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I’ve been wanting to start writing for a while now, and I keep road blocking myself but I know that I just need to start. Once I get going the love of writing and the benefits of reflecting will kick in and the habit will become easy – that’s what I’m hoping anyway. So, here I am, giving writing ago… Perhaps I should start by thinking a little bit about why I want to write, maybe that’ll get the ball rolling.

The love of writing

When I actually get my act together and write things, or when I’m writing newsletters or similar content at work, I find a lot of joy in piecing words together to express opinions, thoughts, and ideas. It’s such a great opportunity to portray character and voice, and I have always admired the way that words work together to create a sentence that flows well.

So, if I find joy in writing so much, why on earth don’t I do it? Well, I think for many reasons: procrastination, feeling like it’s a much bigger task than it really is, plus I’m newly married so finding that quiet time, alone, in a small flat can be a bit of a challenge. 

Looking ahead, what can I do that’s different? I’ve been having a look online at some “top tips” for finding a good writing routine – because I think that’s what I need really, to make writing a part of my norm. Here are tips from various websites that I think I’ll find particularly helpful: 

• Starting small and steady – one of my biggest issues is that this, writing, feels like a much bigger job than it really is. I think to just get going and start writing, whilst not putting big expectations on myself, will really help.
  
• Finding your rhythm – this is a tough one for me, as I work Monday to Friday (and often Saturdays too) and I leave at 8am and get home at 6:30pm. My guess is that early mornings or late at night will be a good time for me – but let’s just see. Sunday afternoons are also a likely option. I think I may even try scheduling writing into my calendar – maybe that’ll help.
  
• Accountability – this could play out in different ways. Getting a friend on board is always helpful; starting a blog where there is an expectation for a routine piece offers a deadline (but could add pressure); or even just setting a goal for myself, whether I want to write a whole piece monthly, or 500 words weekly.
  
• Adopt a making time not finding time mentality – now THIS is an important one. It’s so easy to say that I never have the time and then spend an hour scrolling down my phone (a toxic habit, I know). I think a finding time mentality is a useful one to adopt in many areas of life, and is probably my biggest take away from my little researching task. 

A crazy old ride 

Moving on with why I want to write, my life’s been a pretty crazy ride – especially in the last year or so – and writing is a great way to process and reflect the many things that have happened. I also like to think that I’ve got through everything pretty well, and I would love to share with others some of the ways I’ve overcome difficulties and challenges. 

Just to touch on the last year specifically, my Mum was diagnosed with cancer in May 2022 and died on 31st July 2023 – this was quite a journey in itself. My mum didn’t want to have conventional treatment and went down the alternative medicine route which, by the way, I think was the best way forward for her – she had so much energy and life in her, you wouldn’t have really known she had cancer until the final few months. 

On a very different note, I also started dating, got engaged and then married my now-husband, all between November 2022 and September 2023. This was really quite a ride, especially alongside looking after my mum, dealing with her dying, and arranging her funeral, house etc. 

During that year, I also went to Tanzania for six weeks, Kenya for a week, Zanzibar on honeymoon, worked as a Ministry Trainee at my church, moved house and then started a new job in October 2023 as the Campaign Organiser for the South Cotswold Lib Dems – quite the whirlwind, but a real adventure!

Recognising who God is

Through such turbulence, uncertainty, sorrow and joy, I really got to know who God is and how He helps you in the big, the small and the mundane. I wouldn’t have got through that last year if it wasn’t for His constant love and comfort, and He so gently and lovingly taught me a lot about myself, and how He calls me to respond in a way that is more like Him too! 

I would love to share these truths with others, and for more people to recognise who God really is and how He shapes us through the good and the bad. 

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4

“But we glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5)