Last week I attended an educator's conference, and while there I had the incredible opportunity to learn from and chat with Jennifer Nielsen, a popular children's & young adult author. She shared a powerful idea regarding writing-- "You are one million percent unique. There's no one else exactly like you. You have a story to share... and if you don't write that story, no one will."
While her speech may have been intended to help me motivate my students to write, her words had a profound effect on me. I love to write, I always have. I was the weird kid in 1st grade that wrote a 4 page long report about George Washington when the requirement was a half page or so. I wrote or collaborated in writing at least 9 novels by the time I was 15 years old. What happened to me? 6 blog posts in 2 years? Pull yourself together, Mikayla J!
I have these reservations and I keep putting writing on the shelf for when future me has time (hah! What a joke) and better ideas. But future me won't see the world like current me does. Future me won't have the same ideas. Future me has other things to write.
I'm going to write a blog post every single day for the next 2 months. I think I'll be a lot more myself again when my thoughts aren't moldering on my brain shelves and are comfortably preserved in script.
God gave me a gift, he gave me words. He also gave me an unending burning seeping lurking longing FEELING to create words. I don't want to squander that feeling any more. It might be yucky, unedited, and sloppy at first. But at least I'll be telling my stories.
Don't be afraid to do the same. You might not be a writer, but you are an artist of some sort. You're one million percent unique. Go tell your story!
(P.S. If you want to check out some of Jennifer Nielsen's work, take a look at her website: http://jennielsen.com/
I haven't read any of her work before, she was a new name for me at the conference. But I just purchased her book "The False Prince" and I'm REALLY looking forward to reading it).
While her speech may have been intended to help me motivate my students to write, her words had a profound effect on me. I love to write, I always have. I was the weird kid in 1st grade that wrote a 4 page long report about George Washington when the requirement was a half page or so. I wrote or collaborated in writing at least 9 novels by the time I was 15 years old. What happened to me? 6 blog posts in 2 years? Pull yourself together, Mikayla J!
I have these reservations and I keep putting writing on the shelf for when future me has time (hah! What a joke) and better ideas. But future me won't see the world like current me does. Future me won't have the same ideas. Future me has other things to write.
I'm going to write a blog post every single day for the next 2 months. I think I'll be a lot more myself again when my thoughts aren't moldering on my brain shelves and are comfortably preserved in script.
God gave me a gift, he gave me words. He also gave me an unending burning seeping lurking longing FEELING to create words. I don't want to squander that feeling any more. It might be yucky, unedited, and sloppy at first. But at least I'll be telling my stories.
Don't be afraid to do the same. You might not be a writer, but you are an artist of some sort. You're one million percent unique. Go tell your story!
(P.S. If you want to check out some of Jennifer Nielsen's work, take a look at her website: http://jennielsen.com/
I haven't read any of her work before, she was a new name for me at the conference. But I just purchased her book "The False Prince" and I'm REALLY looking forward to reading it).
Loved "The False Prince"!!! Thanks for the reminder to do better at writing. I've been simultaneously itching to and putting off writing in my journal more regularly!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to read your writing when you get your thoughts on paper Rachelle Rachelle :)
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