Author to author

If you’ve taken any creative writing class, you know that the first sentence of your book is the most important line of the story. It’s the very sentence that will make the reader keep reading or put down the book in its entirety. It’s how you sink your hooks into your audience and draw them into the story you spent hours, days, months, and years creating. Even people that aren’t avid readers still can identify some of the most famous opening lines:

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

-Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Marley was dead.

-A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Somewhere in la Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember, a gentleman lived not long ago, one of those who has a lance and ancient shield on a shelf and keeps a skinny nag and a greyhound for racing.

-Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy.

-The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit.

-The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

But what if I told you that the last sentence of your book was equally as important, if not more? The last sentence of your story is your final chance of impact on your reader. It’s the sentence that seals the story on their heart and the line that they’ll close the book pondering.

He turned out the light and went into Jem's room. He would be there all night, and he would be there when Jem waked up in the morning.

-To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Though fallen low, God raised her up an Angel.

-Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest a little boy and his Bear will always be playing.

-The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne

"Oh, my girls, however long you may live, I never can wish you a greater happiness than this."

-Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

A LAST NOTE FROM YOUR NARRATOR. I am haunted by humans.

-The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

Those are just a few examples of some of my favorite opening and closing lines from some of the greatest works of literature. I’m sure you could begin a list of your favorites, of the statements that pierced your heart as you opened a novel and closed it. This just goes to show how important it truly is that you take time to craft a solid beginning and ending. Those are the two most critical sentences of your books—make them count!

All that being said, a good writer takes time to create a memorable beginning and an unforgettable ending. And, ever so carefully, they sew together a plot that carries the reader from the first to the final page.

In the Bible, God is spoken of as an author three times: the author of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33), the author of eternal salvation (Hebrews 5:9), and the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). As an author myself, I find great joy in knowing I bear a minuscule shard of the identity of God. He, being the greatest author, chose me, of all people, to be like Him and create.

If I’m being honest, I’m not where I thought I would be. Had you asked me in 2021 what my 2022 would look like, I’d have told you that I would be on campus of my dream college. However, God called me to stay home and work toward my degree online. That wasn’t the answer to my two-year-long prayer that I had hoped for. Yet looking back, I see why God didn’t let my dream come to pass. He still had things to do in and through me at home. Though I was lonely, broken, and weary, He still was kind enough to show me the fruit of obedience.

In the midst of my shattered dream to be on campus, I asked God that one question that haunts believers and nonbelievers alike: Why? As I asked Him this, He reminded me that He, like me, is an author. Creating things out of nothing is a specialty of His. I thought and dwelt for hours on why He would remind me of His talent. But then it hit me.

Author to author.

Every good author knows their characters front and back, inside and out. I can tell you every detail about all of my characters down to the nitty-gritty. I know every little, tiny, insignificant detail of everything about them. Why? Because I made them. They’re mine. I care about them. Every good author also knows the beginning and end of their story. They also know the most beneficial way to get their character from point A to point B. They know what events and plot twists will strengthen their characters to achieve the desired development. They know what is best for their characters, even if that means breaking them. All throughout the story, the author works toward an ending that ultimately betters the character.

If I’m an author and know the tiniest details of my characters’ lives, how much greater of an author is God? I’m His child, His beloved. He knows everything about me; in fact, He knows me better than I know myself. He knows what’s best for me because He knows the beginning of my story and He has already written the ending. He knows what is most beneficial for me and He is faithful to complete the work He began in me. He knows because He is the author of my everything.

The author of everything chose to bless me with the gift of writing. He gave me this gift that draws me closer to Him every day. He so graciously showed me the goodness in His authorship and how I am invited trust that He is strengthening me and preparing me for the next chapter. He let my dream fall apart because He cares for me and saw that it wasn’t good before I did. He has established a beginning to my story, and He already has an incredible ending.

God gave me the gift and met me there. From one author to another, He showed me that I don't have to know what He is doing. Rather, I get to lean into Him and trust that He is bettering me as a person through the story He has carefully plotted out for my life. He, the greatest author of all, showed me, a nobody of a writer, His goodness through the power of authorship.

While I may be just the author of a few stories with a few characters, He is the author of peace, the author of salvation, the author of faith, and the author of my life story. He knows what He’s doing because every good writer knows what is best for their characters. He knows what is best for you, for me, for everyone on this beautiful planet.

Trust in His divine authorship. He knows the beginning and ending of your story. Give Him the freedom to write everything in between and trust that He is working for your good and for His glory.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD.

“Plans to prosper you and not to harm you.

Plans to give you hope and a future.”

All my love,

L. Taylor