How to Be a Better Writer: Be an Ant

Go to the ant, O sluggard,
Observe her ways and be wise,
Which, having no chief,
Officer or ruler,
Prepares her food in the summer
And gathers her provision in the harvest.
— Proverbs 6:6-8, NASB

To be a better writer, you have to be industrious. Prepare for the dry seasons when words are few, when you wonder if you’re really cut out for this thing called the writing life.

You are, but you have to be ready. The drought will come. Sometimes you’ll see it approaching, a dust cloud forming on the horizon. Other times, it catches you unaware. The wind swoops and almost bowls you over.

Plan for all these times. Learn to work in every condition. Write when the words are plentiful and flow like a river from your heart and mind to your hands. Treasure this time. Use it wisely for it won’t last forever. The words will be swept away; your voice will go missing.

Don’t be afraid when it occurs. Dry spells happen to every writer. They get lost; the words dry up. They question what they’re doing and why they’re doing it.

The difference, however, is found in the one who prepares for the storm. They have no fear of the future because they’re ready. They’ve trained for these times. They have taught themselves to work when the conditions are right and when they’re wrong.

They remain steady in both periods because they’re like an ant. They know who they are, and who they are isn’t dependent on how many “words” they bring back to the colony. They’re a person who has been created in the image of God. They have worth because of who he is.

Because of him, they can rest when the hard days come. They know they’ll get lost at times, but they aren’t afraid. They have prepared their food in summer and will gather it in the harvest.

Image: William Cho (Creative Commons)