Most of us have been writing for a while. Through the years we’ve worked on story and character development, struggled through plots, climaxes, and denouements, and even had some hard knocks trying to condense our manuscripts down to a decent word count that won’t scare potential publishers or agents. God may have even opened up a few publishing credits, even if it may be something simple like contributing to a church newsletter or an online poetry site. You’ve been blessed with knowledge through experience. Have you thought about sharing those skills with others? Why should you share? Let’s take a look.
You Can Be a Teacher
In the Bible parable about the ten talents (Matthew 25:14-30), a man gave each servant a certain amount of money to invest. When he returned from his long journey, he called the servants to give an account of what they did with the initial investment. Of the three servants, only one failed to do anything with what was given him. He had buried it instead of investing. As writers, the Lord has invested in us the ability to write and be creative. Even if you’ve only been published on a small basis, God has still blessed you. Now you need to turn around and share time and energy with someone who may need help with his or her writing. Don’t bury the gift God gave you like that one servant did. Be a blessing to a friend or neighbor. Share what you know.
You Can Be an Encourager
Let’s face it. We all know that writing is not easy. Yes, we may be able to get our words to flow nicely, but finding someone to publish the words we get excited about can sometimes be difficult. We face rejection much of the time. It is easy to get discouraged. But you have overcome those days of doubts and disappointment. Because of that, you can be an excellent encourager to someone who has yet to develop that tough skin of resilience. Send a note or a text to a fellow writer who is struggling through a project. Share a comment on a blog post to tell someone it’s okay to feel blue—for a time—but then it’s time to get up and get to work. Take a fellow writer out for tea or coffee to help talk through a writer’s block. Text someone “You can do it!†when he or she shares how tough writing has been. Be a listener when someone just needs an ear to share some writing frustrations.
You Can Be an Inspiration
When you were young, did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up? I thought I did. But God had different plans for me, plans I never considered. Somewhere out there is a young future writer who has yet to discover his or her hidden talent. You can be that inspiration to unlock their minds to the potential of writing. Some kids don’t realize that a writer is needed for many things, including video games, comic books, animated cartoons, etc. There are blog posts, gaming manuals, mystery stories, and graphic novels. And the list goes on. Donate your time for a career day, or teach a writing workshop for your church’s homeschool group or children’s ministry. You probably were inspired to write by someone or something. Be that inspiration to get someone’s writing started.
Sharing your writing skills does take a bit of time. But helping develop a skill, giving someone some needed encouragement, and inspiring someone’s future are rewarding not only for the person you are sharing with, but for you as well.
How can you share your writing skills?
Catherine L. Osornio has written inspirational articles for a women’s ministry newsletter, over 200 leveled reader stories for a school’s reading program, fiction and nonfiction articles for Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr. magazines, The Declaration of Independence from A to Z, Thunder Comes a Rumblin’, Mosquitoes Infect!, plus various work-for-hire projects. Her new hi-lo book, Danger on Martin Mountain, will be released in the fall of 2025.A former elementary school librarian, Catherine is passionate about sharing the love of reading. She enjoys cartooning, illustration, and reading kids’ books. Email her at CLOsornio@verizon.net or visit her at www.catherineosornio.com.
Unsplash credits: Markus Winkler, Bo Kim, and Ben White
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I’ve been teaching and encouraging writers for years. I’ve had so many writing friends who have poured themselves into me, so I know how important it is to do the same for others. Especially young writers! I love talking to kids about writing.
I get a lot of joy in helping others with their stories. And when any of my editing clients gets published, I feel like a “book midwife” because I helped birth that book! haha!
This is such an important thing for writers to do! I’ve found that the Christian writing community is one of the best for sharing what they’ve learned with newer writers! And I’ve been blessed by many who have helped me in various ways on my writing journey, that I try to do the same, when I can.
I love encouraging new writers- young and old. I never thought about being a part of career day. Excellent idea!