Write Your Story

Posted On March 27, 2022

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

Ephesians 2:10 NASB

I have several creative writing journals that offer story starters and writing prompts to provide inspiration for aspiring fiction writers. For example, the Prompt Me: Creative Writing Journal & Workbook by Robin Woods includes sections titled “Picture Prompts”, “Use These Phrases”, “Choose a Path”, “Chart It”, and “Dialogue Prompts”, to name a few. Here is a prompt from a section containing third-person story starters:

“He had to get out; if he wasn’t at the location for the next time shift, he would be stuck here forever.”

I admit I tend to collect these journals more than I tend to actually write in them, but I’ve filled in a few stories here and there. As I was thinking about this week’s blog topic, I thought it might be fun to mine some wisdom from the world of creative writing. To get us started, here is my story for the writing prompt above . . .

-Time Shift-

He had to get out; if he wasn’t at the location for the next time shift, he would be stuck here forever. The train was full and he had trouble pushing his way through the crowd. He couldn’t see her anywhere. I am so fired! Cal thought to himself. His first real mission and he blew it.

No more time. The doors were about to close. He had to get off the train.

“Excuse me,” he said to no one in particular as he shoved past the last few commuters and jumped back through the subway doors just as they were closing. He landed hard on the subway platform and began sprinting back to his TSV. His Time Shift Vehicle, currently disguised as a red VW Bug, was parked two blocks away. He was cutting it really close. He would have to run to make it back in time.

As he dashed toward his vehicle Cal kept replaying his failed mission in his mind. What had he done wrong? The job had sounded so simple: Just make sure Dr. Jane Levine gets on the 5:35 train departing from New York’s Prospect Park Station on April 25, 1977. He didn’t even have to speak to her. Just follow her to see that she got on the train.

He followed her all the way from her office to the subway platform. He stayed back and watched her move with the crowd toward the train. Just before she stepped through the doors, he saw her glance back in his direction, but so what? They had never met. It didn’t matter if she saw him. He was just another stranger in the subway station. But for some reason she didn’t get on the train. She moved back toward the platform and then he lost her in the crowd. He pushed his way forward and searched for her on the platform and on the train, but he couldn’t find her anywhere. He still couldn’t figure out what made her change her mind.

All he could do now was go back and explain what happened. They had to understand. It’s not like he broke any of the agency guidelines or anything. He just temporarily lost sight of his target. He didn’t get personally involved in her life or reveal the existence of the Time Protection Agency. They couldn’t terminate him just because some woman he never met decided not to get on a subway train.

He checked his watch. Sixty seconds until the time shift and he could see the TSV. He would just barely make it. He ran up to the VW Bug, threw open the door, and jumped in. Fifteen seconds . . . He strapped in, shut the door, and entered the code sequence just in time. He closed his eyes and prepared for the time shift, focusing on his breathing . . . inhale . . . exhale . . . . He heard the computer give the final warning: “Time shift imminent. Temporary disorientation may occur. Please relax and remain calm.”

Suddenly, the passenger door flew open and Cal opened his eyes. “What . . . ?!” Cal’s jaw dropped as he saw Dr. Jane Levine get into the TSV and slam the door shut. “Calvin, I knew it was you! What are you doing back?”

His last coherent thought before the time wave hit them both was, I am so fired!

Follow His Prompts

“The Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth—Jehovah is his name—says this:
Ask me and I will tell you some remarkable secrets about what is going to happen here.”

Jeremiah 33:2-3 TLB

So my story was obviously just for fun, but I included it because it’s a good example of what prompts can do. I had never thought about writing this particular story until I read the prompt. Then I got all kinds of ideas. The prompt sent me in the right direction to start telling this story, and I just went with it.

This is often how God works. He gives us just enough of a nudge to get us going, perhaps giving us an amazing glimpse of the future to inspire our imagination, but He doesn’t give us the whole story. He tells us something that leads us to move in a particular direction and then it’s up to us to get started. If we don’t, the prompt just sits there waiting for a story to come out of it.

” . . . sometimes when God is leading you, there may be no clear indication of where you are going or what you must do. All you have is a sense that you must go. You get a nudge or urge or a leading that it’s time to move.”

Clarence L. Haynes Jr., The Pursuit of Purpose

Writing my story took some effort. I had to tune out everything else and focus on what I wanted to say. I had to ignore the voice in my head that said this story won’t be any good, so why even try? I had to muster some courage and have faith that I could do it. And then I had to get to work.

Without the prompt, I wouldn’t have known what story to write. But without some effort and faith on my part, it never would have been written. It took both for this particular story to exist. I didn’t have to know how my story would end. I just had to be willing to write the first few words, trusting that the rest would come.

“You may have to tune out the voices around you and move in the confidence that you have heard from God. Everyone may not support you or even understand you. However, if you are confident you have heard from God . . . then you have to move in what he has told you to do. . . . Remember you don’t need faith for the whole journey, just be willing to take the first step.”

Clarence L. Haynes Jr., The Pursuit of Purpose

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”

Maya Angelou

Start Writing

“We should make plans—counting on God to direct us.”

Proverbs 16:9 TLB

Want to know what happens next in my “Time Shift” story? So do I. I have no idea because I haven’t gotten that far yet. But that’s okay. Often we won’t know the ending of our story when we start writing the beginning, but God does. We have to trust Him to guide us as we go. But we have to actually be going for this to happen.

“Today, do what you think God is calling you to do — regardless of whether you are sure of His course or not. If the Lord is showing you to take a step of faith, make a call, write a letter, and so on — do it. . . . Of course, you may be wondering, ‘What if I do so and get it wrong — I don’t do precisely what He wants me to do?’ Then be assured He’ll correct your course and show you what to do. Just as a car that is started and in gear is easier to steer than a car that’s parked, a person who is in motion and willing to obey God is easier for Him to position than a reticent person is for Him to get up and moving.”

Charles F. Stanley, God’s Purpose for Your Life

I remember reading once that if you want to become a writer, you need to quit reading books about writing and just write something. Writers write. Thinking about writing and learning about writing are great, but unless you actually write something, you’re not really a writer.

When we think God has called us to do something, it’s easy to find ways to talk ourselves out of it. We think we must have heard wrong or that we’re not qualified or that He doesn’t really mean we need to do it now. We can agonize over it, study more about it, ask Him over and over for confirmation, but unless we actually step out in faith and do something, we’re not really obeying Him. We can’t let fear or uncertainty stop us. If we pray for guidance and stay open to His leading, He will make sure we stay on track. But we have to be willing to act.

“So trust God to lead you to His next place of service for you. He will reveal to you the doors that He wants you to move through, but first you must go through the ones He’s already opened.”

Charles F. Stanley, God’s Purpose for Your Life

“The best antidote to writer’s block is — to write.”

Henriette Anne Klauser, Writing on Both Sides of the Brain

Don’t Give Up

“Let’s get one thing straight from the start: it’s okay to need editing.”

Henriette Anne Klauser, Writing on Both Sides of the Brain

One of the first steps in learning to write creatively is to stop worrying about making mistakes. Often the best ideas can come from what we may have originally wadded up and pitched toward the trash can. When we free ourselves from the restriction of having to write perfectly the first time we put pen to paper, we can create something beautiful. But we have to be willing to accept the fact that despite our best efforts, sometimes we will mess up. The key is to keep moving forward in faith and trust that our mistakes can be edited, rewritten, and transformed into something worth reading.

“Many people would say God can still use you despite your failures. I want to take that a step further. God’s grace is so audacious that he will use the failure itself to show off just how capable he is. . . . Your mistakes can actually make you a more likely candidate for a miracle — if you process them God’s way.”

Steven Furtick, Sun Stand Still

God knows our entire story, past, present, and future, even better than we do. He knows we make mistakes, so He is not surprised by them, and He does not give up on us when we mess up. So He doesn’t want us to give up on ourselves. He can use everything for good, even our missteps, if we turn them over to Him. This isn’t always easy. It’s so tempting to give in to guilt and shame and think we’re not worthy to keep writing the story God had planned for us. But we can’t let that stop us! God can help us fix our mistakes, but our story won’t get written at all if we just quit. We’ve got to keep pressing on, even when — especially when — it’s hard.

This is why He instructs us to confess our sins, not because He wants to make us feel guilty, but because He wants to free us from the guilt that would otherwise keep us from moving forward. So when we write some junk into our story and are tempted to just give up on it, we need to remember that we have an Editor who can rewrite anything . . . He can transform our mistakes, redeem our poor choices, and turn our humble tale into an amazing masterpiece!

“If you want to see God do the impossible in your life, you can’t try an end run around the things you’ve done wrong. Don’t hide them. Don’t deny them. And certainly don’t crumble beneath the weight of them. Bring them to Jesus. And let him make something miraculous out of them.”

Steven Furtick, Sun Stand Still

“When people’s steps follow the Lord, God is pleased with their ways.
If they stumble, they will not fall, because the Lord holds their hand.”

Psalm 37:23-24 NCV

This week’s Scripture passages remind us that we are called to fulfill God’s purposes for our lives. We’ve each been given a story to tell, and God is prompting us to begin. How do we do this? By just stepping out in faith and writing the first few words. He will edit, rewrite, and help us fill in the rest as we go. Like Cal, the character in my “Time Shift” story, we will face unexpected plot twists. But that’s what makes our stories more interesting. So don’t give up. Keep writing. There’s someone out there who needs to hear your story!

“Keep on writing past the exhaustion or the emptiness, past the urge to quit, and reach the summit. . . . Push on when you want to stop. The best is just around the corner. The summit is yet to come. Do not give up. Do not turn back. Excelsior! Ever upward!”

Henriette Anne Klauser, Writing on Both Sides of the Brain

References:

• Furtick, Steven. Sun Stand Still: What Happens When You Dare to Ask God for the Impossible. Multnomah Books, 2010.
• Haynes, Clarence L., Jr. The Pursuit of Purpose: How to Discover God’s Will for Your Life. The Bible Study Club, 2019.
• Klauser, Henriette Anne. Writing on Both Sides of the Brain: Breakthrough Techniques for People Who Write. HarperSanFrancisco, 1987.
• Stanley, Charles F. God’s Purpose for Your Life: 365 Devotions. Thomas Nelson, 2020.
• Woods, Robin. Prompt Me: Creative Writing Journal & Workbook. Epic Books Publishing, 2016.

Images:

• Vintage Typewriter image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay
• Once Upon a Time image by Fathromi Ramdlon from Pixabay
• Red VW Bug image by HotelArizonaHD from Pixabay
• Journey image by Ajay kumar Singh from Pixabay
• Write Something image by Markus Winkler from Pixabay
• Rewrite . . . Edit image by Suzy Hazelwood: https://www.pexels.com/photo/rewrite-edit-text-on-a-typewriter-3631711/
• Everyone Has a Story image by Ajay kumar Singh from Pixabay