Dipping the Quill Deeper: Writing in the Hard Times

by Eva Marie Everson @EvaMarieEverson

How do you write when you’re in the middle of life’s crises? 

I get this question a lot. And, I typically have the same answer, which is that if you had a “normal” 9 to 5 job, would you just shirk it? Not go in? 

Sure, there are times when we haveto take a day off. Sometimes, in extreme cases, a week or even more. Right now, as I write this, I’m sitting in a hospital where I’ve been for over a week now, taking care of my baby brother (who is no longer a baby, but will always be my baby brother). I had to cancel a major event in my yearly schedule—the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference—but I managed to throw my laptop and a few files into a briefcase, which means I’ve been able to stay on top of a few things.

But write? No. Not really.

Edit? Yes. Editing has become a reprieve. My husband says I can do it in my sleep, and I suppose now I have to agree with him. 

Read? Most definitely. The wonder of words is that they take us away from where we are to another time … another place … another set of circumstances. Someone else’s problems. Or a teaching that pierces us in the places that need poking. 

Journal? You bet. I need to get my feelings out, and that means, in my case, a favorite pen with the current journal. 

I Agree with Angie

While sitting in my brother’s hospital room, I have scanned the internet for articles on craft and the generalities of our industry. I came across an interview of New York Times bestselling author Angela Hunt who was asked what motivates her to write. She answered honestly: I like to make my mortgage on time. 

I laughed out loud. Me, too, Angie! Me, too … 

I write (and edit and teach and speak) because this is the talent God gave me and I figured out a way to make a living at it. (Too many of us end up with jobs and those jobs are not always the ones that makes our heart sing. But, a few of us figured out what we love to do and then figured out how to make a living at it.) Like Angie, I have a mortgage. I kinda like to eat. The folks at Duke Energy require me to pay my bill on time if I want electricity to pulse through my house (and I do). So do the good folks down at City of Winter Springs and my internet provider. So, I get what Angie is saying.

I have no more right to call up all these good people and say, “I can’t write … or edit … or speak … or …” because I’m in crisis, so you’ll just have to forgive my payment this month. After all, all God’s children got junk. If I drove to an office and punched a time clock and then wrote or edited or spoke or … I’d still have to do this if I expect to make that mortgage payment.

God will not bring you to what He will not bring you through.

Remember that. As writers we will go through crises. They are not to destroy us, but instead are designed to sharpen us. They will deepen our ability to reach the heartbeat of God, first, and others after that. Yes, we may have to stop working on a project for a while. We may have to cancel a speaking event as I recently did. But we cannot stop. If we are going to make it through the crises, we must keep going. Remember the Hebrew children, who came up on the Red Sea? They had to walk through it to get to the Promised Land. 

Joel Osteen tells the story of his daughter who, when she was a little girl, was set to sing a song at the end of a Night of Joy event. She took the stage, microphone in hand, and began to sing. But the mic kept going in and out, which for an accomplished singer would be unnerving enough. But Alexandria was a child. When most would have dropped the mic and left the stage, she looked to her left and saw her mother smiling … nodding … “Keep on singing … keep on singing …” she seemed to say. And Alexandria did just that.

All that to say: the next time you feel that you are in the middle of a major crisis and you don’t know how you are supposed to fulfil your writing or editing or speaking responsibilities … keep on going. One foot in front of the other. Do what you can do and don’t worry about what you can’t do. The crisis will pass. You will get through it. The Promised Land is just a few steps away.

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Eva Marie Everson is the multiple award-winning and bestselling author of over 35 books, both fiction and nonfiction. She is the president of Word Weavers International and the director of Florida Christian Writers Conference and North Georgia Christian Writers Conference. Eva Marie and her husband make their home in Central Florida where they enjoy a lake view, their children, and grandchildren. They are owned by a very small dog.