“Inspiration comes from God, and the voice that tells us that what we are doing is not any good (will never sell, will never be published, is trivial, is lousy, is keeping us from our real responsibilities) comes right out of the pits of hell.” ~ Janice Elsheimer, author of The Creative Call
A friend called recently to say she had no time to write and, in fact, questioned her writing abilities. She’s brilliant, mind you – inspiring and talented. She just needed encouragement. But her confession sprung like an arrow to my own heart, bringing with it the piercing of a life passing all too quickly. What happens when we don’t get to write? For me, it’s a quiver in my liver. Don’t laugh – I get all heartsick when words won’t flow. Friends and family may not understand, so I turn to other writers. Writers know the value of a listening ear, gentle affirmation, and meaningful encouragement with firm reminders.
Has your well run dry? See it as temporary. Has your inspiration left for the evening? Fan the flame! Sometimes all we need is to remember why we write in the first place. You’re not alone. Here are a few random quotes from a few random writers, each sharing her particular thoughts about this curious writing way of life. Their books are inspiring, too.
Let me know which quote speaks to you these days. ♥
Nuggets from Julia Cameron, The Right to Write:
“I write to tell myself the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I write, not to make art, but to make sense. I try my hand, as now, at a poem. I am looking for honesty, not artistry.”
“We are often so busy wanting to have a life as a writer that we forget that we have a life to write about.”
“Writing is about getting something down, not about thinking something up.”
“Sanity in writing means writing with relative ease and fluidity. It means writing from a full well and not an empty one.”
Nuggets from Betsy Lerner, The Forest for the Trees:
“Indeed, the great paradox of the writer’s life is how much time he spends alone trying to connect with other people.”
“The natural writer is the one who is always writing, if only in his head – sizing up a situation for material, collecting impressions.”
“Writing demands that you keep at bay the demons insisting that you are not worthy or that your ideas are idiotic or that your command of the language is insufficient. But if you feel you need to seek advice as to what you should be writing, you are probably not ready to write.”
“Writing is a calling, and if the call subsides, so be it. It may return in greater force the next time around.”
“If as a child you gravitated toward books and kept diaries or made up stories, it speaks to an inherent aptitude for language.”
“When writers say they have no choice, what they mean is: Everything in the world conspired to make me quit but I kept going.”
Nuggets from Vinita Hampton Wright, The Soul Tells a Story:
“Good writers practice and study and practice some more. They may not call it practice – they may simply keep writing, day after day – but in fact they are practicing every time they write.”
“I believe our creative gifts are given to us for many reasons. One purpose is our own healing.”
“As a writer I know that nothing really happens until I write. Now I may write for hours or days before what I write turns into anything meaningful. But I have to write for all those hours in order to arrive at the hour in which the “inspired” writing happens.”
“Creative work teaches you to pay attention, and this is something that few people do well or often.”
“Faith figures into creative work at every step. You say yes to the work, trusting that you are in some way called to it.”
Nuggets from Janice Elsheimer, The Creative Call:
“Our gifts are not from God to us, but from God through us to the world.”
“If we have neglected to develop and use the talents God has given us, we feel incomplete, unfulfilled, unfinished, even depressed. We are ‘like new wineskins ready to burst.”
“God wants us to act with hopeful hearts, not to continually put off working towards our heart’s desires, not to postpone our artistic development and feel frustrated and empty as a result.”
“The fear of not being ‘good enough’ can keep us from using our talents and gifts, especially if those gifts have lain dormant for quite a while.”
“If we practice the discipline of daily writing, of offering to God a “gesture of sincerity” in faith that he desires us to use the gifts he has given us, we will find that God is speaking to us through his Holy Spirit, and that we can learn to hear him.”
“God is in control, and every time you hear the critic telling you that you are wasting your time or being self-centered, you need to turn that message over to the Lord in prayer and rebuke the critic in the name of Jesus. You are fighting for your creative life here, and God is on your side.”
”May I be worthy to do it! Lord, make me crystal clear for they light to shine through.” ~Katherine Mansfield
Many of you collect quotes like I do. Here are a few conversation starters. Tell me which quote speaks to you personally:
