Into the Fire

Fewer writers use paper and pen to construct their novels, but regardless of how each individual approaches the process, writing that novel happens in multiple ways. Some of us ponder a character for a certain length of time before we jot a single word. Others of us are inspired by a scenario and go immediately to the keyboard. Whether it's the lyrics to a song, the eavesdropped conversation, or the picture in a magazine, something motivates the writer to commit words to a page.

Some stories flow like a canoe floating downstream. The work is minimum and more concentrated on selecting right words because the plot moves without great effort and the characters have minds of their own.

Other stories drain our energy, strain us to complete a paragraph, nag us when we escape to find some peace, and pull every ounce of creativity out of us like a diseased tooth. Nothing easy or smooth. It takes sheer determination to continue with plenty of breaks away from it. Occasionally these turn out well. If we don't shelve the effort in its initial stages, after all it demands of us, chances are we're in for the long haul and somehow in the end it will have been worth it. Hopefully.

Writing "it" is rarely easy or without problems – some minor, others major – but when a story compels us to write it, write it we must . . .

Lord, help me to get back to those I must finish. Please, Lord. Apart from you I can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.