As a writer, it is easy to get frustrated when the words won’t come. 

When we sit down to write, we often set out with a specific agenda, theme, or topic and we turn the faucet on. Sometimes glorious amounts of clear, sparkling water rush out. We slurp it up, pour it back into our work, and end up feeling refreshed. 

Yet other times, we get the drip, drip, drip of a faucet that won’t flow. 

You may wonder, “Is this the infamous writer’s block that I’ve heard so much about?” And if it is, “How long will it stay?” If you are really frustrated, you might even say, “This is such a waste of time!”

But you want to be reasonable, so you stand up, take a stretch, fix some food and sit back down. Drip, drip, drip. Still nothing. You begin to look around your desk. You clean it up a little. And in your procrastination, you begin to notice a little face, peeping out at you that you have never, ever noticed before. 

And this face? Well, it looks an awful lot like a wild-eyed Emu.

What on earth??? Now, I’m really starting to lose it. I’m seeing Emus in the wood grain of my desk. How have I never seen him before? And look, he’s so cute! I wonder what Emus eat? I wonder where they live? I wonder everything!!! Which leads me right down a rabbit hole of YouTube videos about Emus. 

An hour later, and the faucet I turned on (the one I really needed to flow) is still drip, drip, dripping. 

However, a new faucet has emerged; one that was hidden beneath the home; one that I didn’t even know existed. 

That new faucet turned one silly emu into a post on social media, a first draft of a promising picture book and this current blog post. What is this life?

I didn’t set out to write about an Emu today. 

I wanted to write something really inspiring for Kingdom Edge Magazine (which is due tomorrow)! 

I wanted to write a blog post about raising teenagers (because parents of teenagers don’t get enough love and we really need each other)! 

I wanted to do a whole slew of things that did not include Emus. Yet, it was the Emu that kept popping up. 

Which leads me to my actual point: Sometimes we just need to write what wants to be written. 

If you are struggling through a project, set it aside and move on. I have endless stories and blog posts that are half-written. Sometimes I lay them down for months and when I come back, the words just flow. I believe in God’s perfect timing. 

I also believe that written words are never wasted. 

I recently spent quite a bit of time on a revision for a picture book. I really liked where it was headed, but the editor did not. It wasn’t quite right for that book, but guess what? The process of writing it gives me hope that I will use it in the future; a different story, a different time. The words won’t be wasted. 

As creatives, we have to be willing to wait. We have to work through the dry spells and the drip, drip, drip of the faucet. We have to have experiences beyond the keyboard and we must always keep our ears, our eyes and our hearts open. When the words flow, it’s best to grab a raft and ride the current. And when the words stop, we get up, look around, take notice of something new or find a different source of water. 

But you can’t rush it. 

And you can’t fake it. 

And you can’t force it. 

Because Emus, like words, need their own private space to grow and develop. And when the timing is right, they will come forth and bring life. And that life, that story, those words; they are never wasted.