Writing a Story is like Growing Flowers

Grow a Flower Farm of Words
By Debbie Roome

I was on my way to a small town at the bottom of New Zealand a couple of weeks ago when we flew over a flower farm. It looked magnificent from the air; ribbons of red, yellow and purple, flanked with green hills. It made me think that writing stories is a little like farming flowers.

Seeds given by God
Seeds are the ideas that God plants in our minds. He gives us inspiration and the skill to let the ideas grow into something beautiful.

Roots of our Stories
The roots of what we write are within us. The seed is planted in the soil of our beliefs, hopes and dreams and the words we write are influenced by who we are. The more surrendered we are to God, the more effective and rooted our words will be.

Roots Push up Stems
If roots are nurtured and fed and watered, the natural outflow is a stem. This is the body of a story – the framework and skeleton that supports it.

Stems support Leaves
As the stem matures, leaves start to bud and unfurl. This is equivalent to filling in the details of the story.

The Beauty is in the Flower
A flower is the crowning glory of the plant. It’s beautiful and fragrant and attracts people to come and inhale its sweetness. These are the final touches we add to our story; the ability to use language in a manner that is refreshing and makes people want to read more.

These Flowers don’t wither after a Week
Unlike natural flowers, our word flowers live on, week after week, year after year, until we have a flower farm of our own. The important thing is to share the flowers and spread the beauty and scent around.

Whatever you decide to write this week, ask God to breathe His life into it and see it as a ravishing rose or pure white lily. Then take the flower and share it with someone who needs some inspiration.

Debbie Roome works as a freelance writer from her home in New Zealand. Visit her at Debbie Roome or read some of her work at Suite 101 , Take Root and Write and Faithwriters.