More than...by Rebecca Seaton

 

More Than… by Rebecca Seaton

We are proud of the fact that we are more than writers….but what is the ‘more’ and how does this influence our writing?

Firstly, fundamental to being more than a writer must be our relationship with God. Our joy and fulfilment cannot come from our writing alone. If our relationship with God comes first, He is present in all areas of our life and our understanding of Him will naturally permeate our work, directly Christian in nature or otherwise.

The other jobs we have are also important. There is a temptation to resent the ‘day job’ when we would rather be writing but I am definitely of the belief that the people and situations we deal with everyday give a depth to our writing. I have also been pleasantly surprised at how much people at work have been interested in my writing and this has led to some good conversations about things like the writing process, themes in writing and ways to encourage children and teenagers to read. My day job and writing role complement each other very well.

We have many other roles. How we fit into a family, our neighbourhood and any clubs or societies we belong to also gives us more complexity and different relationships which open us to others’ experiences. Thanks to interesting friendships, I know more about horse riding, Pokemon and rugby than I would otherwise!

Ultimately, God sees the whole of us and He is not surprised by any of it. So don’t feel guilty about putting your pen down to play a round of golf (or Pokemon Go!), it’s a part of you and who knows when you’ll use that experience in your writing. We’re more than writers: because God is creative and wants us to be too. This Christmas, as we remember the gift of Jesus, let’s also remember the many different gifts God has given us and be aware of using them.

#amwriting #amwritingfantasy #ACW     

 

Rebecca earned second place in the 2017-18 Pen to Print Book Challenge with her first novel, A Silent Song. She is currently working on a fantasy trilogy involving a prophet, a dodgy queen and a powerful relic.