Writing with Integrity by Rebecca Seaton

 

Writing with Integrity by Rebecca Seaton

 

The Bible says, ‘Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.’ (Proverbs 10,9)

 

What does this mean for us as writers? Writing is often thought of as a lone occupation so we might not think there is much opportunity to demonstrate integrity – or temptation to avoid it. However, when I looked into issues around inspiration versus theft for my last blog, I realised there is more to the issue than I had originally thought. Here are some ways we can be conscious of being honest and treating others fairly.

 

As previously mentioned, plagiarism would demonstrate an obvious lack of integrity. The best way to avoid this is to go into writing activities with the intention of crediting others. Always have your Oscar speech in mind! ‘I’d like to thank…’

 

Providing feedback can be another minefield. We want to be honest but don’t want to hurt people. Luke reminds us, ‘And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.’ (Luke 6;31) I wouldn’t want anyone to pretend my work is flawless. My beta readers, writing group and mentor have all had valuable input into my work. When beta readers highlighted the need to make the antagonists more of a threat in A Silent Song, this meant quite a bit of work going back and adding earlier hints and threads. However, it made a significant improvement to the final version which I wouldn’t have been able to achieve if those around me hadn’t been honest. We need to be open and honest when giving and receiving feedback.

 

Promoting others is another thorny area. The more we write and interact with other writers, the more likely we are to be asked to help promote somebody else’s work. This is great but it’s easy to get swept away by the opportunity. It is possible to speak well of someone else’s work without being blind to their faults. Try to imagine you were reading it without any prior background, would you want to know the content was more adult than you expected? That it was written with a certain viewpoint in mind? Would you give it five stars if they weren’t your friend? Bear in mind that this should provide a service for both the writer and their potential readers and you won’t go too far wrong.

 

We can speak through not just our writing but the process of writing itself. If we give and accept honest feedback, help steer others and remember that we didn’t really write that book alone, then we will walk with integrity in our writing world as we do elsewhere.

 

‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another’ (Zechariah 7:9).

 

#amwriting #amwritingfantasy #ACW     

 

Rebecca writes fantasy novels, magazine articles and the occasional play. She had her first novel, A Silent Song, published through Pen to Print’s Book Challenge competition and is currently working on the second book of a new trilogy.