When I was a child, stories by one particular author (I think her name was Marjorie Holmes) appeared in My Sunday School take-home papers again and again. Later, when I found a book written by Marjorie Holmes in a secondhand bookstore, I had to buy it. Her writing had made an impact on me.

A Gift From God

Writing, I feel, is a God-given gift. Ephesians 4:11-12 "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers: For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." KJV. I think the invisible word "writer" is somewhere between those lines.

Use That Gift For Him

Since God has put within us a desire to write, we must use that desire to honor Him. As a Christian, I focused my writing for Christian publications--Sunday School papers and magazines. Then I remembered that used book. Would I have bought it if I hadn't recognized the author's name? With that in mind, I decided to try for children's secular magazines as well. I reasoned that if a child recognizes my name from a magazine story or article, he might be interested in reading whatever else I write. If it makes a difference in just one child's life, it will be worthwhile. Along this line, recently I queried an editor about an article. In her reply she wondered if we'd met (we hadn't) because my name sounded familiar.

Pray, Pray, Pray

Before beginning any writing project, pray for His guidance. Pray for the right thoughts. Pray for the right words. Pray for the right market. If you're writing a story or an article for the Christian market, you want God's help to get the message across. But if what you're working on now is for the secular market, should you pray about that too? Absolutely. Christian or secular, who gave you the desire to write?

Writer's Block

Writer's block is a disease that affects most writers. Is it contagious? I don't think so. Is there a cure? Probably as many cures as there are writers. The best cure I've found is prayer. Yes, pray, but don't expect an answer right away. As you know, there are three answers to prayer: yes, no, wait. In this case, the answer is usually wait. I've learned that by just waiting, the ideas come and the thoughts become untangled. Quite often this happens after I've gone to bed and would very much rather sleep.

Commitment

If you are a committed Christian writer, committed to Christ and committed to writing, commit your writing to Him.

Copyright 2003 Marion Tickner