Wordy Benefits

 

I think writing is really a good idea. I do it all the time and nearly every day. Scratch that. I write every single day, even if it is just copying a Bible verse. There isn’t a day I don’t pick up a pen or tap on my keys to string coherent letters together. But different kinds of writing produce different results. 

When I write for my newspaper, I am presenting new-to-me facts in a way that is (hopefully) understandable and interesting to the reader. I do not include my opinion in the articles as far as I know, and I am not basing much or anything of what I write on my personal experience. While my writing ability has dramatically increased in the last nine months of writing for the newspaper, I am not ashamed of the first articles I wrote, since there isn’t any opinion. 

When I work on the magazine, I have a specific genre to stick to. I am not teaching, but I am, to my best ability, sharing what I have learned and what I think about it. Because Deep Encouragement is about encouragement, I have to take a different approach to sharing, such as using the first person in all examples and applications. I have found by sticking to a first person approach, I have admitted to things I tried to smooth over by using an inclusive pronoun. It has made me more honest. 

When I work on my book, I am trying to convey a story, a plot line, and bring out the facts in my life that contribute to that story. I am confined by what I experienced and a little educated guessing on the whys of what I did based on consequences. I should not teleport to my current self when talking about myself as an eleven- or twelve-year-old. Going through the experiences and difficulties in my life is helping me see a broader picture than the one I draw in my mind with circular redundancy. In the book, I am also admitting and expressing things I haven’t shared out loud, even though I am an honest, open book kind of person. It is giving me a more gracious image of my younger self. 

When I write a blog post, I can reflect on my current status and thoughts without having to restrict them to the confines of my life story or devotional outline. I get the privilege of candid expression to my reality. It’s refreshing. 

Then, there’s this other kind of writing that helps me. It is not for others to see. It is found in the pages of my newly started journal or in a five-minute dump of words on a page when I haven’t written and/or need to clear my head. That kind of writing brings clarity to me, personally. 

Writing is supposed to bring clarity and insight. It most often brings those things to myself. And I hope, in sharing the insights about myself, other people can find insights into themselves, because that is why we share writing.