A Writer's Sea Legs

Guest post by Lisa Buffaloe

“I think we’ve all arrived at a very special place,” said Captain Jack Sparrow. “Spiritually, ecumenically, grammatically.”

I didn’t plan on being a writer—did not break forth from the womb with pen and paper in hand. Life took me for a wild ride, dumped me in bed with chronic illness, and a new writing adventure was the side effect.

With the wind in my sails/bed sheets, I walked the plank toward uncharted waters. Words spewed forth. The first round may have contained spiritual truths, but did not arrive in grammatically correct positions. Scallywag sentence structure, why couldn’t I just write like I think?

I joined critique groups, and my papers returned a crimson red. Black flags were hoisted—there’s trouble ahead. It was time to throw all the useless words overboard. To slash the adverbs, strengthen the verbs, and of course, hide the rum. Ahem, I mean hide the run on sentences.

Argh! Writing is easy. It’s writing in excellence that’s difficult.

As writers we dig deep for buried treasure. We unearth simple yet profound truths to motivate, encourage, and help others grow.

Go ahead. Unfurl that writing parchment. Sharpen the pen (and the wits) and write. Stay the course. When the winds of discouragement blow, and the pirates come to steal joy, keep writing and passing God’s truth to hungry and thirsty souls.

“And the Lord answered me and said, ‘Write the vision and engrave it so plainly upon tablets that everyone who passes may be able to read it easily and quickly as he hastens by’” (Habakkuk 2:2 AMP)

Article reprinted from So You Want To Write? with permission. Please visit www.soyouwanttowrite.org for more free resources and practical insight for writers. Lisa Buffaloe is a contributing author for The One Year Devotional of Joy and Laughter. Her articles have appeared in Angels on Earth magazine, as well as Guideposts, Rest Ministries, (In)courage.me, and others. She’s an active member of writing organizations and critique groups, leads Bible studies, and speaks to writer and women’s groups. Her manuscripts have placed as finalists in the 2011 Women of Faith and the 2010 ACFW Genesis writing contests, and won awards with other distinguished writing contests. Connect with her on Facebook or Twitter.