Friday, November 27, 2015

Why do you love to write? Seriously, you need to remember why.

I want you to do something for me.

Close your eyes (and I know you’re reading this on the screen, so why am I asking you to close your eyes?? Read the post, find a quiet moment and do this exercise. I think you’ll be better for it.)

Take a deep breath.

Release.

But keep your eyes closed. And just take a moment to be still.

In a world that rushes past at 90 miles per hour, we get caught up in the hurry/scurry mentality of our everyday lives. To-do’s that have to be met. Chores that need to be completed. Family that needs our attention. Errands that need to be run. And we won’t even mention those dirty dishes and laundry that are piling up in every corner of the house.

Oh yeah, did I mention? We’re also trying to write a book.

I know what you’re thinking. Your body language is speaking for itself. Your shoulders are tense and your fingers whitening with just the thought of the endless to-do’s filling your mind with multiple strategies on how to complete them all, hit your word count, and oh yeah, keep your sanity.

We all know the last option isn’t really an option anywhere close to being on the table, right? Yeah…

I want you to put all of those things out of your mind. Take that deep breath again and release. 
Slowly. Not in a rushed force to eliminate chaos. Because, let’s be honest, you’ll never get rid of chaos from your life.

I want you to, for the moment, forget all of those things that are begging for brain space. Imagine what that looks like. Now put yourself there. Clear your mind of the clutter and focus on one thing for me.

Why do you love to write?

Each of us have a different reason for why we love to put words on the screen. But we’ve gotten caught up in the to-do’s of writing. So much social media time. So many words that have be written. 
And we lose the reason for why we write.

What is that reason for you? Only you can answer this question. So here, in this moment, with your eyes closed, your mind free from everything that wants to pull you down I want you to remember that moment you fell in love with writing.

Before the contract chasing dream showed up. Before the Facebook page became a mutated Frankenstein.  Before 140 characters on Twitter drove your day. Before platform became a four letter word. Before we become concerned with where our next book needed to land at a certain house.

Before all of that , there was a love for writing. For storytelling. For ministering to hearts, even if it was just your own.

Open your eyes.

Do you remember why you love this crazy craft? Write that reason down. Underline it. Bold it. 
Italicize it. Stick it to your computer, your bathroom mirror, the dashboard of your car. Wherever you spend the most time.

Pray over it. Give that back to God.

Watch Him do amazing things with that “before”. And everything that follows after will simply be dressing. And everything else? I promise it’ll find it’s place.


Make sure you’re always anchored in yours. 

CLICK TO TWEET:




************************************************
Casey Herringshaw is a homeschool graduate and has been writing since high school. She lives in colorful Colorado where she gets to live her dream stalking--er--visiting with her favorite CO authors. 

1 comment:

Robin E. Mason said...

great post, Casey, and great question. i never stopped to verbalize, even internally, why i love to write. i guess it's like a river, dammed up if i don't. the stories are there, my friends are there (in my head) and all i'm doing is sharing, letting the water flow. we're all rivers, we writer people, and we've got floods of words and stories that people need!!! i guess that's why!