A new year brings with it the opportunity for a fresh beginning. As 2018 ended, so did my time serving on the Board of Directors for the Writers Guild of Texas, a local group encouraging, educating, and engaging regional writers scattered throughout the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex. While one chapter closes, the page turns and the story continues.
I’ve been writing in some form or fashion most of my life, starting as a kid making up stories. I liked escaping in the catacombs of my imagination. Even then, some of what I wrote was true. Other bits and pieces were fictional creations geared to entertaining whoever might read it. Back then, my mom or one of my favorite teachers read the majority of my scribblings. In the years that I’ve been writing, I can’t claim to have had any huge success. Through the years, I’ve had the good fortune of seeing a couple of things published. A lot of what I’ve scribbled, typed, and created sits in a pile of folders or rests hidden away on an external hard-drive.
One of the mantras that I’ve heard said repeatedly over my lifetime pursuing my writing craft says that writers should write what they know. Another writing invocation counsels aspiring authors to be authentic. These sound like sage advice. However, what you know changes–or at least it should–over time. Seasons of life influence your authenticty. For example, I am not the same writer from 20+ years ago because I am no longer that person. My views, perspectives, beliefs, and attitudes are different. During my half-century walking Planet Earth, many experiences have impacted my writing voice, altering and reshaping what purports to give my creative musings their authenticity. I believe this is not unique to me, but common to every writer, musician, and artist regardless of the craft they are honing. The art of Pablo Picasso changed over periods of time. Herbie Hancock’s keyboard playing evolved over the course of his musical journey. Stephen King speaks with a different voice today than he did back when he wrote horror classics like “Carrie” and “Christine.”
As the page turns, revealing a new season, I look forward to starting with a clean slate and seeing what the Lord has in store for my writing endeavors, as I continue honing my craft. My prayer is that I will be disciplined in my writing pursuits and that more of what I write will be published.
Regarding the Writers Guild, I recommend writers join a local group. Writing is solitary in its beginnings but grows as the words on paper are shared in community.
Are you a writer? (It seems like everyone is these days). If so, what are your writing goals for 2019? Feel free to share them in the comments section below. I look forward to hearing from you.
Blessings,
The Devotional Guy™
The Devotional Guy™ 
Thanks for your comments about a writers’ guild. It may worth exploring during the year. My writing goals are fairly simple: write 5-6 early mornings each week, post to my blog 3-4 times a week, continue looking for photo opportunities for my writing and my blog, and write at least 1-2 selections that are not poetry (short story, travel, book review, nonfiction).
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My pleasure! It sounds like you’ve mapped out a solid plan and are being intentional in pursuing your writing. That’s fantastic!
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Truthfully, I have no writing goals right now except for keep on keepin’ on. 🙂 Blogging lets me keep the muscle flexed until the day comes that I want to take on a real project.
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Lily-Thanks so much for your response. I have grown to think of blogging as a unique method of writing and communicating. Almost like a genre in its own right. Blogging-as you know-takes work if you want to excel at it. And like you, it’s the primary focus of my writing and a craft I hope to excel at as well. Blessings!
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