Refining

Recently, I had the amazing opportunity to go to a writers'

conference. The one I went to was the Winona Christian Writers’ Conference out in Indiana. Admittedly, I was a little scared. It was a long way to travel, and given how introverted I am, I expected to be very uncomfortable the whole time. However, luckily, I had a writer friend to travel with, and I have grown in some marked ways.

When we arrived at the conference, my friend and I showed

up rather early. So, we spent some time writing. As other attendees began showing up, I decided to rip the Band-Aid off, as the cliché goes. I started talking to some of the other attendees and was pleasantly surprised that it felt far less awkward than I thought. It is helpful that we all had the icebreaker of asking about what each other wrote to get the conversation going.

I won’t give you a blow-by-blow of my experience. I will

summarize to say that I found it incredibly beneficial. The speakers and class leaders were excellent. I received some feedback on my one manuscript that will prove useful, and I left the conference with some new writer friends. I also learned some things about myself. It almost feels like a lie to say that. Rather, some things I already knew about myself were validated or highlighted.

One important validation was that I am growing as a

writer. Both in the classes and in the manuscript evaluation, many aspects of my writing that were called my strengths were former weaknesses. That is the importance of good critique, friends. Some of my weaknesses I learned through self-editing, but far more I learned from critique partners, beta readers, and editors. At those times, I could have chosen to mope or ignore the advice, but instead I took it as a challenge for improvement. I practiced those weaknesses with intention, and I felt I improved. The comments on those weaknesses as strengths are proof to myself that I am refining my writing skills. With each new draft, I am not the same writer I was. I am better. Good feedback and intentional practice are a recipe for improvement that cannot be facsimiled.

An important highlight was how my passion as a teacher

flows into me as an author. There were many good parts to the conference, but the one that stands out was when I encouraged my fellow writers. I was in a fiction workshop that was a nice small group. Each day we completed writing exercises, and as soon as it finished, we were asked who would be willing to share what they wrote. Now, anyone in the position to share an unedited rough draft of an exercise would immediately have their pulse jumping. Some of you experienced it vicariously just now. It is hard to do, and on the first day, very few did. I made it my mission then to hear each person in our group read something they wrote aloud. I made it a point to seek those in my group out and encourage them. Their bravery became the best part of the conference to me. I will not say that they found the courage to share because of me. We all must choose courage for ourselves no matter what someone says, and every writer hopes to share what they wrote and have people appreciate it. However, I took joy in encouraging my fellow writers to write and to share. It brought life to me to watch them take those steps and to watch someone who had been quiet and serious the whole time break into a smile when we passed each other.

Those experiences are what drove me to be a teacher and

are a foundational purpose in all my writing. I don’t want to just teach content or just tell a story. I want to put something into the world that leaves people better off after it touches them. I want to pour my soul into something that becomes a seed that, when the person waters it, blossoms into something that renews hope and resilience in them as they brave the tumult of life. I want to be a single moment in someone’s life that allows them to build a brighter future. It is not that I want to be someone great. If no one remembers my name or when they crossed paths with me, that is fine, because it is not the point. I want people to live well. I want them to find peace and security. Yes, for those wondering about the “Christian” part of the conference title, I want people to discover who God is or grow deeper in a relationship with Him. That is part of what I think a better life looks like for the people I meet. I am content not knowing how these moments will ripple forward for them. The seeds of faith are ones I hope I am planting, and I trust God to take care of the rest.

I am grateful. I am so very grateful for the time at that

conference; for the proof of refinement and the continuing process of refining. By this time next year, I hope the new weaknesses I have discovered in myself have also become strengths. I hope that I have encouraged a new academic year’s worth of students and the writers who I have the fortune to call friends or associate with. I feel very blessed to have these opportunities. As you walk your path of refinement, I also hope that you will find your weaknesses becoming strengths and that the people you touch will leave refined by the fire of the Hope inside of you.