Are you the Tortoise or the Hare? by Brendan Conboy

 ‘Everyone has a book in them, but in most cases, that’s where it should stay.’  Who exactly said this in the first instance is not really known?  There are many versions and many possibilities as to the author on the internet, take a look.  Perhaps one of the reasons for saying that’s where it should stay is that it would not be considered a good book?  Maybe another reason could be that the writer is not a good storyteller?  Whatever the reason for the quote and whoever the author is, I disagree.  God made us in His image and that means He gave us a gift of creativity.  So, if that gift is writing, then write that book, that song, that poem, that novel, that memoir – write what you feel God is telling you to write.

As this is my debut blog for More Than Writers, I thought I would share a very small snippet of my writing journey.  Before I do so, why have I referenced Aesop’s fable in the title?  Simply because we don’t have to be in a hurry.  Tolstoy took six years to write War and Peace and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings was written in twelve years and another five to publish.

I didn’t publish my first book until I was 55 years old.  Does that make me a tortoise?  In the last seven years, I’ve published nine books.  Does that make me a hare?  Personally, I don’t like labels, as they form assumptions, I just write what I feel God is telling me to write.

I struggled to learn at school, as I had too many problems at home.  The distraction of domestic violence and fear became a barrier; it held me back and I rebelled.  This resulted in being kicked out of school and needless to say, I failed in English, I was a tortoise and a lazy one at that.

Fast forward through ten years of emptiness, at the age of 26 I invited Jesus into my life and something changed – I changed.  My language transformed instantly as I stopped swearing.  Within a few months, my head started to fill with rhyming, rhythmic words, a gift from God.  I used that gift as a Christian Rap artist for 25 years and during that time I worked for a charity.  God showed me how to tell stories and people responded by supporting the charity.  I threw myself into the work and the charity developed fast, as the CEO I was like the hare – unstoppable.

When my health problems started, I had to slow down and I left the charity.  It was in this slowing down time, this tortoise time, that I wrote my autobiography, published it and then stopped writing.  As a result, I felt that God had abandoned me.  After two wilderness years I cried out to God and He told me to write.  He gave me the words and He still does today.

I have been both the hare and the tortoise and I know that as the tortoise, I am closer to God.  I am more in tune with what He is saying to me and I am hopefully, more obedient.  If God tells me to write a book and publish it, I do.  We should all ignore that negative comment at the start of this blog that implies we should never publish anything.  If God gives it to you (and He does) then publish.

Brendan Conboy is the author of 9 published books including his fascinating autobiography, The Golden Thread.  In 1986, Brendan invited Jesus into his life and God blessed him with the gift of rhyming words.  He used that gift as a Christian Rap artist for 25 years and has written 3 poetry books including the entire Book of Psalms in Rhyme.  He has 3 published novels - Issues, Invasion of the Mimics and Legacy of the Mimics.  Visit Brendan's website HERE.