A Thousand Words

Great post and great reminder that I am still the same person. The person longing to keep putting one foot in front of the other in my journey with the LORD.
Blessings,
andrea

Billy, Thank you for using 684 words to encourage this writer tonight.

1. I like to hear, be reminded, that there must be a goal each day. Whether in words or in time or in pages. We all need accountability.
2. . .A Writer Writes. Simply profound!
3. . .Have to be selfish sometimes. Have to let others gently know – Okay, I have to go write now, (because I’m a writer, right?)

A writer doesn’t become a writer by getting a steady stream of comments or a high-profile agent or a higher-profile publisher.

A writer becomes a writer by writing.

And editor-friend said essentially the same thing to me this past summer. Simple words. But words that changed my life. Thank you for the beautiful, poignant reminder.

“When inspiration comes in slow drips like sap from a tree.”

Yeah, you get it. Sometimes I forget, because your posts are always stuffed full of beauty and meaning that you eke it out one word at at time like I do. (No, I’m not comparing. THAT’S a losing game.;)

Thanks for sharing this. Thanks for the honesty. I’m in this place too and my 1000K fought me every step today.

Thanks for the kick in the behind Billy!
“Because a writer writes.”

Why is so hard to do just that?

Beautiful! I forgot how much I love to write until I started reading your words!

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Another great post.

What a great post.
“Your family won’t always understand. Neither will your friends. That’s okay.”
So very true. My husband has a hard time understanding why I stay up later then he, just so I can “blog.”

This is SO true! And so beautifully, beautifully written…you writer, you.

Preach it, brother.

This was great…I’m trying to write everyday this year…I think I need a word count. I don’t have young children at home now so there’s really no excuse.

I really needed to hear that part at the end…about not feeling guilty. I feel the pull of so many demands — my actual paying job, my husband and children of course, housework, laundry, making lunches, phone calls to my mother, dinner with friends…it’s all there, yelling my name. But I am committed to the writing. I am committed to the writing (must repeat; must repeat). Doesn’t mean I’ll neglect the kids and the husband (the housework, oh yes), but I will feel less guilty about the other less demanding demands that can quite possibly wait.

Thanks for the call to action!

Great thoughts, Billy!

I think that ultimately, God knows your heart……and your intentions. And as long as your focus is truly on Him and you continue to give Him ALL the glory every.step.of.the.way,,,,

……your works, your success, your own satisfaction (whatever you want to call it)…..will be blessed and everything else will fall into place.

Part of what keeps me from considering myself a “writer” is my lack of discipline in writing…and that’s exactly what you have, Billy: Discipline. It’s what separates the wheat from the chaff. Thank goodness for your discipline, because it brings us such beautiful, touching, and often profound posts. Write on!

Billy,

And ain’t it the truth…every word you just wrote.

Larry

I love this post, and I understand. I think I didn’t even mean to become a writer, but it is like this for me. Every day now, I must write something – to keep me alive, I say, but I know deep down it is more than that.

I hope you had a wonderful time with your son. Were you the hero, or was he saving you?

Thank you. These are words I needed to hear. Even when the writing went well, it was a struggle – one that I loved – but a struggle nonetheless. Now I despair of ever finishing a second book or polishing the first. It all comes down to butt in the chair and discipline. Thank you for the reminder.

Billy,
Sometimes I think you get inside my house–or my head–when you write your posts. Thanks for affirming that there are others like me who struggle for the time and inspiration needed to get those words down.

Selfish is an ugly word, and selfish gets ugly. Very ugly.

But I’ve also seen “unselfish” done ugly when it’s not done right.

As I am forced to step back from writing, I feel I am dying inside. And I am forced to accept your words and consider how selfish must be done right.

Thank you, Billy. It’s so nice to know that I’m not the only one who feels that way. It’s like you reached into my brain and wrote that post. So good to have people who know what it’s like, even when you’ve never met them!

Right on, Billy. Boy, the words can flow or . . . NOT. Isn’t it crazy like that? Sure do love it when they flow like a fire hose, though, right?

Happy Friday, have a great weekend.

This really hit me, Billy. So true, and convicting to me. Blessings and thanks to you.

Beautiful post and exactly what I needed to hear today. Thank you.

You said:’

At its core writing is a lonely task, and so is my thousand words. Because in order to share myself with the world, there are times when I must remove myself from it.

Are you sure it is a lonely task? Not for me. I relish the hours I spend alone with God and my computer. I enjoy them just as much as I enjoy the hours surrounded by the people I love.

But your second statement I think is profound. Isn’t that true of all worthwhile endeavors? To refresh others with our gifts we must sequester ourselves and dig our personal wells a little deeper.

Thanks, Billie.

Jean

Great post. Especially liked this: “Because in order to share myself with the world, there are times when I must remove myself from it.”

Billy this is one of my favorites from you…. and that says a lot!

I feel guilty many times when I’m writing, because I know there are MANY other things I could/should be doing with my time. But, I have to write… I not only want to… I need to!

Thanks for this.

This is why I will likely never be a writer. I don’t have this discipline. When my boy is ready to play super hero I stop even if I only have a hundred words written. In fact I find a lot of excuses why I might only get a little bit written here and there, it’s just too easy to find a reason.

I admire this….

Beautiful. This exact conundrum has been much on my brain recently, and I wish I’d put together a blog post abt it that was half as eloquent as yours. Like any endeavor, if we wish to be good at it, if we wish to pursue it – WE MUST DO IT. Simply wishing/dreaming/waiting will change nothing.

I’m a long time lurker but this post got me, and good.

I, too, liked the line, “Because in order to share myself with the world, there are times when I must remove myself from it.”

I think that sentence applies to us all in many different ways. I have to remove myself from the world occasionally…simply to revive, refresh, and regroup. At times, I feel myself pulled in so many different directions….wife, mother, sister, daughter, secretary, chief cook and bottle-washer. To step away means allowing myself to breathe.

In the midst of a very stressful, scary time in our family my dad once told me, “It’s so good to know you’re in control. You’re the rock of our family….the glue that holds us all together.” Very sweet of him to say, but sheesh….no pressure, dad!

Why did I share this, and what does it have to do with what you said? Maybe because I’m going through a time right now where I’ve sort of removed myself from the stresses of life. Just taking a break, and loving every minute of it.

Awesome post, Billy…as always!

Billy…your writing keeps improving…and that is saying a lot because it has been fantastic since I began reading your blog several months ago…you have a gift and I so love how you use it. And I needed this post today so thank you for that.

As an overwhelmed new blogger, I needed your encouraging words. Thank you for saying them, and saying them well.

well done

Beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

~Hugs and High 5s … if that little super hero won’t keep you pecking on that keyboard nothing will. Your insight will be fuel to his future

The sentence about removing yourself from the world in order to be able to share made me think of Jesus. What a GREAT example you follow! Lovely post.

This would have been a great HCB post–it’s a great illustration of the intersection of faith & work from a family perspective!

You’ve removed the mystique of writing and reminded us that it takes work. Work and words. Lots of words, regardless of how easily they flow.

Lots of words…even if the family has to wait a while while they are recorded.

The first thing I tell anyone I mentor is exactly what you said: “writers write”. Writers write because they can’t not write. It’s who they are. It’s what they do.

I’ve been friends with a talented group of people who are published, unpublished, produced, unproduced — and each and every one is a writer. They are such writers that when they take a break during the day from their projects, they write (blogs, emails, tweets, etc.).

I do wonder about the idea that writing is a lonely task. I don’t know about that. My mind is filled with interesting folk doing interesting things. They surprise me. They make me laugh. Sometimes they cause a few tears. As a result, when I’m in the middle of a project, I’m never alone. The aloneness happens when the project is done and I have to say goodbye to my friends of fantasy.

Great post on writing – so true, the only way to do is to do it! Having some very dry days this past week, I picked up my pen this a.m. after morning prayer and within a paragraph the words were flowing again – it’s too strange, but true! Keep in writin’!

Loved that that you said, “I can delude myself into thinking that if I’m reading a book about writing, I’m writing. I am learning my craft. The same goes for walks outside (“research,” I call it) and trips to Staples (“preparation”). But it doesn’t work that way.”

To be a writer, we have to write.
Great post!!

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And that’s the difference between you and someone who likes the idea of being a writer but can’t or won’t put in the time and the sacrifice necessary. Oh, and the talent part doesn’t hurt either.

“I see a tiny head peeking.” I wonder how many of those I missed – for good reasons or not. You strike a beautiful balance, Billy, which probably isn’t as obvious to you as it is to your readers. Keep on writing – it’s a gift you for your children as well.

After years of living with a writer, I realize that a writer just has to write. That does not mean that there are not times that I get envious of the time that Billy spends writing. It just means that the time we have together needs to be meaningful and sacred.

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Even after having a book published, I still need to hear this! I still feel self-indulgent to do what it is I do (write), when laundry forms drifts in the corners of my rooms. I still feel retarded that even embarrassing or unhappy moments are scripting themselves into blog posts or book chapters even as they happen.

Congrats on your book! I love your writing and will definitely get a copy of your book.

It is a lonely task. Thanks for making it a bit less so.