May 27, 2015

Writing From the Heart…it’s gonna get messy! by Melanie Fischer


When I think of the saying “breathings of the heart,” I think of eloquent words and articulate phrases.

When I write breathings of the heart, there tends to be a lot of hot air. I spill my guts onto my page—making it rather soggy—then I pray that it dries out by the time I need to publish it.

May we not get trapped in Hollywood’s version of writing, where the writer just breathes and the words show up on the page. There might be a micro thin slice of writers who are able to do this. But for most of us there is much crying, cussing, weeping, wallowing, and pleading with the Lord to making our writers life a bit easier.

Why?

Because writing from the heart is tough. Writing from the heart is not usually as neat and tidy as
many finished products appear. And writing from the heart gets messy. But messy is what needs to happen before it can get neat.

Think of a pure white carpet. A cup of fruit juice spills on it and it is changed forever. You sop up the
bulk of the mess, but scrubbing, soaking and bleaching will not release the grip of the stain that is left behind.

Writing from the heart happens in much the same way. You spill your messy nitty gritties onto the 
pure white page. Then pray for wisdom and discernment to sop up the words which do not need to stay—If you are going to rely on breathing for your writing, may it be the breath of prayer.

No need to lament over messy writing…that is what leaves the stains behind in order to make your piece unforgettable.
Melanie's hunger for purpose fuels her blog at www.hungryforpurpose.com

9 comments:

  1. Great analogy - the carpet stain. Also true, writing authentically gets messy.

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  2. I love your writing style, Mel! You manage to mix a lot of fun and humour in while still delivering a great message!

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  3. Stains are unforgettable! And they always have a story behind them. May we always see the blessings that they are!

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  4. "If you are going to rely on breathing for your writing, may it be the breath of prayer." Love this line.

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  5. You give great visual imagery and analogy, as usual, Mel, to get your point across. Yes, we often get lots of messiness on the paper, before we can tidy it up so it makes sense to the reader. As you say, the more we write from the heart, the messier our writing gets. May God let us tell our story as it is, but then may he also help us say it right, so we get his message across. Amen.

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  6. Only our Lord can take the soggy messes that flood our pages and bring them into something we can share with confidence. You make the point VERY well, friend.

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  7. "May God let us tell our story as it is." That's what makes it so real. Thanks for sharing, Mel.

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  8. I am blessed by your comments, thank you.
    Now let's stain our papers with the breathing's of our hearts!

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  9. I love the photo :). Thanks for the reminder to not insist everything be neat and tidy and easy, Melanie!

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