I don't have much writing time here this morning, because I'm trying to get a rough draft of my sermon done before we go across the mountains for a quick trip to see my inlaws' new house in east Tennessee. I want a rough draft so that I can let it percolate and return to it to see if I've got any additional ideas. I'm at the point of sermon writing where it seems stupid and just repeating what we already read and what is the point of it all?
It's never as bad as I think that it is. Going through this phase where I think it's pure drivel week after week is both tiring and a comfort. At least I know it's not unusual to doubt my writing this way.
It's interesting to think about sermon writing and the other types of writing that I do. Blogging feels less formal to me, and very few people are likely to read a blog post. I'm not paid to do it. I don't usually go through the phase where I think it's all too stupid.
I think of yesterday's poetry writing process. I had a vision of Winnie the Pooh in the old folks' home, and I wondered what had happened to the rest of the characters. Writing the poem was a delight. Is it profound? It doesn't seem as profound as some of the things I've written, but it also doesn't seem as trivial as some poems I've written. These days, I'm just happy whenever I write something that could be a poem.
When I write essays for paying publications (rare, but it happens), I sometimes go through the "It's drivel!" phase, but not always. So I don't think the issue is paid writing vs. unpaid writing.
Well, let me get back to the sermon writing. It's not the writing that brings me the most joy, but it does bring me satisfaction.
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