To kick off Thursday’s writing tips and thoughts, I’m sharing a guest blog I wrote a few months ago.
Worry and creative writing… the two don’t mix.
It’s impossible. I can’t hold the two in my mind at the same time. It’s like water and oil.
That niggling little thought grows from a random “What if?” question, to an expanding fear when I feed it a snack. Suddenly the negative idea that flies through my mind and puts down roots like the kudzu vines in the South, overwhelms my budding story, article or poem.
Worry is the evil stepchild of creative expression.
“Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards…” Solomon 2:15, New International Version.
How many times have I used my creativity ability for negative thoughts, pumping up fear as I turn a troubling thought into a full blown movie? Too many times to mention. Creativity and worry are two different sides of a coin.
The Bible is so practical as it reminds us to pay attention to our thoughts. “Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards…” Solomon 2:15, New International Version.
According to biblestudytools.com, the fox referred to in the passage is:
“The common jackal, which may be heard every night in the villages. It is like a medium-sized dog, with a head like a wolf, and is of a bright-yellow color. These beasts devour the bodies of the dead, and even dig them up from their graves.”
Our vineyard is our mind where wonderful ideas grows. We can cultivate the fruit with good fertilizer, God’s word, water it with much prayer so that the grapes will flourish. But when the vines don’t receive proper nourishment, they are useless. And, if we allow negative scary thinking to absorb our thinking, we won’t be able to communicate God’s message to the world, either by writing or talking to people. That’s when our creativity goes to the dogs.
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