Be a Game Changer: The Gift

The king. A valued piece in a chess game yet seemingly weak. After all, the king always seems to be on the run in the beginning and middle of the chess game with the other pieces attempting to keep it safe by blocking, attacking, and capturing opposing pieces. And the ultimate goal? Putting the opponent’s king in checkmate. Only until the end game does it seem like the king begins emerging. It cannot be captured or exchanged, which can make it take on an almost infinite quality.

As I delve into the last post of this series, I want to make a couple of statements. First off, I do believe in God. More than that, I believe I am saved through Christ and am a child of the King. Second, I understand that some of you who may read this post don’t ascribe to this belief. That’s okay. But I wanted to let you know where I come from for the rest of this post.

As writers, when we improve the quality of our writing to the point where we produce an actual novel (yea!), it’s easy to say that we’ve made it, especially if said novel generates sales, which means more money in our pockets. At that point, we can find it easy to think that all of that imagination, talent, and perseverance came from some deep well inside of us. We want to take all of the credit and shove God into a corner.

Thing is, we have to start asking questions. Where does my talent come from? How did I get such a vivid imagination? When I feel like giving up, what keeps me going? And, most of all, why do I write? Hopefully, the answer to the last question isn’t purely to make money.

Here’s what I would say to each of these questions.

Where does my talent come from? I firmly believe that as created beings of God regardless of whether or not we trust Christ as our Savior, we receive the gift of writing talent from Him. He desires us to use that talent to glorify Him, either overtly or subtly.

How did I get such a vivid imagination? As a created being of God, He made every bit of me, and that includes my imagination. He gifted me as a writer, and I believe that a vivid imagination is one of the biggest tools I have in my writing war chest. I think the same goes for all of us, for without a vivid imagination, we cannot write.

When I feel like giving up, what keeps me going? Again, God has given me a spirit of perseverance. I can honestly say that over the past several years as I’ve written, there have been times when I honestly wanted to chuck the whole thing I call writing. Yes, there have been times when I seriously considered that. I mean, wouldn’t my life have been easier? But something always pulls me back toward writing.

Why do I write? For anyone, no matter what belief system, a good answer might be, “I can’t not write.” Essentially, we are driven to write. Speaking for myself, this is a huge driver. More than that, though, I know that I am exercising the talents that God gave me to glorify Him. That adds passion and depth to my writing and keeps me going.

Like the king in the beginning and middle of a chess game, you may feel like you as a writer are weak and that your work isn’t worth much. I promise that your drive to write isn’t a fluke. It’s real, and you can run from it only to a certain point. Rather, focus on the king in the latter stages of a chess game. His power emerges. The talent, perseverance, and imagination? Those gifts are given to you. Rather than tuck them under your pillow, be bold. Step out and use them. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

This post does not mention any products. Therefore, I am not receiving any compensation for writing this post. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR Part 255:
Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

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