Thursday Thoughts on
Reading and Writing
Our
guest blogger today is Tiffany Colter, a writer, speaker, and writing career coach who works with beginner to published writers. Welcome,
Tiffany and thank you for sharing your vast knowledge with us. You may subscribe to Tiffany's own blog posts here. She can be reached through her website here.
Do you know who you are? As
fiction writers we live in a world of our own imaginations so much that
sometimes it is easy to get lost in that world we create. Add to that the fact that as
writers we MUST wear multiple hats in order to write, edit, pitch and sell our
books.
And then there is our
personal life. Writing is one of those careers like firefighting, nursing, or
teaching. They are jobs that go beyond a paycheck; they become part of our
identity.
That is why I ask again, do
you know who you are?
Before I began to sell books
I had to get comfortable in my identity outside of writing. Outside of
mothering. Outside of being a wife.
I had to find out who Tiff
was.
Now, this isn’t some feel
good kind of thing. I really had to recognize the value I had as a person even
without ever contributing. That is because I have a tendency to want to please
people. I want to help everyone. I want to make all people happy. That is exhausting.
Writing is a very long
process. There are the years of learning craft. Then writing the actual book.
Revising. Realizing that book will never sell, and starting the next one.
All with the hope that
someone will like it.
Then come mean spirited
reviews.
The marketing.
Book signings.
Sophomore Slump.
But this isn’t all bad
because I come back to the title of this blog, KNOW WHO YOU ARE!
If you can first find out who
you are in Christ. Find out who you are as a real person. Recognize that you
have value outside of anything you’ll ever do, then the process becomes a fun
adventure. It will become the excited anticipation of a roller coaster ride
instead of the dreaded ticking of a clock in a hospital waiting room.
The writing process can all
be fun. Challenging. Exploring. Growth.
Or it can be grueling.
Agonizing. Long-suffering.
When your self-esteem is tied
to the end result we long to get to the end. We feel like we’ve done nothing
until we’ve finished and been accepted or approved of. When your self-esteem is tied
to who you are in Christ we can enjoy the journey.
Christ heard, “This is my
Beloved Son,” when he walked out of the baptismal water…before he’d begun his
ministry.
The disciples heard, “This is
my son in whom I’m well pleased” on the mount of transfiguration, before he’d
fulfilled his purpose on the cross.
God loved His son for who He
was, not what He did.
Who are you?
This week on my own blog I
talked about my 9 year old daughter and her dream. I talked about how people
will join you in your dream when they see your passion. I hope you’ll go over here and read the blog “What does Editing have to do with Space Camp?”
Till next time ... keep on smiling.
This is so true, Tiff. I know that my writing career is in God's timing. It's not going to be me that makes it happen. My part is to be ready when it does. Learn the craft, write. Learn the craft, write. Then do it all over again. Sometimes I think God has the easy part. :>)
ReplyDeleteIt's so easy to forget we have an identity outside of what we do. Thanks for the reminder that our security in Jesus' care isn't something we have to earn.
ReplyDeleteWow Tiff. This is so profound. I was just talking to a fellow writer yesterday who is pondering this question. Who is she as a writer. And you are showing us how to get our focus.
ReplyDeleteHa, I was just talking about this yesterday, too. Focus, focus, who are you as a person? You write from there. Anyway, do you have tips on how to get to that place where you know who you are?
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Thanks, Tiff and Jo!
Hi Crystal, you're welcome. Thanks for coming by and reading my blog and leaving a comment.
DeleteGreat post! We get so wrapped up in what we are doing, what we need to accomplish, how we want to present ourselves, both on paper and in person, that we do tend to lose our identity. As long as we remember that we are children of the King, we can keep a proper perspective.
ReplyDelete