Photo credit to Austin Mabe on Unsplash.
Today, I am very excited to introduce Leah Grace to you! We are swapping blog posts and you can find the one I wrote here.
Leah is a young writer who strives to seek Him and she is also a friend of mine from the writing community that I am part of. She blogs over at The Grace Haus and I highly recommend that you take the time to read some of her other posts.
I love this article and hope that you do too. Enjoy!
Why You Can't Be A Lone Writer
Years ago, I started a little blog. It was nothing big and far from well done, but I enjoyed it. For the first week or two, I posted little tidbits every single day.
There was only one catch…I didn’t tell anybody about my blog. With the exception of my mom, no one knew my blog even existed.
Why? Because I was too embarrassed to share my writing with anyone else.
Fast forward a few years. The whole blog thing had stopped very soon after it started. I had started multiple books, but I never got far. Motivation would sag, and that would be it.
But then… I attended a writing summit and decided to be an author, and I quickly realized I couldn’t do it alone.
So, I joined The Young Writer’s Workshop in August of 2022. Sharing my writing with others was nerve wracking, but I soon learned that I was not my writing, and my identity couldn’t be found in that. (I touched on that here).
But it wasn’t until recently when I began to see how amazing my community truly was. I started to notice things that I had taken for granted, such as…
People praying for one another about so many things— even unrelated to writing
Everything from full length novels to book synopsis’ getting critiqued with the critiquer asking for nothing in return
True friendships being formed (like one of my own with such an amazing girl!)
High quality lessons + resources that are incredibly applicable and very concise right at my fingertips
Kind instructors and fellow students who know more than me and are willing to answer questions and give advice
And so much more
It wasn’t until I was away from the community for about a week that I realized how much I needed it.
You see, the Bible is full of verses that talk about how much power there is in unity. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.”
Even outside of the context of writing, there’s so much to be said about not doing something alone.
When I hit an achievement, others in my writing community celebrated with me! And when I felt discouraged or overwhelmed, people—even some people I barely knew— picked me back up again with encouraging words and prayers.
I can honestly say without exaggeration that I would not be where I am right now as a writer if it weren’t for the people around me who pushed me, encouraged me, motivated me, and helped me to see that my writing had value.
Today, I want to encourage you writers to look for other writers you can get involved with. Are you already a part of a writing group? Why not try to participate on a regular basis, and even share your writing! It’s scary, especially at first—believe me, I’m the girl who used to blog to nobody— but you’ll grow as a writer in so many ways by simply getting some feedback.
Are you currently not connected with any other writers? I encourage you to look around and see if anyone you know has an interest in writing. Then, see if you can start helping one another progress toward each other’s goals!
At the end of the day, though, there’s only one writer who you really need to get involved in your writing journey— God. He wants to see you succeed, and will give you everything you need to do just that.