By Leanne Sype
If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me, “So when are you going to write a book?” I would be a kazillionaire.
My response is: “As soon as God gives me a book to write.” Usually my remark elicits a reply of, “Oh” or simply a blank stare. Somehow the qualification for being a writer has come to mean either one has written or is writing a book and/or is also published or seeking to be published. Well, if this is the case then I guess I am not a writer because not only haven’t I written a book, but I don’t want to.
I’ve spent the last 14 years editing other people’s written works, yet I have been writing all my life. I have thousands of pages sitting in my office that I’ve written; essays, poems, journals, letters, etc. I have a few articles and newsletters that are published, but probably not in anything you’ve ever seen. And I have a blog. I’ve been writing on my blog since 2009; sometimes I post regularly and sometimes I don’t.
I am essentially unknown in the writing industry. Does this mean I am not a writer? Of course not! Does this mean I am not a “real” writer? Of course not!
Look, I went through the (10-year) internal battle of “Am I a real writer even though no one knows who I am and may never know who I am because there are…
…a million people who write way better than me,
…who have published a book,
…who have at least 35,000 followers,
…who blog five times a week,
…who guest blog three times a week,
…who speak at conferences,
…and who are now working on their second book?
Oh my gosh, I need to write a book, something really good so I can be the “real” writer I know I am supposed to be. ”
This was stressful for me because I didn’t want to write a book, and I am not a believer in writing or doing anything merely to fit in with cultural expectations. Yet, I knew I was a writer. Something wasn’t lining up.
Then I heard angels sing a harmonious “Ahhh” when Wm. Paul Young spoke at the 2013 Faith & Culture Writers Conference. He said:
“God doesn’t need another book. Or a movie. Or a song. It’s you He loves . . . He is a God who loves you with relentless affection, who does not need you to write a book . . . You don’t need it for identity if you know who you are. You don’t need it for security if you know who’s your provision. You don’t need it for worth if you understand how you’re loved.”
Young’s words changed my life. I became comfortable, in that very moment, with who I am as a writer. I am a daughter of God who writes out of pure love for her Father. (And I am the weirdo writer who doesn’t want to write a book. So what?)
Culture gives us mixed messages:
- You are writer, own it—but you are not really legitimate until you are published and noticed by zillions of people.
- Be a headline, shoot for the public by-line—but write something worth reading and be “authentic.”
- Build your followers, grow your audience—but create real and meaningful relationships.
- Find your voice and use it proudly—but don’t add to the noise because no one will pay attention to you.
Culture was driving me to build my own kingdom and it wasn’t lining up with my heart—my faith.
I am not interested in building my own kingdom; I am interested in inviting people into God’s kingdom. God gives us a different message: You are mine alone and I love you. All I want is a relationship with you.
From this perspective, God is my one and only—He is my audience, he is my publisher, he’s my editor. When I write for God, the pressure is off to adhere to worldly formulas and expectations for success. I am better able to find my voice and confidently use it to express my honest thoughts. I am a better writer when I write for God because I’m writing in response to and for the purpose of a deeper relationship with Christ. When I write to please God rather than to please culture, I give the Spirit within me permission to speak freely and the ability to connect with a reader better than I could have in trying to manufacture something I think a reader may want to hear.
Writing for God means this: before I write anything I pray, “Lord, I just want people to know you the way I know you. Instruct me in the way I should go.” I don’t worry about stats, I don’t worry about comments, I don’t worry about notoriety. I trust my work will land where He needs it to land and it will connect with whomever it needs to connect. God has been faithful in blessing me with a humble little audience and delightful conversations with people all over the world. Somehow in writing to connect with God, I also connect with other people. Everything lines up beautifully when God is in control, and I don’t have to work so hard.
God created me to be a writer and it’s through writing I grow closer in relationship with him. That’s all that matters. He does the rest. I confess God has recently given me a book to write. Why would a God who doesn’t need another book ask me to write a book? Have I mentioned I don’t want to write a book??
The book itself isn’t for God. It’s for me. Somewhere in the process of writing this thing, I’ll grow even closer to Him. That’s what He needs. I still don’t want to write a book, but I do want to be obedient. Now when people ask, “When are you going to write a book?” I’m working on it. But it doesn’t mean I will necessarily publish as culture would expect. After all, God has only asked me to write the book.
With this goal in mind, I am looking forward to Faith and Culture Writers Conference 2015 as a daughter of God seeking to be inspired on how to be better in her craft, for the purpose of lovely and pure obedience to a Father who doesn’t need another book but only a deeper relationship with me.
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Leanne Sype is an editor, writer, mom, daughter, and student of God; she’s a lover of coffee, writing, and orange pens. True to her word-nerdy, book-wormish nature, she adores editing and has been doing it for the last 14 years. This is her third year speaking at the Faith & Culture Writers Conference. Portland is her favorite place in all the land, but she’s living and learning life in the suburbs, writing everything down as she goes, and encouraging others to do the same. She attends a local church and lifts her best worship to the One who guides her life and my pen. Follow her on Twitter or at her blog.
