One year, as I was checking out Christmas presents at a local bookstore, I noticed a stack of paperweights near the register. “Bright” and “shiny” are always a temptation and these had a mirrored chrome finish. When I saw the message, I knew I had to have it.

Write your own story.

I had a story in me that needed to be told.

Six years later, I still have the paperweight. Its faux chrome finish has tarnished and is missing in some spots. The letters are faded; it’s been broken, repaired, and broken again. But the message is still there.

Write your own story. 

Six years later, I’m neither “bright” nor “shiny.” My red hair has faded. My memory is almost gone. My body is broken and can’t be repaired. But the message is still the same.

As Paul said in 2 Timothy 1:6, “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God …” and later in the chapter, “By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you” (verse 14). You have been given a gift from God: your story. It is up to you to fan the flame of excitement into your gift. You are charged with building it up by honing your craft until it is ready to share. You’re the only one who can do it.

Write your own story.

You’ve come here to this website because you’re a writer. You work on your manuscript every time you can sneak a moment between loads of laundry and dinner. You may have sold your last work or you may have shelved it. You may be writing a novella or a series. But wherever you are in your writing journey, you have a message that only you can tell.

Are you caring for the gift that God gave you? Are you still excited about your story?

~*~

Angie writes small town mysteries and lives in South Carolina with her hubby and three big dogs (well, two big dogs and poodle who thinks he is).  Join her at Joy on the Back Roads and Seriously Write.