Spaghetti vomit and the fear of red ink sums up my anxiety surrounding writing. One might ask what spaghetti and red ink have in common. For me, spaghetti is the best image I can produce to describe my since of what I generate on a page and red ink is the teacher\u2019s dreaded criticism of that work. I am aware of the Lord\u2019s gracious hand upon me to be able to persevere and keep showing up to expose my thoughts on paper. This week\u2019s reading has taken me back to some of those hurdles and the techniques that have enabled me to press on. One might ask, why would I volunteer for a program in which reading, and writing is at the very core if it is such a challenge. Sometimes I ask myself the same question, but I have never allowed my shortcomings to limit what I am capable of doing. It is because I know that I have a story, maybe two stories, within me that I need to tell. And for me to be able to tell those stories I need to make the transition from amateur to professional writer. [1]
Stephen King prolific award-winning novelist writes a humorous, insightful, and practical book for the person who is desiring to hone their writing, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. [2] The four parts of this book includes King\u2019s journey as a writer, the \u201ctoolbox\u201d [3] of being a writer, components of writing, and the skills which are necessary to continually hone to be a good writer. King\u2019s journey as a writer reveals twists, turns, and bumps in the road. His journey encouraged me to keep showing up and to make the practice of writing a regular rhythmic routine in my day. [4] It reminded me of Bren\u00e9 Brown when she talks about being an authentic wholehearted person, one must come into the situation with their whole self. [5] I realize that I have not allowed myself to fully face the dragons [6] of the dreaded red ink and it has hindered my development as a writer. The fourteen-year-old King\u2019s ability to use his early rejection as a tool of motivation inspires me. [7]
I was able to look into the mirror of King\u2019s toolbox and see that while my top drawer has suffered from deficits of vocabulary and grammar that my victories in overcoming my writing challenges continually add to my drawer. This chapter reminded me that I do have something to say, and it is possible for me to express it in writing. My anxiety around spaghetti on the page and red ink does not have to be today, just because it was in the past. [8]
The components of writing chapter challenged me to practice. That might sound strange, but for me, I have been eager to just get my writing tasks done and I have not really explored the possibility of writing something great. In reading this week\u2019s books, I am reminded of my first year in college when I walked onto the community college women\u2019s volleyball regional championship team. I have many similar feelings of inadequacy and being out of my league. I had sat on the bench of a losing high school team the year before. I was overweight, out of shape, and was lacking in basic skills. But it was in the daily practice of the fundamentals and application of those skills in match play that developed into a love and mastery of the game.
The second text for this week, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles, [9] Steven Pressfield takes a different approach to writing. Steven Pressfield is also an acclaimed novelist in the realm of human nature, society, history and classical Greek. [10] Pressfield\u2019s lighthearted look at the barriers that prevents people from engaging in their God given creative side. This easy-to-read book is jam packed with insights that unearths one\u2019s excuses and challenges individuals to embark in an adventure of revealing their creative nature. His core theme revolves around resistance and its role in prevent the individual from becoming all God intended them to be. There are so many nuggets of value for me personally that will need to revisit this book soon. In Pressfield\u2019s discussion on resistance and criticism, he explains that people who are able to \u201clive their authentic selves\u201d [11] causes those around them who have not been able to do the same to react negatively, much like Friedman\u2019s description of the virus of the non-differentiated person. [12]
Below are some random thoughts and questions that I hope to explore further:
\u2022 Expect resistance when engaging in a creative endeavor that does not involve immediate gratification. [13]
\u2022 Standing alone is the greatest threat to the system. [14]
\u2022 Has our faith become more of a consumable product of self-medication that prevents us from doing the hard work of \u201capplying \u2026knowledge, \u2026discipline, delayed gratification\u201d [15] to have a deep meaningful relationship with our Creator that is capable of releasing us into our creative nature?
\u2022 How can we help one another discover our individually designed purpose?
\u2022 How might the church help people to unearth their personal answers to:
o \u201cWho am I?\u201d
o \u201cWhy am I here?\u201d
o \u201cWhat is the meaning of my life?\u201d [16]
\u2022 Am I a scholar? [17]
\u2022 Support should never open someone\u2019s cocoon for them. [18]
\u2022 What are my dragons, doubts, and fears? [19]
______________________________
[1] Steven Pressfield, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles (New York, NY, Los Angeles: Black Irish Entertainment LLC, 2002), 62.
[2] Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Scribner Classics (New York: Scribner, 2010).
[3] Ibid., 111.
[4] Ibid., 65.
[5] Bren\u00e9 Brown, Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead, 1st ed (New York, NY: Gotham Books, 2012).
[6] Pressfield, The War of Art, 109.
[7] King, On Writing, 41.
[8] Ibid., 128.
[9] Pressfield, The War of Art.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Ibid., 38.
[12] Edwin H Friedman, Margaret M Treadwell, and Edward W Beal, A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix (New York: Church Publishing, 2017), https:\/\/www.overdrive.com\/search?q=426B7CAF-62B3-434F-90AA-3596E9ACBD34.
[13] Pressfield, The War of Art, 6.
[14] Ibid., 20.
[15] Ibid., 26.
[16] Ibid., 33.
[17] Ibid., 39.
[18] Ibid., 51.
[19] Ibid., 109.
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