You are a Writer, Even in the Silence

by Tammy Karasek @TickledPinkTam

I’m excited about today and my post here on The Write Conversation. Why? Today marks my fifth anniversary of writing for the team. I had another post written and ready to send, and then had a thought—I know, that could be scary—but I thought it would be fun to share with you my very first post I submitted here back on November 18, 2018. 

There are times as a writer we can feel at a total loss for words. Have you experienced this? As a lover of words, this can make us wonder or doubt if we are in the correct field. We want to write, but we sit in silence. 

If I’m a writer, why can’t I find the words I want to say?

In those times where we have the lack of words, we can learn to use this quietness for our good. Often as writers our thoughts race faster than our fingers can tap on the keys or write with pens. But when the words seem to elude us—no matter how much we stare at the blinking cursor—we can become impatient and frustrated. We can yell out a groan or huff loudly as if that will dump words back into our brain. Just me?

What if we re-train ourselves to appreciate the silence? What if we learn to use that time as a great opportunity to stretch ourselves as writers?

I have three suggestions on how to use the silence and loss of words to better our writing:

• Take the opportunity to grab a study Bible, journal and pen and find a new spot to sit for a bit. Pick a word. Use either a word in your current work in progress or one on your mind. Start in the concordance and see if it’s there. If so, then follow it and all the marginal notes on a fabulous rabbit trail of study. If the exact word isn’t there, find a similar word and do the same. Often digging through scripture will get the mind processing. 

• Go for a quick walk to get some fresh air. Changing the scenery from your same four walls can often jolt a new idea. And the body stretch is a great thing for a writer who tends to sit most of the day for his or her job. 

• My last suggestion is one I’ve used a lot lately. Take a moment to do what I call Get Prone before the Throne. I turn off any noise and lie down on the floor in my office. Then I pour it all out to God. I tell Him that I’m stuck, and tell Him of the doubts and negative thoughts that satan is trying to overrun my thinking process with. And if I’m honest, there just may be a little tantrum action from time to time to blow off frustration steam!

Did it ever occur to us having writer’s block might be a little nudge from God? It may be that God is hungering for our time together way more than we are. We can get caught up in deadlines, word counts and posts to be set to drop that we forget to keep God in the very thing He’s called us to do. Write. Do we include Him? Hopefully we are writing FOR Him, but are we writing WITH Him? Ouch. I’m feeling a little guilt myself on this one. 

Instead of complaining when we have silence in our writing—or writer’s block—we can learn or train ourselves to use this as a tool in our writing life. Don’t let doubt creep in when the words just don’t come. We are still writers. Instead, let God use the silence for our good. Better yet, for His good. 

We’d love to hear some of your ideas on ways you’ve learned to take the writer’s silence and use it for your good in your writing life. 

TWEETABLE

You are a Writer, Even in the Silence from author @TickledPinkTam on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Tammy Karasek uses humor and wit to bring joy and hope to every aspect in life. Her past, filled with bullying and criticism from family, drives her passion to encourage and inspire others and give them The Reason to smile. She’s gone from down and defeated to living a “Tickled Pink” life as she believes there’s always a giggle wanting to come out! A writer of Romance—with a splash of sass. She’s also The Launch Team Geek helping authors launch their books and also a Virtual Assistant for several best-selling authors. She is now under contract for her book on Launch Teams due to release Fall 2023. Her work was also published in a Divine Moments Compilation Book—Cool-inary Moments. She’s also the Social Media Manager for the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, Founding President and current Vice-President of ACFW Upstate SC, and Founding President of Word Weavers Upstate SC. She’s a writing team member for The Write Conversation Blog, Novel Academy, MBT Monday Devotions, The Write Editing and more. Connect with Tammy at HTTPS://WWW.TAMMYKARASEK.COM.