Aask Aaron – On Writing

Aask Aaron – A forum where Aaron Donley provides insightful and educated perspectives for the questions being raised in our time.

Thomas in Oklahoma:

Dear Aaron,

I want so badly to be a successful Christian writer of essays and such, but can’t seem to get a breakthrough with the publishers. My material is thoughtful and unassuming, and I think enjoyable, or at least has been to my non-Christian friends. What do I do?

My dear Thomas,

I too cringe at writing that always has to have a point. Or an essay about your life that wraps up with some quick little thing that happened to you containing a clean moral nugget that changed your life forever. Usually these stories have a certain feigned humility, but in the end the author just wants you to think about how right his views are. That’s why I think sometimes in our writing we just need to let things be. We just need to let life happen naturally on the page. I remember when my first child was born how hurried and nervous everyone was. But, as we ran through the hospital waiting room I caught a glimpse of a crucifix hanging over in the corner. For that one moment I paused, took a deep breath, and somehow grasped that life is more than my anxieties. From then on just a little piece of me learned to take things as they come. -To appreciate every moment. This is what life is all about Thomas. And that’s how you’ll make it as a Christian writer.

This has been Aask Aaron.