by Blythe Daniel @BlytheDaniel

Some days we are just more creative and have more spark to carry than other days, right? Some days we are super motivated to keep working on our writing and to convey what’s on our hearts. Other days we check off everything else on our list and writing comes up short. We just don’t have the motivation to keep going.

How do you keep writing when discouragement sets in? There’s two things that I remind myself when I hit these days. Perhaps this will encourage you as you try to bring the sparkle back into your writing.

One, pray for creativity. I know it doesn’t sound like a big, holy prayer. It’s not that you’re praying for someone who needs healing from sickness or someone who needs Christ in their life. But if Jesus came for all our needs, and he’s called us to share his gospel, and if writing is a way to do that, he’d want to fill those spaces too, right? So praying for what’s missing in your creativity is exactly what he can come in and fill. Paul reminds us in Colossians 3:17: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

I like to ask for God to provide the sparkle that’s needed to catch others’ eyes through writing and then watch him work. I am inspired after seeing what he can lay on my heart or what verse of Scripture he’ll bring in that is exactly what I need. I bet you do too. We just need to access it before we give up on writing altogether.

Second, work at your writing rather than hoping it will work as is. “I’m going to let it steep and come back to it and spend weeks or months rather than hours or days on it.” One of the things I see the most when I review others’ writing is those who have spent the time on their writing, helping it sparkle and shine, and those who have written and called it good for the day. They haven’t plowed through the process of letting their writing evolve over time but simply want to finish it. I think the sparkle can come through communing with God on it rather than forging ahead on our own.

I’m not a huge tea person, but I do like it occasionally. I learned this about steeping tea. “Steeping is the process of extracting the flavor and health-promoting compounds from the solids used to make tea.”*

Extracting the best parts of our ideas and writing so that it tastes good to others. So that it can be enjoyed and appreciated. But steeping takes some time and effort. But isn’t it worth it to catch the right flavor?

So our writing does as well. When you are tempted to think, “This is taking too long” or “I don’t think I can be any more creative and show what’s different or unique about my writing” remember that you are in a process that can’t be rushed. Nor given up on. When the sparkle seems to have faded, go back to what you are saying that no one else is saying. Why are you writing in the first place? It could be that the lack of motivation is in seeing how others are saying their piece – but you’ve momentarily lost the vision for your words.

We’re tempted to wonder “What’s the purpose” when others have lined up to say similar things? Because they and the world doesn’t know what’s in your mind and in your heart until you let it out.

Anticipate the reason others will want to read your writing. How will you grip them? I think we often focus so much on the process that we don’t look at who is actually going to benefit from the words God gives you. That is sometimes motivation enough to keep going!

Friend, you are no doubt in a season that has changed much or how you do what you do. But remember that our God and his Word doesn’t change. And what he says about you doesn’t change either. If you have words to share, steward the gift. Treat these words with the attention they deserve. Don’t let the demands of the day pull you away from putting the sparkle into your words. Our circumstances can’t dictate how we can bring shimmer to our writing.

So, ready to write today? What’s the best way for you to bring this sparkle to your writing? Let’s see how God brings a new perspective, a new way of creating with him that gives you the boost you need right now. I know he’ll provide it for you and for me – we just need to ask and be ready to act on it.

What are you sitting with today that you want to see move forward? How have you acknowledged God in your writing process?

 *Anne Danahy, MS, RND, How to Steep Tea Like an Expert, Jan. 9, 2020, https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-to-steep-tea

Blythe Daniel is a literary agent and marketer and has been in publishing for over 20 years. She has written for Proverbs 31 Ministries, Focus on the Family, Ann Voskamp, and Christian Retailing. She and her mother Dr. Helen McIntosh are the authors of Mended: Restoring the Hearts of Mothers and Daughters (Harvest House Publishers).

www.theblythedanielagency.com; www.ourmendedhearts.com