Encouragement for Writers

Many years ago, Madeleine L’Enlge wrote, “We’re never sure that what we write is true and honest.  We try to make it true and honest.  How much I succeed is really beyond my control.  It happens if I am given the Spirit to write the work.”

Her words are truer today than ever before.  If we have something to say – through a blog, a poem, a story, a song, an article, a stage, a sermon – we often wonder if what we say is true.

But the world has never been more complex than it is today and simply “telling it like it is” doesn’t help us much if we don’t take the time to observe the changes in our culture, in ourselves, in our small and big worlds:  It’s really a New Day.

If you’re like me, you take some time most days to sit alone crafting a message through writing or speaking or singing.  I’m 45 years old and I’m still in wonder how it is only through the gifts of the Spirit that my art comes – that love spills into my work. The problem is I’m human and I still doubt, I’m unconvinced that I served my message long enough or intensely enough.  I’m never quite satisfied – but that’s pride – that’s not love and suddenly it’s not about my audience anymore.

My session on Saturday is all about truth-telling as a writer/speaker/communicator in a culture where there’s a divide between the generations spiritually, theologically and geographically.  This is not about being “right” or being at the center of attention with your “truth.”  It’s about writing or speaking something of value to  others and finding your most powerful tools to get that message across to others who are waiting for it.

I’m not an ordained minister and I don’t see myself as having all the answers.  But I do see myself as the lead learner on this subject as I’ve been researching and interviewing for my next book.  We all want truth.  Your audience is looking for the truth that Jesus promises will set us free.

Here are a few of the truth-telling tools I will talk about on Saturday:

·      Live in Real Time; not with Nostalgia

·      Test Words for Balance and Diversity

·      Write with Open Accountability, Not with an Image

What are some obstacles you see in our culture that keep us from telling the Truth well? I hope to meet you there and continue this conversation.