The WHY and WHERE of Writing. (And I'm not talking about laptops, coffee shops and bank deposits)

We all write for different reasons. I write mostly because I want my words to shift things inside of my readers. I want them to think differently after reading my books. I have a deep desire to see people made whole, restored and reconnected to the God who loves them.

The longer I spend time churning out work, the more I realize that my puny words alone can never accomplish any of this. Like a cake with no baking powder, my words minus Holy Spirit will fall flat every time. It may be edible, but it won't bring anyone back for seconds and it most certainly won't affect them for eternity.

With this in mind, I have discovered my new favourite writing spot... close to Father with my ear glued to His chest. I want to hear what moves His heart and I want to write those things. It is the only way to produce words that will make a difference.

So what does this mean practically? If I could go crawl up onto God's lap and plaster myself to Him, I would. But I'm stuck in an earth-suit, so for now I'll wallow in Word and Spirit. Listen and write and listen again. I'll co-author, not try write solo. And in all of this, if my readers get a glimpse of His heart towards them, I will have nailed it.

I'd love to hear from you. Why do you write? How do you listen and hear from God?

Dianne J. Wilson writes novels from her hometown in East London, South Africa, where she lives with her husband and three daughters. She has just signed a three book contract for a YA series, Spirit Walker, with Pelican / Watershed.

Finding Mia is available from Amazon, Pelican / Harbourlight, Barnes & Noble and other bookstores.

Shackles is available as a free ebook from Amazon & Smashwords.

Find her on Facebook, Twitter and her sporadic blog Doodles.