As I’ve been going through one of my favorite authors Hannah Brencher’s writing intensive that she puts out every winter, I’ve been challenged, encouraged, and inspired.
I’m actually believing I might have what it takes to make it.
It’s not complicated. It’s not an impossible goal to become a writer. It doesn’t take fancy tools or great moments of revelation and “magic,” as Hannah puts it. It just requires a certain amount of discipline and the habit of sitting my butt down in a chair (or the couch!) for a few hours a day and just. doing. it. Doing the work. Putting in the time. Getting words on the document.
I realize how silly I’ve been for putting this off for so long. Of course life was busy and there’s been demands on my time, but if I’m really honest with myself, I’ve always had the time. I’ve just lacked the discipline. And the reality is, it doesn’t even take very much.
Hearing Hannah’s process and reading about the great writers of history’s habits, I am realizing it is actually really simple. It does not even take copious amounts of talent. It just takes time and effort, as with everything good and worthwhile. We always want the quick fix, the quick success, the thing that will make us great instantaneously. But that doesn’t exist, and we will waste so much mental energy trying to find it or believing that it does. We always want to find the easiest, least-resistant path to what we desire, but there is no true reward in that.
Hannah tells a story of when she finally finished her first book, and the quiet reassurance that surprised her in the place of what she thought would be a momentous and loud victory. It was the reassurance that all that time and effort she had poured into her work was worth it. It was the “slow magic” of building something lasting and sustainable. That struck me- in this time of instant gratification and Instagram likes and constant comparison, she could feel a deeper satisfaction that had nothing to do with anyone’s approval but God’s and her own. That’s the kind of success I want to seek, and it only comes with the slow and steady habit-building process over time.
As I continue in this journey, I hope to get more words on the page, and to be consistent about it. I hope to be someone who writes often, whether or not I want to. I want to be someone who doesn’t criticize and over-analyze everything I write to the point of paralyzation. I believe my words matter and I have something unique to offer the world through my writing.
rhythms of grace 