By Dana Patrola
Start of conversation with hubby: “I have an idea for a really great story. I mean, fantastic. The kind that’ll make me – and by extension you – boatloads of money.”
His Reply: “Mm. Where are my glasses? They were here a second ago. And what’s the deal with the cable bill? They keep raising it and raising it.”
Start of conversation with writer friend (doesn’t matter which one – and keep in mind they have plenty of their own work to deal with): “I have a story idea.”
Her Reply: “Great! Tell me about it.”
If your husband doesn’t fit in this category then count yourself blessed and please read on with a heart of sympathy 😀
I hear this theme repeated in some form via computer and text almost every day. Those with boyfriends don’t generally understand because their boyfriends are still in the “Everything you do is fascinating and wonderful” stage, but those of us who are married, are faced with a frustrating and seemingly senseless dilemma: Why do our spouses resist our writing life?
I don’t know about you, but I can count on one finger the pieces I’ve written that my husband has read. I write this with every confidence that he will never see it, LOL. So I know it isn’t my work he’s opposed to. It’s the time I spend writing. But why?
There are times the topic of our writing is met with casual disregard, but often, blatant hostility. Is it because we’re talking time away from them when we could be dollar store browsing? Having a third cup of coffee at the diner? Sitting silently together because we share none of the same interests? Is it deeper? Perhaps his resistance is really to our independence – writing, after all, is something we don’t need him for. Or is his ego at stake, knowing that we could conceivably rocket to success and outshine him? While all these might be true on the surface, there is a deeper level. A spiritual level.
Let’s not forget that our gift of communication is from God, and He hasn’t bestowed it so we can write the best Christmas cards, or the occasional thank you note, but for our good and His glory. And let’s not forget the devil’s desire to keep that from happening. I’M NOT SAYING husbands are agents of the devil, but he can certainly cause some strife and hopefully cause us to wonder if it’s all worth it. It is!
The words we write are meant to affect change, and no one else can say the same thing in the same way to the same heart, as you can. We might not have our husband’s nod of approval, but God, in His love and mercy, has provided us with a band of sisters, women who have the same gift and understand the often daunting task of bringing words to life and stirring an undecided heart with a well-timed phrase.
I am so grateful to be part of this community, enjoying the ride together, until we all have boatloads of money and our husbands are bragging about how they inspired us.
About Dana Patrola
Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. He is merciful and gracious and loves me beyond all human reason. He’s blessed me with a wonderful husband and three dynamic kids, and we all live in a shoe in New Jersey. (Just seeing who’s paying attention, lol)
God gave me a passion to write Christian Romance. Not the kind with a woman buttoned to the neck and a man daring no more than to hold her hand, but the contemporary kind. These books don’t contain explicit sex scenes, but my characters have real desires, struggles and choices to make. A lot of the time they make the wrong ones. No subject is prohibited but good always triumphs.
He has no wings or halo, but he’s an honest-to-goodness hero. …And his lineage is quite impressive.
Haven is the most interesting woman to ever cross Jett’s path. But she’s too naïve and pure to learn what goes on in his home. Too bad he wants her more than he’s wanted anyone or anything in his life.