Is Writing a Waste of Time?

By R.M. Archer

Maybe relatives or friends question whether writing is “a real job.” Or maybe you simply hear your own voice in your head asking whether it’s really worth writing instead of doing any number of other things, or whether it really matters that your story be written when there are so many “better” stories out there… With all the doubts we face, it can be easy to wonder if writing is really important or if it’s just a waste of time.

But if writing is important to you, it is anything but a waste of time!

Your story has value both for you and for readers. The world needs more quality storytelling, and learning quality storytelling has value for spiritual and general growth throughout our lives.

The World Needs More

Sub-Creators

Writing can serve many purposes. Pieces of writing can educate, encourage, challenge, and entertain. Writing can also tear down or discourage, and it can turn our minds toward darkness as much as it can turn our minds toward light.

Storytelling is especially powerful for influencing readers. When Lewis spoke about portraying faith in his stories, he asked,

“Why did one find it so hard to feel as one was told one ought to feel about God or about the sufferings of Christ? I thought the chief reason was that one was told one ought to. An obligation to feel can freeze feelings. And reverence itself did harm. The whole subject was associated with lowered voices; almost as if it were something medical. But supposing [sic] that by casting all these things into an imaginary world, stripping them of their stained-glass and Sunday school associations, one could make them for the first time appear in their real potency? Could one not thus steal past those watchful dragons? I thought one could.”[1]

~ C.S. Lewis

Storytelling has the power to “steal past a certain inhibition” and “steal past those watchful dragons” because it strips away the “obligation” of belief. We don’t see the issue underneath the story as something we “should” support or believe; it simply is.

This is nearly as true for skillfully wrought lies as skillfully wrought truth.

We need more authors who will take up the mantle of “sub-creator,” as authors such as Tolkien have put it, and intentionally write stories that reflect beauty and truth. We need more stories that edify, build up, and challenge readers in contrast to those that corrupt and tear down.

We need stories that acknowledge the Law—the structure and truth—behind all good storytelling, and the source of that Law. To quote George MacDonald,

“The mind of man is the product of live Law; it thinks by law, it dwells in the midst of law, it gathers from law its growth; with law, therefore, can it alone work to any result…Law is the soil in which alone beauty will grow; beauty is the only stuff in which Truth can be clothed; and you may, if you will, call Imagination the tailor that cuts her garments to fit her, and Fancy his journeyman that puts the pieces of them together, or perhaps at most embroiders their button-holes. Obeying law, the maker works like his creator; not obeying law, he is such a fool as heaps a pile of stones and calls it a church.”[2]

~ George MacDonald

Even secular stories must have some consistent law in order to stand up as believable, but they cannot reflect the Law. The secular author has no understanding of true Law, and beauty does not grow from the false law counterfeit.

Only believing authors can write with an understanding of Law and Truth and therefore reveal true beauty and hope in their work.

The secular world doesn’t give up on writing stories that show life through a broken glass; we cannot give up on writing stories that show life through a mended lens of truth.

Creating Gives You a Glimpse of the Creator

What if writing is just a hobby? What if you don’t do it for readers, but simply for yourself?

Writing still has value as sub-creation, whether others are a part of the process or not. By writing we come to understand God better as Creator, as Sovereign, and even to some extent as Father.

Through worldbuilding, I’ve come to a greater appreciation of God’s creativity and design as I realize how difficult it is for a human to develop so many functioning, interlocking pieces to create a cohesive world. And yet God is so magnificent and awesome that He did it with ease!

Storytelling also gives us a better understanding of God’s love for us and His design for our lives. Though there’s pain and suffering, it is always for a purpose and it always leads to our blessing and growth in the end. As our love for our characters is not impeded by the suffering they must go through, we come to understand that our suffering is not due to any lapse in God’s love for us, but shaped by that love.

These are only a couple examples of ways in which our understanding of God can be deepened by our reflection of His creativity. Writing has an abundance of such lessons, if we pay attention.

Storytelling is a Life Skill

Storytelling has value beyond novels or short stories or other publishable works. Storytelling is one of the ways that we connect with others. By learning to tell stories in novels and the like, we learn a skill that is applicable to many areas of life, not least our relationships.

Through storytelling, we can share our testimonies with others for their encouragement.

Through storytelling, we can communicate our shared experiences with others and forge deeper relationships.

Through storytelling, we can illustrate important issues and foster empathy and understanding.

Through storytelling, we can present information so that it not only connects with a reader’s mind but also with their emotions.

Storytelling is not a hobby that may or may not profit; it is a life skill to be developed. Storytelling is applicable to relationships, school projects, work, evangelism… It is a valuable tool in nearly every sphere of life.

Developing your ability to tell stories is not a waste of time.

The World Needs Your Voice

“Start telling the stories that only you can tell, because there’ll always be better writers than you and there’ll always be smarter writers than you. There will always be people who are much better at doing this or doing that - but you are the only you.” 

~ Neil Gaiman

In addition to your passion for writing, God has given you unique experiences, interests, dreams, and other passions and skills beyond writing. You have a unique worldview, and that worldview makes your writing one-of-a-kind and indispensable.

Even if you write on the same topic as some other author, in any arena, your approach and your conclusions will inevitably be different and you will create a wholly different story designed to impact a wholly different set of readers.

Or perhaps it will impact an overlapping audience and those who read both works will come away with a fuller understanding of the topic than if your story or the other had been absent!

God has given you a unique voice. Don’t be afraid to use it.

Your Reason

When it comes down to it, if you’ve been writing for a while then you likely already have a reason you continue to write when doubts arise.

 Whether you’re conscious of it or not, whether it’s a reason I’ve listed or not, there is something that keeps you going when you feel like quitting. Next time you hear the whispered lie that writing isn’t worth your time, remember these reasons and remember your reason.

The world needs more sub-creators.

Creating brings you closer to the Creator.

Storytelling is a life skill.

The world needs your voice.

And…?

Which of these ideas gives you the most reason to keep writing? What is your reason to keep going? Do you write to share truth with readers, or to remind yourself?

References:

[1] “Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What’s to be Said,” C.S. Lewis