Would You Like to be a Gargoyle? by janet Wilson

I have a question for you; who do you write for?

Yourself

Some of us write for ourselves. For years I wrote a five-year diary, then progressed to a journal, which was enormously helpful, but only to me. In fact, those journals were/are strictly for my eyes only. Strictly! In fact I should burn some of the old ones . . .

A Small Circle

If you feel called to write letters to prisoners, stories for your niece, events for your church newsletter, or your family history for posterity, do not say, “I only write . . .” Uh-uh! No, if this is what you are called to, fling your shoulders back, smile broadly and say, “I write short stories for my niece!” or whatever. In fact, why not do it now? (Unless you're reading this on a train and your fellow-passengers don't really care. Or just go for it anyway  . . . if you do, write and let us know how it goes. :-))

A Wider Circle

Maybe you write a blog, or features for magazines. Perhaps you write articles for trade journals, jokes for crackers, devotionals, Sunday School plays – great! Keep encouraging those people!

The World

If your writing goes all over the world, you might not have had time to read this far. You might be busy talking to your publisher or working on the self-publishing thing, marketing on all your platforms, getting on with your next Big Work. Wonderful!

Who Are You Really Writing For?

You know this. You know you know this . . . you are writing for your God. You are writing because the Lord gave you a gift, and gave you a purpose. Can I make a suggestion? Take a few minutes, right now, to write down the purpose you think he has for your writing. Are you on the right track?

Be Happy!

Whatever you are called to write, whether it's just for you or you have a wider audience, be a good and faithful servant. Don't be afraid to be unique, because nobody can do 'you' like – well, like you. Each one of us is a brick in the wall. Don't let's get tied up with other people's bricks or what the world, your neighbour or even (gosh) what other writers consider to be success. We can't all be gargoyles. :-)

True success, for us as Christians, has nothing to do with fame, fortune, the number of books/articles we have published or sold, how many languages our works are translated into, or how many 'likes' our posts get on facebook. We are successful if we are in the process of achieving our purpose. Are you in the process of achieving yours?

With thanks for reading,

Janet

Janet is a writer, and founder of Dernier Publishing (www.dernierpublishing.com). She runs Write for a Reason (www.write-for-a-reason.com) for Christians who write fiction for children and young adults, and is rubbish at writing brief biographies. :-)