Into the Fire

One current popular phrase used to describe relationships, work situations, and just about anything that makes normal things harder than they should be is, "It's complicated". No  kidding. Life is filled with complications. Snags, hardships, busy-ness, illness, failure to communicate. All kinds of circumstances contribute to those elements of confusion and chaos in our lives.

For a fiction writer, those "complications" serve a twofold purpose. Number one, we're charged with identifying and portraying them in realistic ways in entertaining stories. The second "purpose" is the tough one. It's the equalizer – the complication of words refusing to exert themselves and land face up on the page. Writing breaks are normal occurrences, but writing famines are . . . complicated.

Some authors never face the writing drought. Others gaze into the maw of wordlessness in frequent junctions. It's scary. And complicated. Because the solution varies from writer to writer, there's really no "for sure" cure.

Sometimes the results of returning from the abyss of silent words can be exhilarating. Other times, the results are spotty, sparse, and intimidating. Will they return in force or will we be forced into a wordless unwanted retirement?

In life's maze of complications, writer's "block" is small compared to many other difficulties people face daily, but in the midst of it, a writer is faced with trusting whatever or whoever inspires him to return to his craft. For a Christian, we know who gives us what we need for every area of our lives. Heaven help the unbeliever facing the writing complication.

God, we're all desperate for you. Thank you for words and stories. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.