With so much noise on the internet and so many writers and others competing for eyeballs writers can wonder, Is there any hope that little I will ever be noticed, get any traction, build an audience?
Do I have anything valuable to say that anyone else hasn’t already said?
If we can’t find our “why” for writing, these haunting questions can rise to the neck-deep mud we find ourselves stuck in.
With such a steep learning curve, and so many things to do beyond learning our craft….
- Build a blog
- Build a platform/following
- Join every kind of social media known to man
- Answer comments as if we have a staff of ten (or as if we need no sleep)
- Learn the tools of our trade: Scrivener, Dragon Naturally Speaking, the right microphone, etc.
- Make a thousand decisions
- Oh, and build a business.
We need inspiration blazing like the sun in our breast to keep us plowing forward. But we may find that inspiration faltering, flickering, fading as we wonder:
“With all the voices out there, why add mine to the mix?”
I was surprised to hear a writer-friend voice exactly this question recently—the one that had nearly ground me to a stop—so I gave her the answer I most needed to hear:
“When you arrive to Heaven and everyone is singing God’s praises, will you not sing?”
Of course she would, she said. And, of course, I will. We won’t be worried about who is singing the best or loudest. All eyes will be on our God and our praises will be all about Him, not us.
Our lives are our lovesong to God. Our gifts are a stewardship to be used for His glory, to reach the many or the few, during our own lives or after our passing.
That is the beautiful thing about the written word—it outlasts us.
A barren season or a long, slow start can be about so many things:
- Practicing writing, becoming disciplined
- Learning to trust God while we wait and work
- Remaining unseen while God prepares our characters to handle the limelight
- Waiting on some timing issue only God knows about.
My grandmother faithfully taught Sunday School, classes that couldn’t have had more than ten people in them, twenty tops. She would diligently prepare her lessons and took her responsibility to rightly divide God’s word seriously.
In her generation, for an ordinary person—one without television cameras pointed in her direction—that was a good number of people to influence at any given time.
In college, as the chaplain for a women’s group, I, too, took my responsibility seriously. Every month, I dragged my electric typewriter out from under my bed, typed up the devotional I had carefully prepared to encourage my collegial sisters in their faith journey, made copies, and stuffed them in their university post office mailboxes. I wasn’t reaching 1,000’s of people with my writings, but I never imagined it wasn’t worth doing,
So why do we think if we only have a handful of followers, subscribers, or readers, that what we’re doing isn’t worth it? Aren’t those few worth it? What about those who may find your writings later?
If you’re sharing what God has done in your life, rightly dividing His word to encourage others, teaching, or telling stories as Jesus did, you are offering your gifts to the world. God’s timeline and perspective are not ours. His ways are higher than ours. Trust Him.
If you are a writer and feel called, compelled to tell stories, keep at it.
“Bottom in the chair” is my motto. Amazingly, when I do (get my bottom in the writer’s chair), I actually produce something. We’ll see what God will do with it!
What keeps you writing when these questions surface:
Is there any hope that little I will ever be noticed, get any traction, build an audience?
Do I have anything valuable to say that anyone else hasn’t already said?
Maresa DePuy says
Oh Eva! How I needed this, post. Thank you so much for the encouragement. I believe one day that I will look back and all the waiting periods God allowed will make perfect sense to me. For now we put our bottoms in the chair, write, wait, and trust our God who has a flawless plan and perfect track record. HIs higher ways aren’t ours.. thank goodness!
Eva Priest says
Thank you, sweet Maresa! Amen to all you’ve said. His timing and ways are indeed perfect.
Kim Wilbanks says
Thank you! Great blog post. Just what I needed today!
Eva Priest says
Kim, thank you for your kind words! God bless you.
Eva
Eva Priest says
Thank you, Kim!