Who's Glory Are You Writing For?

post by Michelle Griep

Writers write for all kinds of reasons . . .

  - to escape reality

  - to create reality

  - because they 
     failed at selling 
     life insurance

But if you happen to be one of those "religious types," the standard answer when asked this question is, "I write for God's glory."

What does that even mean?

I hear that phrase thrown around a lot, probably because I hang out with Christians. But the thing is, I hear it even in my head every time I sit down to write . . . which begs the question how, exactly, does a mortal man accomplish such a huge feat? I hyperventilate just thinking about it. Who can capture God's glory in a net made of letters and words? Why would anyone try the impossible? Step a little closer and I'll tell you why.

Because God is a God of impossibility. 

In fact, the more impossible, the better. That's where His glory is really showcased.

But in what format? Must one sit down to write an epic analogy like Narnia? Or should one only write Biblical fiction? Where does that leave steampunk or blogging? Can one write for God's glory by penning a murder mystery?

Yep. Take a look at the Bible, at all the different forms of writing. There's poetry in Song of Solomon. Narratives just about everywhere. Jesus told fictional tales with a truth woven in. Some of Paul's writings read like blog entries, and the book of Revelation, if sold in today's market, would classify as a fantasy or maybe even a dystopian.

I don't think God is interested in the style or format of your writing any more than He's particularly bent out of shape about what you ate for breakfast today. God's business is heart business, and if your heart/mind/soul belong to Him, you don't need to stress about about how to write for His glory. You will.

"The good man out of the treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart."

Luke 6:45

Perfect for  NANOWRIMO.

Like what you read? There’s more. WRITER OFF THE LEASH: GROWING IN THE WRITING CRAFT is a kick in the pants for anyone who wants to write but is stymied by fear, doubt, or simply doesn’t know how to take their writing to the next level.

Michelle Griep’s been writing since she first discovered blank wall space and Crayolas. Follow her adventures and find out about upcoming new releases at her blog, Writer Off the Leash, or stop by her website. You can also find her at the usual haunts of Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.

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Glory Be ~ by Rachel Allord

by +AneMulligan  @AneMulligan

Rachel Allord writes from central Wisconsin. A pastor’s wife and adoption advocate, Rachel speaks for women’s conferences and adoption groups and teaches writing classes via her town’s university. You can find Rachel on her website, Twitter, and Facebook. 

Glory Be

If we’re not careful, we writers can be an egocentric bunch. We love our work, love to coddle and relish and fuss over our words, and if someone fails to appreciate our literary flair we tend to get the tiniest bit defensive.

Published or pre-published, rejections, unfavorable book reviews, and criticism are hard pills for a writer to swallow. Yet for as unwelcome as they these ego jabs are, they produce humility and help us become better writers and, hopefully, better people. Because it’s that twentieth rejection letter or caustic review that prompts us to wrestle with a crucial question: why am I doing this? why am I writing?

Naturally, writing starts with us. (I have to get this story out of me!) But in time, hopefully, our motivation becomes others—to please, entertain, enlighten, or serve others. Our audience. Yet ultimately, for those who are striving to follow Christ, all of our reasons for writing—feeding our inner artist and impacting an audience—should hinge on our desire to write for God’s glory. To show Him off. To put Him in the spotlight.

Writing for God’s glory. It sounds a bit lofty, doesn’t it? But often we complicate matters and conveniently shut our ears to any possibility that doesn’t neatly align with our agenda—like the fact that seeing our name on the cover of a book isn’t a promise from God but “I will not share my glory with another” is.

Here’s the truth, if we can handle it: writing for God’s glory may not match the visions in our ever-imaginative mind. It may mean that our readership is small—much smaller than we’d hoped. Writing for God’s glory might mean that we’ll “only” be writing for church. Or for our local newspaper. Or writing letters to kids in third world countries. Or inmates behind bars.

Writing for God’s glory means we are open to whatever he has for us. It means working hard, no doubt, honing our craft, heeding the advice of those we’ve come to respect in the industry, but holding all of that loosely—so loosely that if God so chooses to pluck that passion from our heart and replace it with another one, we’d be okay with that.

Easy words to type out; harder words to live out.

I know. I’ve been there.

After over a decade of writing and rewriting and rejections and praying and conference-going, the day I sent my full novel proposal of Mother of My Son to my now publisher was one of the darkest days ever in my personal life. As my finger hovered over my keyboard, poised to launch my baby, a daunting and startling truth hit me: getting my story published, the story I loved so much, hardly mattered. Not in the moment.

My once burning desire to be a published novelist was now a mere flicker. You’ve been there at some point I’m sure; you know how quickly unexpected troubles shift everything into proper perspective, how sorrow can cultivate humility.

And humility is a glorious thing. Or to be more precise, humility, ironically, is the forerunner to glory. We are after all, no matter how many words we can churn out in a day, no matter how many accolades we’ve received or haven’t received, no matter how many books we’ve published or dreamed of publishing, ordinary jars of clay. Ordinary, crude even, vessels made to showcase a fragment of God’s glory.

Right now we’re smack dab in the middle of crazy Christmas season, that fleeting time of year when we repeatedly sing out and prolong the word gloria.  As we sing, as we live, as we click away on our keyboards—dare we ask?

Who’s getting the glory?

Mother of My Son

College student Amber Swansen gives birth alone. In desperation, she abandons the newborn, buries her secret, and attempts to get on with her life. No matter how far she runs, she can't escape the guilt. Years later and still haunted by her past, Amber meets Beth Dilinger. Friendship blossoms between the two women, but Beth's son is a constant, painful reminder to Amber of the child she abandoned.

When heartache hits, causing Amber to grapple with the answers to life's deeper questions, Beth stands by her side. Yet just when peace seems to be within Amber's grasp, the truth of her past and the parentage of Beth's son comes to light and threatens to shatter not only their worlds, but the life of the teenager they both love.

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