Are we done yet? by Jane Walters

I had dinner with new friends a few nights ago. A year after moving to a new town, I’m settled but still finding my feet and this particular evening was all about developing relationship. They know I’m writer and the conversation soon moved in my direction.

‘Are you writing anything at the moment?’ the host asked. 

‘Always’ was my ready reply.

But, being the over deep thinker that I am, I found myself mulling over that answer. It might well be true that I’m always writing at the moment, but will there come a day when I stop? My writing heroine, Beatrix Potter, gave it all up to raise sheep. Will I recognise when it’s time to metaphorically do likewise?

In another context, I heard a story about a lady who worked as a cook in a large conference centre. She’d been there for some time and the venue had an outstanding reputation for its food. One lunch-time, without any real explanation, she burned all of the quiches. In her words, ‘I knew in that moment that God had removed his anointing from my work and I handed in my notice that same day.’

Her reaction seems a little extreme – especially since the obvious tip is to peel off the leather-like top, sprinkle more cheese on and ram it under the grill so no-one is any the wiser. (An equally obvious tip is to just buy one…) But it demonstrates the point that we have a limited shelf-life, if you’ll excuse the pun. Margaret Mitchell famously only wrote one book, though it happened to be a complete belter. Did she imagine her writing career would be so focussed? Perhaps she wore herself out in the attempt? All I know is that I feel I’m barely getting started and imagine still reaching for a notebook and pen on my death-bed.

During the Writing Outside the Box writing retreat last week, the opening session concentrated on the Writing Journey. I took, by way of analogy, a look at my experience of fell-walking in the Lake District. Trudging upwards is exhausting, the goal feeling ever-elusive. Sometimes, the landscape plays a trick on you and the ‘summit’ turns out to be a mere mid-point, with the true destination some distance above you. Perhaps it’s alright to stop where you are, content with the view from this far up. Or, then again, the sight of cloud-topped fells may be enough to spur you on to greater heights. Only time will tell which one I went for…

Jane Walters is the author of Too Soon, a mother's journey through miscarriage (Jane Clamp, SPCK) and vice-chair of ACW. She broadcasts regularly on UCB and leads Christian writing retreats in various venues.

Find out more at www.janewyattwalters.com