Go Ahead and Bleed

“There’s nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.” – Red Smith*

As much as I love writing, it’s difficult. My heart can only take so much rawness. I can only rip my heart open and pour it onto the page for so long.

Add on the fact that the majority of my writing is about faith (and often my struggles with it), and I’m bleeding even more. I become exhausted from reaching deep down into myself and sharing some vulnerable pieces. Some days, I’m completely done with writing about faith. My heart can only take so much.

Sometimes, I avoid writing. I make excuses about the daily practice I should be embracing. I run away from one of the biggest passions in my life.

And yet, after the bleeding, after the struggle and frustration, peace emerges. Things become clearer and make more sense when it’s on the page in front of me. I wonder why I fought the process.

Writing takes effort and passion. It takes pouring more than a little of yourself into your craft. And if you’re hoping to write about faith, expect to pour even more. Trying to put the most important and intimate part of us into words is, well, really hard.

Writing is hard. There is no way around that. But, like all worthwhile things in life, the effort we put into it makes it even more rewarding.

So go ahead and bleed a little.

* I found several variations of this quote, one that has been attributed to Ernest Hemingway. Red Smith seems to be the most likely person to have said it. I found interesting information here and here.