Monday, June 18, 2012

How to Find Your Writer's Voice


I like to control my words. I’m a writer after all. 

11 words
photo credit: Flickr Creative Commons

When I work on a piece, I edit and revise until it’s neat and tidy, contained and cozy. This piece is going to change the world, I think. And perhaps it touches one or two souls, but the globe spins round, mostly untouched by my creation.

Yet, I'm learning God often uses my weakest pieces for His glory. It's the sloppy, short, or less appealing ones which uplift and encourage others. For often it is the authentic, messy stories that reach the inner recesses of the soul. That connect to humanity.

When I focus on myself—on my eloquence, creative ability, or skill—my words often fall short. But when I let God speak—write—through me, He transforms and multiplies my words. For the Creator God who spoke the world into existence, breathes life into my work.

Every artist knows only the creator can speak creation, and when I allow God to write through a weak vessel, such as myself, I find my writer's voice.

Do you have a story of God using a piece or novel you thought was one of your weaker ones?


Melanie N. Brasher is a full time mama of two boys and wife to an incredible husband who understands her bicultural background. She moonlights as a fiction and freelance writer, crafting stories and articles toward justice and change. She's a member of American Christian Fiction writers and a contributing blogger for Ungrind. Though she's an aspiring author, she'll never quit her day job.

6 comments:

  1. Yes! Sometimes, I'll think this is isn't my best work and I haven't put as much "research" into it and then it's spoken to so many. God never ceases to amaze me! :)

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  2. Thanks for sharing, Jessica! It's amazing how God works!

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  3. Often some of my "weaker" devotions have turned out to be the ones that have drawn the most positive comments. Maybe because *I* get out of the way?

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  4. Hi Melanie,
    Yes, the same thing has happened to me. Thanks for this post, as it reminds us not to take be workaholics and take ourselves too seriously.

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  5. Shirley, yes, when we get out of the way, God shines, doesn't He?

    Paula, yes, it's not all up to us--that's a relief!

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  6. And that way the glory goes where it belongs, to Him.

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