Do you ever wonder what the life of a writer is like? Well I’m going to describe it as best I can in the shortest amount of words I can so that you understand what goes on behind the scenes of writing a novel, a series, a movie script, a short story, or even writing a blog post.
Also what I write may not be everyone’s experience, but I strongly believe that anyone who writes on a project faces the same opposition I do at some point in their writing journey.
When people ask me how writing is going or how my book(s) are coming along, I love to respond with “They’re coming along. I should be finished by _____”. But that’s only because it’s what I want it to be. The fact of the matter is writing doesn’t always go the same every day. Some days I have huge success and finish over 4 pages. Other times I “can’t” write for periods up to 2 weeks before getting another session in.
I realize that getting myself to sit down and get words on the page is half the battle of the writer. In fact, I’d be willing to say that it’s over three-quarter the battle. Before you’ve had a successful writing session, it feels as though everything is against you. You “don’t feel like writing” or you “don’t even know what to write”.
I would literally do anything besides writing, whether that is cleaning up my office, taking a shower, playing games on my phone, etc. Then when I finally have my mind made up that now I want to write, fear starts to kick in. I hear voices saying these things: “Issak, who’s even going to read this stuff?” – “Issak, how are you going to market your book enough to even make it worth your time?” – “Issak, you need to change what you wrote in previous chapters, because right now it doesn’t match with what you’ve already written.” –
But this of course isn’t true. We are just facing a phenomenon commonly known as writer’s block.
What is writer’s block? Is it actually a real phenomenon that happens with writers? Is there anything I do to prevent it or get rid of it?
In reality, writer’s block is a form of fear that holds a writer back from actually making true progress. It is very real and it happens to every writer in one stage or another. It normally happens to less experienced writers as they begin to face their first challenges in their writing journey.
The life of a writer is one of many difficulties. People look at you and treat you in a different way than they do other people (of course they don’t even realize they’re doing it). But this is because writing is a very lonely task that takes a lot of dedication and a lot of alone time. You end up becoming more of an introvert and self-focused than you’d originally thought you would. And thus it makes you a little more awkward when it actually comes to being in contact with other people. This makes other people think you’re “weird” or “awkward to be around”.
The block that is sometimes associated with writing is a real phenomenon. Especially if you’re a Christian writer trying to represent truth. The enemy will use any tactic he can to prevent you from writing, because Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians, “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
Truth shines light. Jesus said in John 8:32, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
If we ever do anything to represent or explore truth, we will be hunted by the enemy with any tactic he can use. Should we, as Christians, allow him to stop us? No. In fact, I believe the opposite is true. If we face opposition, we should pursue it all the more, especially if it’s for revealing truth.
Pursue the King Of Righteousness with full power, because Jesus will provide you with all the strength needed to accomplished all His purpose for you.
Over the next while, I plan on doing a few things that will not be possible unless I have your support, mainly support in prayer.
I plan to release things that will be both exciting and new, but it will only be available to those who are on my email list. So if you think you can find someone who will be interested, please share this web page with them using the button on the bottom.
