A Woman With Words Within

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Today is Good Friday, the day Christians remember the death of Christ. We remember this essential act of humility, his seminal sacrifice. We remember the deep love and commitment which held him to the cross and the life-changing affect it has on us today. We remember and we celebrate.

What does that have to do with writing?

Everything.

The modern writer has so much to think about she might forget she’s a writer. For she is also an editor, a blogger, a self-critic, a publicist. She is a seeker of structure, an avoider of clichés, a stickler for grammar.

But beneath it all, informing and fueling it all, is a simple truth.

She is a woman with words within.

She first took pen or pencil or crayon in hand because she had something to share with the world. Or her journal. Or her best friend who was away at a scary three-day camp in the wilderness. Whatever her method, whatever her reason, at some point, she was simply a woman with something to say.

It is she who begat the rest, and she who most needs remembering.

So forget the rest of it. Ignore the voices demanding a better plot, cleaner dialogue, or another draft. And don’t even think about right-clicking that word in search of a synonym.

Just for today, remember the woman with words within, where she started and why. Before you launch yourself into the next phase of whatever project holds your attention, take a minute to appreciate her story. Read her earlier work. Rejoice in how far she’s come since the beginning. And remind her that no matter what else she might be, you will always remember that she is a woman with words within. 

You will remember and celebrate her.

As I understand it, today is a Good Day for such things.