The Official Writing Challenge
BACK TO
CHALLENGE
MAIN
INSTRUCTIONS
how it works
submission rules
guidelines for
choosing a level
ENTRIES
submit your entry
read current entries
read past entries
challenge winners
Our Daily Devotional HERE
Place it on your site or
receive it daily by email.


TRUST JESUS TODAY

  • Share
  • how it works
  • Submit
Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: The Writer's Challenge (NOT the FaithWriters Challenge) (06/10/10)
I see three reasons why a person begins to develop a desire for writing, or a need for inventing his or her own theories, explanations, teachings, admonishments, and stories.

1. They naturally excelled at English Composition from the beginning:

The person might be an English Class brainiac who always was good at understanding the proper application of the English language on paper in eloquent style for all avid readers to enjoy. They learned early on all the particulars of proper grammar and punctuation, wrote A-grade compositions, wrote for the school paper, was president of the journalism class. They got off to a good start and have kept going. Many are the noted authors of the day, news reporters, or some other respected professionals.

2. They want to share their views or experiences with the world:

He or she may excel at/or enjoy any number of specific subjects, topics, philosophies, or religious beliefs and develop an overwhelming desire to share that knowledge, views, or opinions with the world.

They may have never really thought about writing until certain situations or changes occurred in their lives, and this may come a few years after English Composition Classes so they don’t remember a thing about the technicalities of proper English. (What the heck is a preposition?) So they start reading “writing” books or online information, pick up a grammar handbook, and read other books to see how other writers organize their thoughts and sentences. Probably a lot of us writers still don’t know the difference between a pronoun and an adjective. We just pick things up as we go and nobody would know the difference. A lot of us just pattern a good part of our writing after other professionals without actually knowing the inside technicalities of the English language…and ya know, it really doesn’t matter as long as others enjoy what we write.

3. They want to earn a living doing something they enjoy:

How many writers write just for the fun of it? The passion drives them. They don’t care how much time it takes to pen their articles or books. They just have to write. I suppose that’s true of any writer to a degree, but don’t most of us have at least a secret desire to make money from our labors. Writing is verrry time consuming. Do we want to spend hour after hour with no reward for our labor? Are we satisfied to write in a public venue where many people will read our penmanship, but never receive a dime for it? There are some that are better people than that, some who just love to write no matter what. Many (and this is a good thing) desire to simply use their gift to better mankind in some small way and do it for God’s glory. But I think even the most well-meaning writer has a desire to someday make a career of it. We want to enjoy what we do for a living. But even if we get published, most of us still have to work another job to keep the money flowing. The financially successful writer is far and few between.

…..

It’s quite a challenge for writers to wonder what their purpose is - whether to keep writing, who’s reading what they write and who cares. Sometimes we’ll quit writing for a few months or years, and then get back in the groove again. We all have to decide if it’s worth the time we put into it. For some maybe it is, for others, what else could we be doing with our time? …more time with spouse, children – a second job to keep the bills paid.

Nobody can tell you whether your hours and hours of writing efforts are worth the time. We all have a different story. Decide for yourselves, but be wise. Think about the balance if you’re going to keep on. Where to draw the line between writing and everything else that’s important is not always easy. But don’t let others crush your dream if you have one. Success comes with determined hard work. And success isn’t measured by financial gain (it’s just nice to have fringe benefits).
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior Right Now - CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
This article has been read 841 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Jeanne E Webster
06/18/10
You have brought up some important aspects of writing, all worth noting. I can see that you have given this topic much thought.

Well written article with a great command of the writer's tools. And a nice ending...encouragement to the writer! Blessings
Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom 
06/19/10
You made some brilliant points. I think if you wrote the last two paragraphs in first-person, it would have had more appeal for me. It felt a tad preachy and I was hoping to hear more about your experiences and the lesson you have learned. It's amazing how changing a little word like you to I can change the whole feeling of warmth. Keep writing, I hope it gives you what you are looking for, it does seem like you are listening to God and writing for His glory.