Planting Ideas

“The beauty hidden inside a tiny seed can never be discovered until it is planted, until the rains fall and the sun shines down upon it. The process takes time and patience, just as it does when God works in our hearts. When we wait on the Lord, weather the storms, and bask in His light, He takes our lives . . . and turns them into something beautiful.” Julie A. Campbell

Likewise, the beauty of story can never be discovered until we allow the germ of an idea to take root in our minds. When we plant an idea, water it, expose it to sunlight, weed it, prune and shape it, we’re preparing a story for harvest.

The process of growing a story takes time, patience and hard work. Very rarely does a story arrive in our minds in full bloom. And even when it does, the translation to paper usually seems to lose something. Just as some plants thrive best when surrounded by plants of other varieties, story ideas often need the stimulus of other ideas before they can grow.

Here are some questions, we need to ask ourselves, when we have a new idea:

Have I talked to God about my writing lately?

1. Have I recommitted it to Him?
2. Have I asked Him what He thinks about this idea?
3. Am I willing to trust this new idea to Him?

Am I willing to weather the storms of writing?

1. Such as trusting His timing for publication?
2. Doing my part by working hard?
3. Being willing to change my work?

Is the soil of my mind prepared?

1. Do I need the tilling of a new experience or situation?
2. Do I need a class or workshop to sift out the rocks in my field?
3. Do I need to add fertilizer by doing research or talking with other writers?

Do I know what I want to grow from this idea?

1. Fiction or nonfiction?
2. A short piece or a book?
3. Do I need to read in the genre I want to write? Or am I like a gardener who can’t tell a weed from a vegetable plant?

And finally, is it time to write this now? Is this what He wants me working on?

Sometimes an idea can lay dormant for months and years before it sprouts. Some have to grow many years before they can bloom. Just as we can’t expect immediate results when we plant an apple tree, not all ideas are ready to be written.

Whatever we write, whether it be secular or Christian, should bring glory to God. We should ask the Lord to help us to turn each new idea over to Him, to let Him guide us and lead us, to make each piece of writing into something beautiful.

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