Good writers write every day, write when it hurts, write before the sun comes up and long after it goes down, and every possible moment in between.

The only difference between a good writer and a published writer? Luck. It’s the old “right place at the right time” story.

That luck has happened in small ways for me – little stories that my mom loves, stories that appear in local Catholic newspapers, one poem in an online magazine. But I’m oozing with luck when it comes to what writing offers me. I have time alone to study my world and life, to dissect it and understand the workings of people. How is that lucky? People don’t scare me. Emotions I experience are more easily understood as I study them through writing. Life isn’t as scary as it used to be.

For example, a few months ago I hit a wall with my writing. I tend to work on several projects at once, and all of them stalled for me. I would sit with my notebook or computer and nothing would come. I referred to my notes, and still, the words for the scenes I knew I had to write avoided me. My husband suffered through this with me  and finally came up with the idea that I should go back and check my research.

It worked.

Now, when I’m frustrated, when I’ve hit a wall with my writing, with my faith walk, or with homeschooling, he reminds me to “Go back to my research”. For writing, that may mean mythology books or research on Alzheimer’s; but mostly I’m drawn to the Bible.

And when I think about it, it’s the perfect “research foundation” for all of us. The Bible, with its stories and poetry and history, is a literary masterpiece. There is always something God wants to say to us – the Bible is our direct line to Him. Sometimes it’s the Magic 8 Ball – we pray a question to God, open the bible and receive our answer.

The romantic life of being a writer isn’t all ink-stained fingers and frazzled hair. For me, I want it to be a peaceful life, a table with my Bible and a notebook, quiet time with the Lord, and stories that might strengthen faith for others. I’m not concerned with publication success, for I don’t want that to pull me away from my faith walk, but I do hope that my writing will serve a purpose.