By JANET HART LEONARD
From the Hart
A writer is an artist who paints a picture with a pen instead of a paintbrush. The beauty is still a picture one sees with her mind, using one’s own imagination.
When God holds her pen the beauty is magnified. Words are the brushstrokes of the details of a story.
A good writer shows, in her words, a picture of a barn. A better writer shows you the inside of the barn. A gifted writer makes you want to stay in the barn.
These were my thoughts June 24, 2021 – the day I began to write my book.
Would I ever be able to write so that my readers found such delight in my writing that they would want to read more of my words, continue turning the pages in my book, and find the barn (my writing) a beautiful place to stay?
I hope so.
As you lean in to hear or read someone’s story, you hear her perspective from the way she was raised, the experiences she lived and the situation in which she currently finds herself.
I want to tell my story. It is the story of a life that has not gone as planned. It is a story of redemption, built from the shrapnel of broken dreams.
So many times I have told myself … it’s not supposed to be this way.
But God had a plan. He has held my pen. It’s a hard story but it’s a beautiful story.
As I write, I find the layers of emotions begin to rise. I’ve said to my friends that I think I may need therapy by the time I am finished, yet … perhaps writing is my therapy.
Voices of doubt haunt me as I write. Voices that remind me of not feeling smart enough, brave enough, young enough and educated enough. Hushing those voices is daunting at times. I can’t duct tape the voices in my mind. If I could, I would do so.
So, I continue to write. I have plenty of time.
COVID pushed up my retirement date. I have no excuse not to find the time to write. Hoping for an early Spring launch date.
Stay tuned. My story will be told. My thoughts will be shared. There will be tears. There will be laughter.
There will be lots of times you may be able to say … I know exactly how she feels.
I just hope I can keep you in the barn.