I did a creativity presentation this week for Capital Christian Writers in the Virginia suburbs. I think CCW was the second group I spoke to after becoming editor of Writer’s Digest magazine in November 1998, so it was a real treat when I moved to this area to be able to become a member.
The creativity workshop is kind of fun–a little bit of writerly get-to-know-each other, a little bit of affirmation about thinking outside the box. I’ve given it probably ten times now, and generally it goes over pretty well. People seem to leave happier and a little more self-confident than when they came, which is part of the goal. The other part is to see that we’re all in this together, that there’s really no right or wrong way to express your creativity. And, news flash–it’s not all about getting published.
It’s easy for me to say this, I guess. I was blessed with some good breaks, including a paid writing summer job fresh out of high school and a freelance gig with Time magazine before I was twenty-two. Getting published isn’t something I had to toil at for years. But on the other hand, what I consider my best writing ever, my memoir, likely will never be published in toto. (You are getting to see some pieces of it here at this blog, and maybe that’s where those parts were meant to see daylight.) And I’m perfectly okay with that. All too often, I think, writers get hung up on writing to trends, on getting published, on making the best-seller list, on some goal that may not be attainable.
I’m reminded of the story of Richard Paul Evans, author of The Christmas Box, a best seller that began as a self-published book. Evans says that while he’s grateful for the success he’s had, the book was originally written for his family, and even if no one else had ever read it, he would have been happy.
Have some fun today with what you’re writing. Just for today, stop worrying about where it’s going to go or what you’re going to be paid or who’s going to read it. Simply write because you can’t not write!
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