Dear Young Writers…Guest Post by Jenna Terese

Guess what, I’m not dead (only mostly) and I have a special guest post for today! The wonderful Jen (check out her blog here).   Hopefully, I’ll give you guys a NaNoWriMo update next week, but until then, enjoy Jen’s post 😀

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Writing is hard.

I know, I know. I didn’t write this just to tell you a bunch of stuff you already know, but bear with me for a moment…

Writing is hard. It takes years to learn specific skills, understand certain concepts, figure out how things work.

And still…our writing needs a lot of work. It’s tough, to say the least, despite how much we enjoy it.

As writers, we are also big readers. Not just for already published books, but those lovely snippets writers post on their blogs, or that book you’re beta-reading for a friend.

We’re always filling ourselves with others’ writing, and a lot of us start thinking….

I’m not good enough.

Usually this thought is just hanging around there in your subconscious, without you quite realizing that it’s present.

But other things start happening…you’re plagued with constant writers’ block you can’t seem to shake, reading others’ writing seems to be more satisfying, and maybe this whole thing about writing books has lost its original glimmer.

This thought…this “I’m not good enough”…is one of the most poisoning thoughts you could think. About anything. Not just writing.

Because since when did you have to be ‘good enough’ in order for God to accept you? He sent His Son because we weren’t good enough. And He loved us despite it. Let me tell you…

Our worth is not found in our writing. Our worth should be found in our identity in Christ.

In today’s world, nearly everything seems to be a comparison game. When I was younger, I didn’t really deal with this, but as you get older you see it more. It’s poisoning. It’s making too many people think “I’m not good enough. That person is better than me at everything. And I’m just…me.”

What’s wrong with being you? You’re exactly how God created you to be.

Picture this. You walk into a room where an artist is hard at work. He’s brushing colorful paints onto a canvas with such ease, careful detail, and calculating each stroke with perfection. You continue to watch, and finally he announces, “It’s done! It’s perfect!” And that painter loves that piece of work more than anything, along with all the others he’s done.

You walk up to him, and you say “It’s not good enough.” (Kind of insulting, don’t you think?)

“Not good enough”? According to whosestandards? Not God’s, surely. “Not good enough” by the world’s standards. Well, we’re called to be in the world but on of it. We’re called to look higher than this, look to God for our worth.

That fact that we don’t have to be ‘good enough’ to be one of His children is a beautiful thing. We’re imperfect, yeah. That author you absolutely adore and hope your writing might be just a bit as good as hers…she’s imperfect too. So is her writing. Same goes for the writer of those snippets and that book you’re beta-reading.

Being imperfect in an imperfect world means our writing will be imperfect. Realize that, just because you have some things to learn, doesn’t mean you’ve failed.

Published authors got where they are because of hard work. Years of it. Learning the craft and writing, writing, writing. And guess what? They still have things to learn. We will always have things to learn.

I would like you to say something. Yes, aloud, ’cause I’m weird like that. 😉 Say, “My writing is exactly where God wants it to be. Right now, in this moment.”

Go ahead, say it again. 😛

He’s planning everything for the good of those who love Him. He has you where you are for a reason. We don’t always like where we are in life, but it’s all happening for a purpose.

God knows exactly where your writing is going to take you.

In five years. Ten. Twenty. Next week.

Wouldn’t you want to trust Someone with that kind of control? With the whole world to look after, He still is molding your writing life into something that will change lives for Him.

Something that you’ll notice throughout the Bible with people God used to accomplish great things is…they weren’t technically “good enough.” Something I found on Pinterest sums it up pretty good (way to go, Pinterest)…

I absolutely love this because it reminds me that I don’t have to be some great person to be used by God in big ways. Our short-comings don’t stop God in using us to accomplish great things.

You see that book over there? Yeah, that one that you’re writing right now? The one you think would be better if you just gave up on it? Yeah, that one. THAT book can be used by God to accomplish GREAT THINGS! Imagine changing a person’s life (even if it’s just one) with that story you’re crafting.

So, to sum it all up…

Don’t underestimate God. Don’t underestimate yourself. We all have a learning journey. Maybe we’re at different points in that journey, but it’s a journey nonetheless and you’re moving forward. And the road looks smooth and bumpy in some places, with ups and downs. None of us are perfect, none of us have perfect writing. Embrace your unique writing style and keep going. Keep learning. Trust God with the future.

Because who knows how you’ll change the world.

 

I hope this post was coherent enough for you to get something out of it. 😉 Thanks so much to Chelsea for letting me do a guest post on her blog!

There we go! Wasn’t that an awesome post from Jenna? Please give her a round of applause and thank her for coming here. What do you guys struggle with the most when it comes to writing?