An Author in "Train"ing - Where Do You Want To Go?

I realized this morning that the travelling motif is very appropriate for a writer. Just as a traveler on a train, a writer has to know the station where they're starting. Also, like a traveler, they need to know where they want to be at the end. And it both cases, the knowledge of a starting point and an ending point will help determine the route to get there.

I've had that happen in the past few days. One of the questions I tried to answer in the book proposal was, "What do you want the take-away to be for your readers?" As I thought, I came to the conclusion that I want the reader to remember the widespread damage that sin does—not only to the sinner and the one directly sinned against, but the collateral damage as well. The choices we make affect those around us.

Most importantly, though, I think we forget what our sin does to God. We think God is untouchable. After all, He is all-powerful and all-knowing, right? What we forget, what I forgot until I saw myself write the words, is: "...the wounding and loss that the heart of God feels, when our sin separates Him from us. He created us to be His children, and our sin rips His children from His arms."

"...Rips His children from His arms." What an image. I went back and looked at my manuscript. Did it say what I wanted it to say? Did I arrive at the station I had planned to reach? When I looked at my arrival point, as compared with my desired destination, I realized I still had a little further to travel. I rewrote one section. I think the message is much stronger now.

The moral of today's blog post: 
In writing or in life, if you don't know where you're going, how will you know when you get there?