To write or not to write....there is no question.

We've been doing a study in Sunday School that has really gotten my wheels turning in terms of writing.  I really, truly want to be a writer, and not just any writer....I want to be successful.  I know that God has given me the ability to express myself through the written word.  I've enjoyed writing my entire life.  I find comfort in words.  I think it's because if you have taken the time to actually write something down, then you must have really thought it through and it must sincerely come from your heart.  It's a bit like singing, which I also love.  Julie Andrews, one of my favorite things, once said that "Singing is opening up your heart and pouring out your soul." and I think writing can be the same.  When God puts something on my heart, it's as if the words type themselves.  I can't stop until they're all out.  I think that I don't write as much as I should because I allow so many other things to get in the way.  Right now the writing comes in spurts.  A poem here, a short story there, an occasional blog post, but  I want to do more.  I want to write every day, but I don't.  Sometimes it feels impossible and I think I should just give it up.  Why bother.  I'll never be a successful writer.  No one in the publishing world even knows I exist.  I've sent stories off to publishers and been rejected every time.  But then I read one day that Agatha Christie was consistently rejected for five years.  J.K. Rowling was rejected twelve times and was told to "get a day job"!  C.S. Lewis' stories were rejected for years!  Beatrix Potter's "A Tale of Peter Rabbit" was rejected so many times that she finally decided to self-publish it.  It went on to sell 44 million copies.  Those are just a few!  So, maybe my name will never be in the company of these famous writers, but I'm not going to give up.  I have an idea I'm going to be starting on soon, and I feel really good about it!  So do me a favor....pray for me.  You know that old song, "I Just Feel Like Something Good is About to Happen", that's how I feel about my next project.  One thing I know for certain after this bible study I just finished....the ultimate in faith is thanking God in ADVANCE for what you've asked Him to do.  It's not denial of reality.  It's facing the facts, with hope!

Hebrews 11:1 - "Now Faith is confidence in what we hope for, and assurance about what we do not see."


http://www.literaryrejections.com/best-sellers-initially-rejected/