“Growing Your Story”
Dear writer, I hope you had an excellent week and were able to learn more about your readers and how your message can be crafted to meet them at their point of need! This month, we’re going to take a look at the next phase of the writing journey: editing. Now, here’s the thing. Nothing is born complete. Every story starts as a seed, and that seed takes time to grow and develop. Editing is an important part of that development and growth process. But, before we dive in, let’s take a look at others who have embraced an “editing” and growth process!
“Editing” in History
Thomas Edison is a great example of “editing.” When he first got the idea for electric powered light, it took him 2,774 iterations to create a working light bulb. But he didn’t stop there. He continued to perfect his work until it could be utilized in homes across the country. Along the way, he never became discouraged by his failed attempts. He simply made another adjustment—adapting his approach—and moved forward until his dream of light in every home became a reality.
The same thing happens when we write, writer. Our brilliant idea may look pretty rough in its infant draft. The good news is that this is normal. But here’s the thing. You will always fail to perfect 100% of the pages that you never write. Better to begin poorly, like Edison, and plant the seeds of your thought in the messy dirt of your rough draft, where they will begin to grow.
“Editing” in the Bible
Peter is a beautiful example of a man who grew and matured and changed. Both during his time with Jesus and after Jesus’ death, Peter’s faith continued to grow and mature as he learned and understood more and more of God’s heart. One notable example of this was when God revealed to Peter the inclusion of the Gentiles in His plan of salvation. This concept was a huge mind-shift for Peter, a practicing Jew trained by God’s law to avoid gentiles. But Peter’s humility and continual pursuit of his Lord enabled him to understand, receive, and grow in the new things the Lord was doing.
It’s the same for you, too, writer. Once you know the message God has given you, remaining humble and open to growing that message into its very best expression is key to your writing and editing process. Let’s continue.
“Editing” in Life
My biggest “editing” process began as a new wife, struggling to maintain a tidy house while working part time from home with no children. Though our 1,000 square foot house was attractive, it seemed that none of my efforts to organize it or stay on top of the daily chores made any difference at all. When God showed me that my house was to be a place of peace, prayer, communion and conversation, suddenly I knew what to keep and get rid of and was able to begin “editing” my space to match that vision.
Over the years, my reticence to rearrange the rooms also softened. After all, I thought the original arrangement was perfect. Why mess with perfection? But as I explored new configurations for the space with Jared, the house became more and more functional, and God showed me more and more about how to achieve the vision He’d given us. I even began blogging about this journey, and after two years, I have begun to hear how that blog has now been impacting other people’s lives. All because I was willing to adapt and grow to better capture the purpose of a home to facilitate the life and mission God gave me.
“Editing” in Your Life
Now, here’s the thing, writer. Nothing will kill your work more quickly than self-satisfaction. You’ll notice that Edison, Peter, and I had one thing in common: none of us were satisfied with our first attempt. Nor with partial success.
Edison was set, not just on getting a working light bulb, but on getting electric lamps into every house. Peter wasn’t content to have walked with Jesus on earth, but continued to seek Him and His heart after His death, and his pursuit opened the way for the Gentiles to be reached with the Gospel. I wasn’t ready to fight my home every day to achieve my calling, and my desire to have a home that freed me to pursue God’s call for my life is now bringing freedom to others as well.
Your desire for excellence and your drive for a clear and strong message will allow you to tackle and continue throughout the editing process. If you’ll notice, Edison, Peter, and I all began with a spark of an idea—with just a seed of understanding. It was our faithfulness to pursue that thought and use what we did know that opened the door for the next thing and the next as light spread, revelation unfolded, and freedom grew in my life and others. And here’s the beautiful thing.
The editing process is really the pursuit of excellence and maturity, and as we are faithful with the little things, God will give us more. And just like Peter and Edison and me, you will have no idea how your efforts toward excellence will bring light, life, and freedom to others. But one thing I can say is that all our efforts toward growth WILL have an impact. Let me show you.
- “Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.” – Proverbs 22:29
- “A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before the great.” – Proverbs 18:16
- “For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” – Matthew 13:12
- “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” – Philippians 3:12
You see this process of growth is seen even in our faith as Peter described it in 2 Peter 1:5-8…
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
You see, writer? Growth and development are a key part of every aspect of our lives, and writing is no exception. And it’s in that process—that often messy process—that both we and our work gain the strength and character and vitality we need to impact the lives of others.
Where to Start with “Editing”
Are you ready to dive into the journey of editing as you take the seed of a story God’s has given you and pursue excellence in growing it? If you still feel a little intimidated, here are a few ideas to help you shift from your writing mindset to an editing mindset:
- Know Your Why. In order to edit well and pursue excellence in your story, it’s important to have a strong grasp of your story’s unique message, purpose, and audience. In other words, you have to know why you are writing. If you’ve reached the end of your first draft and aren’t sure how to answer that question, don’t worry! Simply take some time to prayerfully dig in and ask yourself why this story is so important to you and why others absolutely must hear it.
- Give Yourself Some Time. Take some time after you finish your first draft to let the story (and yourself!) rest. Don’t think about it at all. I recommend at least a week for this. Sometimes, a month is better. This space will allow you to return to your document with fresh eyes and to view your work more objectively.
- Read Your Work Out Loud. Our brains tend to automatically fill in the gaps in our work for us. After all, we know what we meant when we wrote it! Reading out loud is a great way to expose those gaps and to see where our work needs to be revised and clarified.
- Engage in Community. Sometimes we need a little help to shift from our star-studded excitement about our story to a practical mindset to objectively review of our work. Joining a critique group or getting a writing partner can be a wonderful help in this process! Other writers will bring new perspectives and insights and will notice things that we would miss, even on our best days. As you begin your editing journey, I encourage you to prayerfully consider where the Lord might be leading you to connect with other writers as you begin to develop your story! Writing is a journey, and we weren’t made to journey alone.
Now, here’s the final thing, writer. I mentioned humility earlier, and humility and a holy dissatisfaction is what you will need to get into and get through the editing process. It takes a willingness to acknowledge that your work does need growth and development—just like all living things. Because here’s the real deal…
The only thing that doesn’t grow and develop—is a dead thing. For your words to mature into their full expression, you will need to grow, too, in you skill and knowledge and ability.
Growing is always a messy. But never fear! A plant never grows alone. It’s surrounded by soil and sunlight and water and other plants. And as we embark on this journey, our King will guide us and bring others alongside us as we actively seek to steward the seed He’s given us. And here’s the beautiful thing, as a seed grows, it stretches upward, closer to the sun, and outward, closer to its neighbors. In the same way, as we pursue God’s best for our story, we will grow stronger and closer to Him and to others, too.
So, I encourage you today, writer, to embrace the editing process—the process of growth and development—as you learn to express what God’s given you with excellence. As you lean into Him and pursue His best, you cannot calculate the impact His words and work can have in and through you.
#editing #excellence #growth #EveryWriterWriting
