Wednesday's Writing on Writing

Many writers — or would-be writers — talk about waiting for inspiration. If you're called to write, inspiration and passion should permeate your work. But don't confuse inspiration with initiative.

Initiative cures procrastination and blasts you through writer's block. Passion gives you something inspiring to write about.

"The very best writing is born of humility," writes best-selling author Dean Koontz. "The truly great stuff comes to life in those agonizing yet exhilarating moments when the artist is acutely aware of the limitations of his skills. For it is then that he strains the hardest to make the most he can from the imperfect materials and tools with which he must work. The purpose of writing is communication, and if the work is not read, the purpose is not fulfilled."

Real writers want to see their words printed and be able to hold them in their hands. If that's you, good. Go for it!

Nurture that desire to be published. When someone tells me he doesn't care to be published or paid for his writing, but simply wants to express himself, I don't believe it.

He may be truly humble, but if his work is worth doing, his stuff worth writing, he should want to be published and read as widely as possible.

Don't apologize for wanting to be published. Sure, some ego is at play. Who doesn't want to be known, to be successful, to see his name in print? Just remember that publishing has to be a byproduct of your writing, not the goal. If you set out to glamorize yourself or write a best-seller, you might enjoy short-lived celebrity, but you won't have a career.

The most attractive quality in anyone is humility. Sometimes money and fame come. But if you become enamored with the trappings of success, they become your passion. Return to your first love.

Why are you a writer?

Are you an inspirational writer?

The answers have nothing to do with you. If serving God and others are not the reasons you write, you might as well write solely for the general market and only for money. That doesn't mean everything you write has to be a sermon or packed with Scripture, but your unique worldview should be evident.