Author’s Gab, Reader Talk.
A letter to you, the reader, so that you can finally figure out what I’m thinking.
—————————————
This Month: Grace
————————————————–
Dear Reader,
What is Grace? I need to ask you. Is it the saving moment that you realize that your sonnet has a 11 syllable line instead of a 14 syllable one? Is it the moment you finally break through your writer’s block and begin to write? Or is it the moment you hold a rejection letter in your hand, driving you to try again? Is it the moment that an agent says: “I will support you”? Or, could it be the moment you finally hold that published copy in your hands?
As a writer, personally, I have had many moments of redemption, but there have been very few moments where I have plainly acknowledged the grace that accompanies it. To realize my typo before it’s embarrassingly sent to the printer is… well… a form of grace, and not just one of redemption. And, honestly, I believe that God doesn’t just hope we have these kind of moments, He anticipates them. He plans them like a diabolical scientific mastermind pouring over an experiment while sitting on a swivel stool in the dark confines of a secret, underground laboratory. And, just like the same scientific genius will eventually make that same experiment happen, so God makes moments of redemption happen; thus, in such an instant, grace is produced.
I have experienced one such moment of redeeming grace as a writer of late. I have neglected to tell you, but both of the poems I submitted were rejected from Parnassus 2010. I spent a good majority of my time writing myself off as a failure. I had hoped to report success to you, but instead I must report defeat. But, what I have learned is that failure is also a form of grace.
Look at it this way: by being rejected from Parnassus, I was allowed an opportunity. Furthermore, I had an answer to my question about my Parnassus submission and was no longer in limbo. Thus, I was given the grace of an answer, and redeemed of all of my obligations to Parnassus. And, that, in itself, isn’t so bad after all.
I heard once that a piece of writing is never finished; it is, simply, abandoned. I say this because, this month, I would like to encourage you to take a step back, lay down your pen, and give up the fight. Grace has no price. It is not earned, bought, or exchanged. Grace is free (in total). Jesus gave up His Spirit willingly to the Father, took the cup of suffering for humankind’s sake, in order to ensure that. And, golly, if it took a whole death to provide insurance for a “grace plan”, I better take some time to embrace it. The only flaw to writing is the writer him/herself. The message I’m sending here is to abandon criticism for a moment and embrace the small moments of grace, especially in the editing process, where criticism and grace seem to become most evident. So, abandon yourself and embrace the freedom that comes with it.
Who, after all, said our plans were God’s plans? Who, after all, said that our efforts equaled a ticket into heaven? Who, after all, said a piece of writing would suddenly metamophasize into it’s ultimate form? I say, embrace grace. Let go of some control. Put down the pen. Let God pick it up for you.
Grace, since Christ, has been extended to all who believe. It has been so given freely, unconditionally, and justly. Thus, grace is in each moment, forever. Writers, I charge you to accept the grace that is so freely handed to you with each stroke of the pen, with each blink of the cursor. In time, all will make music, but that’s just it: you have to give your writing time to do so. For, grace is God’s love for those who wish to be and are redeemed, nothing more, and nothing less.
Happy Writing!
………
Your Author,
Jessica A. McLean
The Rose 