“…that’s the beauty of blog writing—it’s an invitation to enter into the middle of a story without the pressure of either having to know the beginning or close it up neatly.
“A blog is often a collection of middle narratives, reflections that happen in between beginnings and endings.”
— Emily P. Freeman, “Before Helpless Turns to Hopeless”
I don’t write about best marketing practices or technology on this website. I’ve explained the reasons previously. The short version? I need a break from content marketing, thought leadership, and strategy. I require a space where I can try different forms, play with words, and break the writing rules.
Perhaps most of all, though, I need a place of middles, a spot where I can reflect on what happens “between beginnings and endings.” The Write Right blog is that location. I work through things in my life. I ponder, ruminate, meditate, explore what it means to be an artist and a child of God.
Challenge, too. The “better writer” series encourages as much as it demands. I know writers of any level can improve their skills and hone their abilities. They can grow and write the words that are not quite in reach. I write so that they will keep striving; however, the words aren’t for them alone. I need the exhortations, too. I have to remind myself to not fall into complacency, to sit in the chair, to not be afraid.
It’s another sort of middle. I haven’t arrived. I hope that I never do. To arrive while still in the middle is not to stop growing. It’s to die. The writing and art wither if they aren’t fed constructive criticism and pushed to attempt new feats. The same happens with my faith. Growth must be progressive and continual, no matter how infinitesimal.
The middles, however, aren’t a flailing about. They have direction to them because they head toward an ending, the prize of the upward call that Paul describes in Philippians 3. That is the ending. I aim toward it while I live this life and write its middles.
Image: Batuhan Agmaz (Creative Commons)