I recently read this quote on the FB page of author Robin Gunn. “On days — or weeks — when life seems to enter a floundering pause, I take comfort from this thought Lilias Trotter wrote in 1903 when she was a missionary in Algiers.”
“There were the fishing boats in the sunrise this morning. They were tacking before the wind, and at each fresh tack came a pause when the sail took an expression of helpless uncertainty and standstill under which the boat nearly reeled – then it would catch the breezes from the other side and bound off under it in a new direction. I think we are tacking just now!”
My father was a sailor, so I know the flapping pause between tacks. Feeling it now as a writer who just published a memoir, Unmoored: How an Adoptee Found Her True Identity, and waiting to catch the next book in the breeze.
While I wait, I’ve had time to clean up my desk. In doing so, I found a pile of quotes I’d scribbled on scraps of paper from books and blogs over the years to remind myself:
- Why I write
- How to write
- What I hope to offer my readers
Why I write
“Writing—for me—is its own kind of worship. The definition of worship is the ‘feeling of expression or reverence for a deity.’ Creating is the greatest expression of reverence I can think of because I recognize that the desire to make something is a gift from God. The freedom to carve out the time and have a safe place to create that art is a blessing of the highest level in a world where so many people are unable to have either.” Rachael Hollis.
“I can write down words and send them out into the world and hope they find a home. Or I can hide my light under a bushel because I’m too afraid someone won’t like the glare.” Rachael Hollis
“I write for myself—to figure something out and others will follow my passion to find the answer.” Philip Yancey
“I write so souls can share common ground.” Grace P. Cho
“Use your real story to share the real hope of Jesus. Walk with a limp and share Jesus as the healer.” Hosanna Wong
“Your life is not a tragedy; it’s a testimony that the Lord is your Rock and Redeemer.” Lysa Terkeurst
“Do not despise the era in which the Lord has chosen to make you an influencer.” Katie Emanuel
“Go turn the light on in the field God gave you.” Jennifer Dukes Lee
“This calling is not all on you. This calling is the awe of what God can do.” Suzie Eller
Don’t confuse your purpose with calling. Your purpose is to glorify God. Your calling is to live out that purpose.” Pricelis Perreaux-Dominguez
“Your book is not self-promotion, but a gift to your readers.” Emily Freeman
“You publish to influence others for good. You’re not done until they read it.” Gary Moreland
How to write
“Unflinching, uncomfortable, and unapologetic honesty is what makes a memoir stand out.” Shannon Leone Fowler
“Make sure you’re sharing from your scars not your open wounds.” Nadia Bolz-Weber
“In memoir, we have to fall hard for the character and feel swept up in the way the story is told.” Gail Hockman
“Technique holds a reader from sentence to sentence, but content will stay in his mind.” Joyce Carol Oates.https://www.facebook.com/joycecaroloatesofficial/
“Events won’t carry the story. It’s reflection and introspection that caries the themes under the surface. I was different on the trail little by little. It’s how you spin the back story.” Cheryl Strayed
“This is a great age of non-fiction. It’s not about how bad a butt whipping you had, but a change of character. Conflict within the self. Readers are spiritually starving to hear real stories in a convincing, impressive, moving way—a compelling narrative.” Mary Karr
What I want to offer my readers
“God let’s our damage surface, so he can redeem it, not punish it.” Serena Woods
“We all know when we’re in the presence of truth and beauty.” Alison Wearing
“Truth is more than facts. Truth is transcendent. It has a healing quality. Truth is a resonant cord.” Allison Wearing.
I share these words because they were the words that filled my sails as I zig zagged toward publication.
Robin Gunn’s quote is just another example of the right word shared at the right time. Apt phrases billowing with hope, purpose, and direction both propel and steady us as we follow the course God sets before us.
The right word
at the right time
is like precious gold
set in silver.Proverbs 25:11 (CEV)
No matter where and when I catch the next book in the breeze, I want my words to steer readers towards the grace of God that enables us to beat into any head wind and finish the race.
Cover photo by Alfonso Escu on Unsplash
Copyright Ann C. Averill 2025
