writing – Page 3 – Laurel Luehmann

Less Than Two Months In… Three Things I’ve Learned While Pursuing My Writing Seriously

September 28, 2020by Laurel Luehmann2 Comments

Way-way-wait what??? Less than two months in???

Wow.

Let’s just say that these have been two of the fullest months of my life. So far. 🙂 I look back and wonder how so much could be crammed into a mere sixty days. But it happened, folks. It happened. And it’s still happening.

About two months ago I graduated from high school and jumped into pursuing my future as an author seriously. Here are three things I’ve learned about the writing life in this time.

#1. I will not always feel inspired when it’s time to write… and that’s okay.

I was working on the second chapter of my current project the other day. I was at rock bottom. It was bad, guys. All I could force myself to type was he said this, she said that, he did this, she did that…

I wanted to bawl, Where is my creativity? My brilliant descriptions? My adjectives? Everything? Here go my writing dreams – right down the drain.

The fact is, I’m going to have these days… and that’s perfectly normal and fine. Because some days I feel like I’m churning out great ideas and brilliant descriptions and witty dialogue like crazy. These two extremes balance each other out.

It’s super important for me to just plug away at writing, even if I feel like what I’m writing is trash. If I write only when I feel like it, I’m not a writer at all – I’m just someone who writes for fun. I wouldn’t be a farmer if I only worked on the farm when I felt like it, either. Part of doing something professionally is doing your best even when your best seems awful.

In short, I’m learning that writing isn’t all fun and games… like any other occupation, it comes with its hard days. But I’m fine with that! There’s still enough awesome about it to keep me wanting to be a professional writer someday.

#2. Lists make life better.

I used to laugh at my mom and her lists… but I guess she converted me.

Nearly every day when I sit down to write, I make a list of what I want to accomplish that day. I try to get as specific as possible so I have more to cross off. It makes me feel more productive. 🙂 Also, just having a tangible list of what I want to accomplish is so much easier and productive than having a dozen plans ricocheting around in my brain.

#3. It’s a challenge for me to keep “writing stuff” in writing hours.

I’ve been setting a certain amount of hours each week day to work on my writing projects and other writing-related things. I’m not going to lie; it’s been a struggle to keep my writing restricted to those hours. It’s all too easy to let it seep into all the other areas of my life and suck my focus away from relationships and home responsibilities… and most importantly, my responsibilities as a daughter of God and ambassador for Christ.

God and people need to have first dibs on my attention. Writing can’t.

This has probably been my biggest struggle – even bigger than staying motivated and sticking with my writing projects. Hopefully the next two months will find me a little more on top of these priorities than I am at present. 🙂

But God’s grace is enormous. I daily encounter my faults, my failings, my weaknesses… and He daily reminds me that He is sufficient, and that He’ll use each one of my problems to bring Him glory.

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

How great He is!

Photo by Kaitlyn Baker on Unsplash

life

First Things First… And Writing Isn’t One of Them

September 14, 2020by Laurel Luehmann2 Comments

And you thought you knew me. 🙂

Don’t get me wrong; I love writing. As a kid, I liked nothing better than curling up with a notebook and pen, crafting stories and poetry. My addiction to scribbling words and trying to encapsulate my crazy thoughts in semi-understandable sentences has only grown over time. My obsession with words was always just one of my weird little quirks. End of story.

But recently it came to a horrifying climax. It seemed like so much of my mental energy was going into writing and my future as an author… trying to figure out what it would look like, and how I would get to where I wanted to be in the writing world. I was so enjoying what writing involved that I was letting it become my life.

I was pouring into my stories instead of my siblings. I was investing in my writing courses instead of my friends. I was focusing on myself and my dreams instead of on my Savior and His dreams for me.

What started as a harmless little hobby began to devour every aspect my life.

The thing is, I’m not just a writer. I’m also a daughter, a sister, and a friend. Most importantly, I’m a child of God, a member of the body of Christ, and a representative of Him.

These other roles and responsibilities are even more important than writing. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to pursue a career in something I so enjoy, but I need to remember that there are so many other aspects to my life than writing.

I need to remember my identity in Christ, and let my priorities flow from that.

My relationship with God comes first. Next, my family relationships. Next, all other relationships.

Last, writing.

I’m not saying that it’s evil to work diligently at your job and seek to be good at it. Not at all. Actually, I’m really focusing in on that this week. But note the key word, job.

My job should not become a synonym for my life.

Balance, folks. Balance is key.

Let’s set our priorities in the right place and live them out.

Uncategorized

You May Be a Writer If…

August 24, 2020August 24, 2020by Laurel Luehmann12 Comments

…your brain is always churning with story ideas, song lyrics, or rhyming phrases.

…a favorite pastime is reading obituaries and wandering through graveyards. (You’d be surprised at how many writing prompts they hold.)

…you scribble random notes all over the place – on church bulletins, note cards, scrap paper, journal covers, napkins – so you won’t forget a brilliant idea that just *might* make a bestseller someday.

…your little sister sits on your lap at work. (happening right now, folks.)

…immediately after getting home from a family get-together you make a run for your journal, not wanting to forget any of the bizarre family stories that would be perfect in a book someday.

…you work two jobs at once – your brain is plugging away at your current story/poem while you’re feeding the cows.

…when you’re alone, you start a conversation between two imaginary people. Out loud. No idea who they are… their identities emerge as the conversation progresses. Oh, and it always helps if they have British accents and are in extreme emotional turmoil.

…it’s hard for you to throw any papers away. (Maybe someday I’ll come back to that story…)

…you sit bolt upright and grab for your phone when you wake up in the middle of the night so you can record a phrase that you heard in your dream and don’t want to forget.

Okay… writers are just weird. At least this one is. Can anyone else sympathize???

Journaling

The Journals That Changed My Life

August 20, 2020by Laurel Luehmann5 Comments

Every person in our lives influences us – whether it is an influence we recognize or not. Some people have a small influence, some people have a strong influence, and some people shake our lives forever.

For me, that was Jim Elliot.

I met him the year I turned sixteen. I spent a lot of time with him that year. He made me laugh, he challenged the way that I spent my time, and he lived his life in a way that made me want to live differently. He was strong in his faith, bold in his declaration of it, and passionately in love with Christ. He inspired me.

Wait, I forgot to tell you – he died over 40 years before I was born.

Shortly after Jim Elliot’s death at the hands of the men he was trying to reach with the gospel, his wife Elisabeth wrote Shadow of the Almighty. In this beautifully written biography, Elisabeth included excerpts of many of her husband’s letters and journals. Shadow of the Almighty had a profound impact on me.

What hit me most about the legacy Jim Elliot left in his writings was not so much the writing itself, but the heart, life, and dreams behind it. Don’t get me wrong – he had a rich vocabulary and a gift for powerful expression and humorous description – but that wasn’t all.

When you read his journals, you see a heart laid wide open before the Lord. He wasn’t afraid to proclaim the gospel and its implications. He didn’t shrink from confronting his peers about the condition of their souls.

Yet neither did he shrink from admitting his own faults and weaknesses. Some excerpts from the journals – “Oh, that I were not so empty-handed… I don’t love, I don’t feel, I don’t understand, I can only believe.” “Difficulty in getting anything at all from the Word. No fervency in prayer.” “Deep sense of uselessness this morning.”

Wait, what??? I’m not the only one who feels like this at times? Even the strongest and most passionate of Christians struggle?

Yes.

When I journal, I sometimes shrink from recording my struggles. I don’t always want to be honest with myself on paper. I start sweating when I think about the possibility of people cracking open my journal some day and getting a taste of 100% pure, raw, unfiltered Laurel. It’s scary.

But in reality, it’s not about me.

It’s about making myself available to God so He can display His power and goodness in me. If honesty in my journal entries may one day accomplish this by strengthening and encouraging others, I’ll swallow my pride and make myself available to God.

‘Cause that’s my purpose.

Have you made it yours?

Journaling

Why I Journal

August 17, 2020August 17, 2020by Laurel Luehmann2 Comments

I received my first journal at the tender age of eight… and I’ve been journaling more or less consistently ever since.

It’s become a habit I never want to break.

Let me tell you why.

First of all, spilling my thoughts onto a page helps me to think more clearly. Something about seeing the crazy mess inside my brain laid out in scrawling, tangible words helps me to see things a bit more clearly. It enables me to describe my circumstances, ponderings, and emotions in a way that makes me see the beauty in the pain, the humor in the frustration, and the purpose in the chaos.

Think of it as spring cleaning for the brain.

Second, it’s amazing to look back on over a decade of my journals and remember the hilarious stories, the frustrations and difficulties, and all the precious memories I might have forgotten. Especially as a writer, all of those bizarre family stories will come in handy someday as story inspiration!

Most of all, however, I love to be reminded through those journals of how God has worked in my life. What He has taught me. How He has grown me. How He has proved Himself powerful, wise, and faithful. And good. Always good. It’s my prayer that one day I’ll be able to pass my journals on to my children and grandchildren as a tribute to His goodness in loving and daily transforming someone as flawed and imperfect as me.

Do you keep a journal? What do you love about journaling?