When you Don't Know what to Write

What happens when you don't know what to write?

That's the question I've been pondering for the last few weeks as I've slowly run out of things I've written to share here. I usually write a few weeks ahead of when I'm actually going to post something. It takes the pressure off if a week is suddenly really busy and I don't have time to write. It also gives me time to make sure my writing is clear. But, these last few weeks I've watched as the things I have ready to post have gone up and haven't replaced with more writing.

Every time I've sat down to write lately, one of two things has happened: I've either drawn a blank on anything I could write about - and just stared at a blank page for a long time. Or, what I've written is far more personal than is appropriate to share here. That's led me to my current dilemma . . .

What happens when you don't know what to write?

. . . especially when you feel called to write . . .

. . . especially when you usually can't stop yourself from writing . . .

Maybe the question is more accurately, what happens when you have a blog that you feel like God has called you to use and you don't know what to write?

I've started to wonder if writing has seasons of sort. When I look at my post history, I can see times when I wrote lots and times when I wrote very little. Maybe there are seasons to writing, just like there are to life.

Truth be told, I'm starting to wonder if the season of writing line up with the seasons of life in a way. Some seasons of life it's easier to write about for others to read than it is for others. Not that you're learning more in one season or another, but sometimes there's not the same freedom to share those lessons in some seasons - at least not yet.

So, what do you do when you have a blog and you don't know what to write?

Any person who has used any online platform will tell you that if you don't keep adding new content you'll lose what ever audience you have for your content. But, that's never been my motivation for posting anything here. I'll be honest, seeing the number of page views and comments on  my post is nice, but if I was doing this for that reason, I would have quit a long time ago.

When I started this blog, I didn't see myself as a writer. I was the one in school who struggled with English classes, and got easily frustrated with writing assignments.

I started this blog because I felt like God was telling me I was supposed to. I wasn't sure why, and I wasn't sure anyone would read it. But, as I did, I realized God was showing me something He had put in me that I wasn't aware of, and I needed to be using it for His glory. That's always been my goal, and I know I haven't always done it well.

And now, I have no idea what to write, but I don't feel released from this yet. I don't what it means, or what the future of this, seemingly small, part of my life looks like. All I have is questions about this right now. And that's okay. I'm continually learning that obeying God in the little and the big things is about trusting Him with the details when I don't have any idea.

Back to my question: What do you do when you have a blog that you feel like God has called you to use and you don't know what to write?

I guess the answer is to give it back to God. To let Him have the control again.To trust Him.

We learn to do this with those things in life that seem small, because then we're ready to trust Him with the big things when He asks us to.

Writing Something Worth Fighting For

I've been wondering a lot lately about why I feel the need to keep on writing. I've written before that I write because I can't not write. There's something in me that makes me want to write. But, I've often wondered why I feel that way.

The truth is that, even though I know the reasons why I write, it isn't always easy to write. Sometimes it's a battle to get the words on the screen in a way that makes sense to anyone who would read it.

I stumbled across a quote a few weeks ago that helped me understand why I write anyways.

"Some days writing feels like fighting but those are always the days the pages are finally full of something worth fighting for." (Jon Acuff)

When I read those words I realized something . . . writing, for me, is about making sense of what I stand for and what I will fight for with my life. And the times when it is hardest to write are the times when what I've written matters most.

For me, what matters most is living a life that is about following God completely. About seeking to live all of life the way He would have those who claim to be His followers live. It's a high calling for how to live, but one I believe is worth it.

Doubt in Writing

I don't often write about writing on here. That's not really the purpose behind this blog, but every once in a while the discussion in a writing group I'm part of prompts me to post something about writing here. Lately we've been discussing doubt and overcoming it in regards to our writing in that group. This post stems from that discussion.

It's inevitable that when you have somewhere you write for regularly, you will experience doubts.

Doubt that you anyone will actually care about what you write.

Doubt that people will actually read what you write.

Doubt that are any good at writing.

Doubt that you have anything of value to say.

Doubt that anyone would notice if you just simply disappeared.

And those doubts come even when you know you are supposed to write. Even when you can't not write. No writer, no matter why they write, is immune to doubt.

The difference between those who keep writing despite the doubt and those who give up at the first sign of doubt is what we do with the doubt. We have a choice when they come.

We can decide that the doubt means we weren't cut out to be a writer. And then we stop writing. Keeping our words and what we have to say inside forevermore.

Or we can choose to allow the doubt to push us to write more. We can take it as a sign that what we have to say is important. If it wasn't important, we wouldn't be worried about saying it.

 Sometimes, as writers we have things we feel like we need to say, but something is keeping us from being able to write them. And that something is doubt. I know I've had those times.

One of the clearest examples I have to share came a little over a year ago. I had something pressing I felt I should write, but every time I sat down tow rite it, I couldn't get any words onto the page. My doubt that I was actually the person to write it and share it kept the words from coming - kept me from writing anything at all, even other things. Ultimately, the doubt was fear of what others would think if I wrote it.

I finally got to the point where I knew I had to just write it. I went to my favourite writing place and sat down. I didn't worry about getting the words right. That can always be fixed later. I just started writing, as it came. It didn't make much sense at first, that came the more I wrote.

I've learned that sometimes when we're feeling doubt as a writer, we just need to sit down and write whatever we can. When we start, it may not make any sense at al. The important this is just to start writing. Leave the editing for later.

Once I finally got it written, I shared it and it has become my most popular blog post. To me, that's a sign that it definitely mattered that I wrote it. If it hadn't mattered if I wrote it, no one would have read it and I wouldn't have struggled to write it.

Doubt as a writer doesn't have to stop you from writing. It can be what pushes you to keep writing, because if you're supposed to write it's because what you have to say matters.

Five Minute Friday: Write

Joining in with the group over at Lisa-Jo Baker's blog for Five Minute Friday again this week. This week's word is "write."




When you write, you put yourself out there. You put your thoughts and ideas out for the world to read. And you hope they take your words the way you meant them. You hope that your point was clear and there isn't any confusion.

To be a writer, you have to push beyond the fear. Beyond the fear that you have nothing to say. Beyond the fear that you're not good enough to write anything.

It's only when you step out and take the chance of putting yourself out there that you are able to share what you have to say. And sometimes there are people who will read what you write that need to hear what you have to say.

But for people to hear what you have to say, you have to risk being hurt. You have to risk being misunderstood. You have to risk being misquoted by others.

If your message is important to you, you will put yourself out there in the midst of fear and take the risk to share what you feel you need to share. And you will share it whether one person reads it or many more. The numbers of those who read it won't be important - knowing that you shared the message you had to share will be what is important.

Are You Afraid to Live a Creative Life?

"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong." (Joseph Chilton Pearce)

I stumbled across this quote recently and thought it was a valuable one to remember.

At it's heart, creativity don't have a right or wrong. Yet, we often live as if there is. And in the process, we miss out on much of the creativity we have to offer. I know this has been true for me.

If we are always fearing that we will do something wrong, we will try to make our work conform to what others expect it to, rather than allow it to be what it really could be. When we try to conform our work to what we think are the expectations of others, we will fall well short of what it could be.

But when we let go of that fear of failing someone with our work and the expectations we think others have for us, our creativity is allowed to shine. And we produce our best work.

We serve a creative God. And He put that within us. He gave it to us to use. The ability to create things that you and I have comes from God. We need to be using it to His glory.

Using that to God's glory means we have to let go of the fear of being wrong. It holds us back from the full potential of what God has put in us.

Why do I Write?

Why do you write?

That's a question I was challenged with a few weeks ago. Someone from a writer's group I'm a part of posed this question to us and challenged us to write a post on it. (Here's a link to the post that started this conversation.)

It's a question I hadn't thought about before, but it was not one that left my thoughts easily. As someone who calls themselves a writer, it's probably a question I should have the answer to. No, I'm not a traditionally published author, but I write . . . and I write a lot.

So, why do I write?

I write because it's how I make sense of the world around me.

I write because it's how I make sense of things that are happening in my life.

I write because it's how I remember all the things that happen in life that I don't want to forget.

I write because it's how I notice all the little things in life.

I write because it's how I remember all the little things that happen in life that I don't want to forget.

I write because it's how I notice all the little things in life.

But, most of all, I write because it's something I can't not to. Even when I'm not posting things here, I'm still writing. For me, there's nothing like sitting in a coffee shop or a park with a pen and notebook and writing whatever comes. (Yes, I'm one of those people who still writes everything with a pen and paper first.)

Writing excites me. It energizes me.

And it frustrates me . . . often.

But, even when it's hard, I can't stop, because I truly believe it is something God gave me to do. It definitely isn't something this "numbers are fun" person who hated English class in school ever thought they would be doing.

Writing is a gift from God for me that I can't imagine my life without anymore.

That's why I write. My answer to the question posed in my writer's group.

Being a Writer

This post is a bit of a change from what I usually post here. For almost a year I've been a part of an online writing community that encourages and challenges one another in our writing. One of the other member of that community is hosting a writing contest on his blog and I've decided to join in. With that said, I'm participating in "Writing Contest: You Are a Writer" over at Positive Writer.



I've been writing a blog for almost 5 years now. And I was writing without sharing it with anyone for a number of years that.

But, I never would have called myself a writer.

I work in accounting. I'm a numbers person. I never liked anything to do with writing in school. I took math classes for fun instead.

I thought there was no way a person like that could be a writer.

So, when people told me I should write, I shrugged it off. I never gave it much thought.

At least, outwardly I did. But the thought didn't really leave my mind. I kept thinking about it. And dreaming about it. I never told anyone. I just kept thinking about it and I kept posting things here.

I always thought it would happen one day. One day I would be a writer. One day I would write something that was worthy of being published.

In the fall, I came across an opportunity to get involved with this writing community. I learned a lot. And I'm still learning lots.

I was challenged to begin to call myself a writer. I was told that the difference between being a writer and not being a writer was whether you wrote or just thought about writing things. I had never looked at it that way before.

I always thought you had to have a book published to be a writer. But, I've come to see how you don't have to have a book to be a writer. You have to write something and share it with other people. It's not a book, but I publish something every time I post something on my blog. Having a book published is a goal of many writers, but you can be a writer before that happens.

Shortly after that, I wrote a post I had been thinking about writing for a while. I wrote about something near to my heart and I wrote boldly about it. I knew not everyone would agree with what I wrote. But for the first time I stepped out and wrote about something that was dangerous for my to write about.

I hit publish on that post.

And shared it with the world.

That was when I started to see myself as a writer.

I haven't completely arrived as a writer. I still have a long way to go to fall into the category of a good writer. But I'm a writer nonetheless. And I will become a better writer the more I write.