Writing through change by Lorna Clark of Green Pastures Christian Writers

As I write this, I am staying for the last time in my static holiday caravan. For the past nine years it has been my bolthole and my writing retreat, but the owners are developing the site and the peace and tranquillity of this woodland haven will be gone. So it’s time to say ‘goodbye’. Goodbye to the site and the many friends I have here, goodbye to the dog-walking community and the shoulders I cried on after my mother died.

My dreams have been filled with fears of not being able to write again, of sitting at the computer and being unable to string a sentence together and wandering aimlessly, completely lost.

Like many writers I have a vivid imagination and I guess that, along with my insecurities and loss, shape my dreams. It’s ridiculous to think my writing life is over – of course it’s not, ideas aren’t restricted to a special place or time – but my determination to write has always been strongest in the caravan.

So, I’ve tried to flip things over, to look for holiday cottages where I can take my dogs and my computer. Places that look exciting and that are very different from anywhere I’ve stayed before, cottages that will take me out of my comfort zone and into areas that I wouldn’t normally visit …. and new experiences which will lead to fresh ideas and perhaps add richness to my writing.

I have a suspicion that I will soon find friends in these new places and feel the urge to return to write.

Most of us have had times when our writing rhythm has been interrupted, sometimes by happy events, such as a book release, but other times by changes that are more disturbing. Very soon, guilt at not writing covers us and prevents us from seeing the way forward or, even worse, hearing God’s soothing voice.

But even though everything in life may seem to change, God is unchangeable. He still reaches out to take our hands and walk with us. He stabilises us in an unstable world.

It’s easy to disregard the fact that our writing talents are a personal gift from Him. He has chosen us specifically to receive these gifts and to use them, whatever our life is like.

My prayer is that we will rejoice with him as we see the work we have produced as a result of these gifts.