I Don't Always Feel Like a Writer

It’s true, I like to make up people and put them in weird situations, where I’m the only one who can save them. Or maybe I won’t save them. For the sake of the story, I might just let them suffer the consequences of my imagination. Why do I get a kick out of this? I don’t have a god complex, nor a desire to run the lives of people in the real world. I’m not living out my need for control in a fantasy existence. On the contrary, I do it to give God control of my creative nature. I do it because it makes God smile. When I’m in the rhythm of writing, I’m exercising my calling. I’m soaring in the freedom of being who I was created to be. It’s fun and energizing. It’s also hard and exhausting and frustrating. It’s work, but it’s my work. My assignment.

I’m fresh out of a writer’s conference, which is also hard and exhausting and frustrating. But I got to hang with my people, the ones who don’t think I’m crazy for announcing a new character just told me her name. Instead, they say, “Aw, I love it when that happens.” They understand. I heard some tough statistics that made me want to stop writing. I got some good feedback on my latest project that made me more determined than ever not to quit. I met up with old friends and made new ones, learned new techniques, and suffered a few you’re-doing-it-wrong moments. For instance, this blog has a new look and a more succinct focus.

So where do I go from here? I’ll keep writing, networking, and making up stuff. And praying. That should always come first, because I can’t do this on my own. I don’t always feel like a writer. I’m just somebody trying to build a career around telling tales. But I live in the real world, and I will write about that too. Sometimes the real world is weirder than my fiction, and I write some pretty weird stories. Follow along and share your journey with me. Are you a writer, a reader, or are you simply a real-world, truth-seeking observer? I’m one of those too.