“There is a time and a
season for everything.”
(Ecclesiastes 3:1.)
In my early years of writing. I was facing a deadline and didn’t have time to bring my piece to full maturity. I was in a hurry but submitted it anyway, feeling as though I was birthing a baby too premature to survive. Of course, my article was not accepted for publication. I promised myself I’d never do that again but work diligently with time to complete my writing properly.
Today, many writing gurus emphasize that we “write fast” and “publish fast”. This concept is so promoted in our age of speed and instant results that it’s easy to be swayed and feel as though we need to hurry through our work.
But God’s way is different. If we want our writing to be of the highest quality, we must give writing time. It is said that Ray Bradbury advocated that writers “put a novel-length manuscript away for a year. Then when you take it out and read it the words will appear to have been written by someone else. This process allows you to get a new look at your own work.”
Giving our writing a rest is a principle from God Himself. Just as He instructed us to keep one day a week for Sabbath, He may ask us to give ourselves a break from our w-i-p. He knows the rhythms of our writing: when it is going well and when ideas and concepts spring to mind easily. He also reveals to us that when we begin to stagnate, we need to give our writing a rest, and with it, our mind, emotions, and body. Doing so will give us time to meditate on our ideas, gain a new perspective, and allow God to infuse us with new transformational truths.
And yet, setting our project aside might seem counter-intuitive. We might be afraid that we’ll abandon our work altogether. But if God has prompted and inspired us to write, He’ll keep the idea in mind and will bring our attention back to it when we’re ready.
During this rest period, we don’t stop writing, however. A new project might just be the incentive that spurs our creativity. Bradbury also knew that putting a manuscript away temporarily “works best with writers who have multiple projects open at once and who can work on two or three books or stories at a time, in rotation. When one is completed, you can switch to working on another, and when that is completed you can go back to the one on your desk.”[i]
As we write, let us pay attention to the ebbs and flows of our writing, not hurry our project into premature birth, and follow God’s revealed plans. In so doing, we will write in rhythm with God.
Wonderful post, dear Sandi, about writing "in rhythm with God."
ReplyDeleteI think it's helpful to draft fast but edit slow. Fast editing leads to quick rejection. :)
Thank you for this wise advice: "During this rest period, we don’t stop writing, however. A new project might just be the incentive that spurs our creativity."
Blessings.
Thanks for your insightful response, Wendy. I like how you said, "it's helpful to draft fast but edit slow". I thought of expanding my thoughts to all stages of writing in rhythm with God, but it would have changed my focus and been too long. Perhaps that will be a topic for another post or article.
DeleteThis is so 'bang on', Sandi. Thank you. Like you, I've been learning to write in the ebbs and flows - in the rhythms with God. Your story of you sending off that piece before it was truly finished, comparing it to birthing a baby before its time, is so vivid. As I'm getting older, I've fretted that I'll not have the time to get done what I want to write. The Lord recently whispered in my heart one early morning, "I've given you the time. Don't waste it". I found great comfort, encouragement, and a challenge in those words I heard. Even when we're 'resting' from our writing, it's still part of the process. Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Brenda, for your response. I, too, have wondered how much time I have left to finish all the projects in my mind--and on my computer. Like you, God assured me, "I'm giving you time to accomplish all I want you to write." We can rest in that promise.
DeleteI have found this to be true in my own writing experience. I often write more than one piece at a time and when i come back to one that has been "resting" I do read it with different eyes. Bradbury is very wise in his advice. (And I'm a fan of his work, too!)
ReplyDeleteTracy, thanks for your confirmation of what I'm learning in my own writing. You've had many years of experience and know Bradbury's principles to be true.
DeleteThank you for this post. It resonates with my experience as well. While I still struggle with the temptation to rush my writing sometimes, I always find the experience much more fulfilling and less full of anxiety when I take my time and allow for periods of rest in-between.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Michelle, for your comment. God bless you as you take time with your writing and move in rhythm with God.
DeleteThanks for this post, Sandi. We see this need for speed so often in the publishing world. It seems if an author’s first published work is successful, the publishers will hurry the author along to finish a second work and the quality suffers. All writers need to flow with their gift and not be rushed but this is especially true for the Christian writer whose director is rarely in a hurry. Praise God. Thanks once again, Sandi.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your wise words, Sharon. Our Director is never in a hurry, and He moves us along at just the right pace when our spirit is attentive to His voice and leading.
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