Writing as a Career

Of all the careers there are, farming, building, teaching, I can say without reservation, that writing is the oldest.

The Bible says, Thy Word is forever settled in Heaven, that Heaven and earth will pass away, but my Word will never pass away. And that God is the author of it. God is the Author and Finisher of our faith, and He has written every part of our bodies in a book.

So when you become a writer, you are joining an ancient, noble and honorable profession headed by God himself. As such, you are surrounded by laudable, famous and some infamous people; Moses the historian, David the sweet Psalmist of Israel, and the prophets, priest and scribes who penned the very words of God as He breathed upon them. Then there are the secular writers. Those who etched the history of their peoples on stones, painted them on the walls of caves and scribbled them on papyrus.

From Homer, Sophocles, and Plato, to Horace who wrote a poem for Emperor Augustus, to Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott, C.S. Lewis and Frank Peretti you have a rich heritage of writers who have shaped our world. There are poets, lyricists, reporters, and novelists. There are columnists, commentators, and communicators, There are editors, essayists and educators. There are composers, catalogers, bloggers and there is you, a new voice waiting to be heard.

If you can write an X on a piece of paper, you’re a writer. If you can put more than two words together, you’re a writer. If you have a story burning within your bosom, you are a writer, so write. Write until your pencil point brakes, write until you run out of ink, or your ribbon brakes or your fingers bleed. Write past supper time, bed time, play time, because you have a story to tell and there is world longing to read it.

Start small. Start with writing a journal, a diary. Collect words for they are the tools of your trade. Make a list of the places, events, personalities, seasons, and details of your life for they are the building blocks of your stories. Read, read, read. Read the Bible. God knows drama. Read it for sanctification, edification and inspiration. Read about other people’s struggles and how they overcame. Read histories, read mysteries, and read commentaries. Now fire up your computer baby and write something.