by Cherrilynn Bisbano @bisbanowrites

 At the age of four, my father threw me in the water over my head to teach me to swim. (I do not recommend his methods). I mastered all the strokes and even sat in on life-saving classes at the age of eight.  The perks of my parents supervising the private lake.

 “Help, I have a cramp!” Bob,  yelled as the class practiced CPR on a mannequin.

“Cherrilynn, go get him before he drowns.” Mike, the life-saving instructor said.

“I’m not qualified yet, I’m just a kid?”

“You can do it, Cherrilynn, we all just ate lunch.” Mike guided me toward the lake.

“Yes, go get him, you can do this,” the class said.

I swam the one hundred and fifty yards to Bob while the class watched.

 I approached Bob in a proper manner, from behind, told him I was going to bring him to shore.

“You are just a kid,” he said as he splashed.

[tweet_box design=”default” float=”none” inject=”#Writing #Writinglife #BRMCWC”]What Lifesaving Taught Me About Writing by @bisbanowrites on @BRMCWC[/tweet_box]

“Yeah, but I ‘m all you got, so relax.  I can swim you to shore.”

“You’re that strong, Cherrilynn?”

“I can get you to where you can stand.”

I encased his head and neck in my arm and swam him to shore.

Everyone cheered and clapped for me.

Bob and Mike high fived.

I learned Bob never had a cramp. I almost cried until Mike said,

“I wanted to show you that you can save a life, no matter what age, as long as you use the techniques you’ve seen here.”

Do you feel like your drowning in your writing career?

Do you feel you’re not qualified to be published?

Let me throw you a life preserver of truth. No one feels totally competent as a writer.

“By the time I was fourteen the nail in my wall would no longer support the weight of the rejection slips impaled upon it. I replaced the nail with a spike and went on writing.” -Stephen King

“I love my rejection slips. They show me I try.” – Sylvia Plath

“Rejection has value. It teaches us when our work or our skillset is not good enough and must be made better. -Chuck Wendig

“I admire anybody who as the guts to write anything at all.” -E.B. White

Even famous authors know that cramps are inevitable when writing, but they don’t stop. They continue to learn and grow. You can too!

Put on your life jacket and use your skills. As you gain new abilities and stay afloat, you’ll soon master writing and reach publication.

God called you to write, and he will equip you. Don’t wait for perfection, no one is perfect. God desires you to use the knowledge you have right now. Perhaps God will use your writing to rescue a lost soul.

Remember, the evil one will try to drown you, so here are some verses to keep you swimming.

“But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.”

2 Thessalonians 3:3 (NIV)

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us;

And confirm for us the work of our hands;

Yes, confirm the work of our hands.

Psalm 90:17 (NASB)

But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.

~ 2 Chronicles 15:7

I’m cheering you on from the shore. Remember, God is there to grab you before your head goes under. Just like he did with Peter.

What part of writing causes you cramps? Join the conversation.

Cherrilynn Bisbano is an award-winning writer, coach, editor, and speaker. As former managing editor of Almost an Author, she helped the website earn the #6 spot on the Top 100 best writing websites for 2018 by The Write Life and Top 101 Websites for writers with Writers Digest. Cherrilynn is a speaker with Women Speakers. Her topics include leadership, book proposals, and the Bible.

She is a two-time winner of Flash Fiction Weekly. Her work in progress, Accidental Findings, won the first 10 pages award with, When Words Count Retreat. You can find her published in Blue Ridge Writers Blog, Southern Writers, More to Life (MTL), Christian Rep, Christian Voice, Refresh, and other online magazines. Cherrilynn is a contributor to award-winning, Get to the Margins-Author Anthology; Breaking the Chains; Heart Reno, Kiss Guilt Goodbye; and Chicken Soup for the Soul-Miracles books. Her latest book, Shine Don’t Whine, released October 2020. Cherrilynn proudly served in the Navy and Air National Guard, earning the John Levitow Military leadership award.  She lives with her eighteen-year-old son, Michael, Jr., and husband of 22 years. Cherrilynn loves Christ, Chocolate, coffee, and Cats. You will often find her on the beach sea glass hunting.