I loved reading your responses about your catalyst for writing. So may wonderful motivations and stories in the making. Now what I want you to do, is take a look at what you listed as your catalyst and go deeper. And then deeper. Peel back the layers until you find the heartbeat of what is driving you to write. Sometimes its what drives you to write one particular book. Sometimes you’ll find that the core catalyst within will resonate through all the books you write.
So how do you do that? Have a conversation with a trusted friend. Someone who knows you well and isn’t afraid to ask the hard questions. Who isn’t afraid to push you. But it needs to be someone without an agenda of their own. Someone who will take part in this to serve you. Don’t try to do this alone, because it’s too easy to stop before you should. But be prepared. Finding your catalyst is often hard work and it demands you be gut-level honest.
Following is an example of a catalyst conversation based on several that I’ve had different writer friends. This gives you an example without revealing one person’s details, because, friends, digging for your catalyst can be emotional. (Boldfaced lines are the author’s.)
__________________
“My novel centers on suicide.”
“Okay, why?”
“Because so many people are affected by it.”
“Okay, but why does that matter to you?”
“Because someone I loved committed suicide. My mother.”
“And?”
“And it changed my life.”
“How?”
“Because my loved one was gone.”
“And?”
“And that makes me sad.”
“And?”
“Regretful… Angry.”
“Angry with…?”
“My mom.”
“Why?”
“Because she gave up. She left me.”
“So you feel she abandoned you?”
“Yes. She’s the one who brought me to Christ. She taught me to trust Him.”
“And yet…”
Arms cross over his chest. “She didn’t trust Him. If she did, she never would have killed herself.”
“So how does that make you feel?”
“Sad. Angry.”
“Because?”
“Well, if she couldn’t trust God…”
“Then how can you?”
Lips thin. Looks away. “I trust God.”
“But what she did…it makes you wonder. If you can. If He’s really there.”
No response.
“Because He could have stopped your loved one, and He didn’t.”
Eyes come back to me. “No, He didn’t.”
“But He could have.”
“Well, He’s God, isn’t He?”
“Is He?”
Silence.
“So He let you down. And He let your loved one down.”
“Yes. Okay, yes. He let us down. I mean, He’s God, so why didn’t He stop it?”
“So you wonder now how you can trust a God who lets something like this happen? If He wasn’t enough to keep your mom from doing this, how can He be enough for you when things get bad.”
Shakes his head. “He’s enough. I know He’s enough.”
I smile. “How do you know that?”
“Because He got me through mom’s death. That was the worst thing I’ve ever faced.”
“And?”
Eyes lift, and understanding stirs. “And I saw for myself that no matter how bad things get, how abandoned you feel, you can’t base your trust on feelings. That God is there, even when you don’t feel Him. Especially when you don’t feel Him.”
“So how does that relate to your catalyst?”
Nods. “I want people to know. That it’s okay to be angry. With situations. Even with God. And that it’s okay to doubt. To wonder if He’s really there. That He wants all of us. Even the ugly, angry parts of us.”
“And?”
“And He still loves us, even when we’re not sure about Him. And He’s there.” Tears start. “He’s there, with us, even if we don’t feel Him.”
“So your book isn’t really about suicide.”
Shakes head. Smiles. “No, it’s about God. His character. His love.”
“And your catalyst…”
“Is that we can trust him, even when we can’t feel Him. We can be honest with Him. And that He’s more than any darkness we face. And His love for us is stronger and deeper than any doubt we feel.”
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As you can see, catalyst conversations aren’t easy. They often aren’t comfortable. But friends, we need to keep digging. To find the real burn inside, the core reason we write. Because when we know that, it fuels and supports us in the writing. It infuses the story with honest and authenticity.
And that’s what we need to give our readers in every book. Not pat or easy answers, but gut-level honesty about what it is to follow a God who isn’t tame, and who often doesn’t make sense to us. Whether you’re writing suspense or romance, historical or speculative, there is, deep inside, a catalyst that spurs you to put pen to paper. I encourage you to dig ever deeper, to find that inner fire…
And then let it dance on the page.
