by Michelle S. Lazurek
“When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.” (2 Timothy 4:13 NIV)
At a recent writers’ conference, as I submitted my schedule to the director to let attendees know when they could see me for an appointment, I checked off several places where I could not see anyone. When I showed up to other faculty’s classes, the response was the same:
“What are you doing here?” In response, I’d smile and say, “I’ve come to learn from the best.”
I love writers’ conferences because not only can I use my gifts of teaching and pass on the knowledge that was passed on to me, but I also can learn from others who have been in the business longer than I have. I learn from their mistakes and take their valuable insights to apply to my writing career.
We were never meant to walk our spiritual lives alone, let alone our writing careers. Whether I meet other writers at conferences and enjoy the gift of fellowship with them, or read a book by a fellow writer, I invite opportunities for improvement in my life. I am richly blessed by it and I hope others are, too.
At one of the first writers’ conferences I attended, I met an editor who commended me for my willingness to listen to constructive criticism. I listened to (and applied) every suggestion she asked me to make. She told me that my teachable attitude would bode well for me in the future. When I learn from others who are doing what I am doing, I place myself in a position to improve. While reading enriches my life and allows me an opportunity to improve, I can’t stop at the reading process. Like breathing, my body was wired to inhale and exhale. As writer, we are called to write down the revelations God gives us both in the Bible and in other books in an effort to bring forth the gospel to a hurting world.
I never want to get to a place in my writing where I think I’ve learned it all. I never want to fool myself into believing that now that I have “arrived” in the writing world and I don’t need anyone else. I also want to place myself in a position to learn from others who are the best in their craft.
In life, there will always be someone who can write better than I do. When I keep this perspective, I maintain a level of humility necessary in both my writing and in my life. However, God can also be teaching me new ways to contribute to that craft in a new way. In so doing, I need to be obedient to write down what God is telling me to say. It is a slippery slope when I have deceived myself into believing I know all there is to know about writing. In fact, the longer I do this, the more I realize how little I know.
Paul understood this. On his journey, he took his scrolls with him, the papers that already had written upon them all the important things God had done. In this passage, he also asks Timothy to get him his parchments. These are the papers that are blank—primed and ready for whatever Paul is learning to come forth in a new revelation. The parchments were there to write down all the things God was going to do.
As writers, we take classes on how to hone our crafts, market our products, and polish our work. But we should also be reading as much as we are writing. We should not only be reading the Word, but also other books, whether they are in our same genre of writing or not. We also benefit when we read books outside of our genre so we can learn how other writers are communicating their messages. Whether they are spellbinding novels or how-to books, reading enriches our lives. Through it, we learn, we are entertained, and if we are good at writing, we then inform others as well. When we read, as God speaks to us, we need to also write down the new revelations God gives to us, both through His word, as well as the new book ideas God is birthing in our minds and hearts.
Put yourself in a position where you are reading as much as you are writing. As you are inspired by other writers, put pen to paper and inspire others through the revelations you write.
Michelle S. Lazurek is an multi-genre award-winning author, literary agent, speaker, pastor’s wife, and mother. Find out more about her at http://www.michellelazurek.com/