What Keeps You From Writing?

 

By Karen Wingate

Olympic champion Scott Hamilton started ice skating as therapy after a mysterious childhood illness stunted his growth and left him weak, but it quickly became his life’s passion. After the 1977 National Championships, his mother died from breast cancer. Despite the challenges, Hamilton went on to win multiple US National and World Championships and the 1984 Olympic Gold Medal.

Overcoming obstacles is a common trope in fiction, but examples like Scott Hamilton prove that the capacity to push past limits is real. Physical disabilities, emotional trauma, and cultural prejudice don’t have to inhibit us from developing the gifts God has placed within us. That includes the ability to write.

I was born legally blind before the days of computers and special education. I loved to write and an at-home career solved the problem of transpiration to a job site. But how could I pursue my dream if I couldn’t see the computer screen, read name tags at conferences, and I tired easily because of eye strain?

I’m no Scott Hamilton, but I believe the writing hacks I’ve learned over a forty-year career can apply to anyone who encounters the “you can’t do this” part of writing. Here are six ways to overcome the physical issues or life circumstances that block your path to writing success.

Don’t try to produce like other writers.

If engagement in six social media outlets is too much, choose one. You can’t write 5,000 words in one session? Write 500. If you can’t navigate a writer’s conference, look for online options.

Work within your limits.

Establish a writing routine during your prime energy time, schedule rest breaks, and avoid energy draining activities before you write.

Test your limits.

As you sharpen your skills, you’ll discover you can do more than you thought you could.

Find alternative strategies.

Use God’s gift of creativity to imagine other ways you can accomplish impossible-looking tasks. For example, I use a voice recorder app to document my ideas and catch phrases when my eyes are too tired to look at my screen.

Pray.

That sounds obvious, but let me explain. Many times, when deadlines loom and eyestrain threatens to stall my work, I ask my prayer team to pray me through my writing session. So many times, the pain and fatigue disappear, allowing me to finish the task.

Persevere.

God has a place for you in the writing industry. You may not do all that writing experts tell us we need to do to be successful, but that’s not God’s expectation for you. 1 Peter 4:11 tells us, “If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.”

If you faithfully serve others with what God has given you and depend on His strength to do it, then you are honoring Him and He finds delight in you.

 

 Photo by Dean Zhang on Unsplash

Author of three devotional books, including the ECPA award winning book, With Fresh Eyes, Karen Wingate also writes for Proverbs 31 Ministries and other online devotions, and serves as a speaker, bible study leader, and greeter in her local church. Karen lives in southern Arizona with her husband Jack. You can find Karen’s books and sign up for her weekly newsletter at www.karenwingate.com.