A Writer’s Prayer for 2024

As 2024 draws close, we prepare for what 2025 has in store. Some of 2024 will filter over to 2025, but next year will be my year and yours. As writers and creatives, we all need help to get through the next year. So, here’s a prayer for writers from beloved writer Neil Gaiman:

Oh Lord, let me not be one of those who writes too much;
who spreads himself too thinly with his words,
diluting all the things he has to say,
like butter spread too thinly over toast,
or watered milk in some worn-out hotel;
but let me write the things I have to say,
and then be silent, til I need to speak.

Oh Lord, let me not be one of those who writes too little;
a decade-man between each tale, or more,
where every word accrues significance
and dread replaces joy upon the page.
Perfectionists like chasing the horizon;
You kept perfection, gave the rest to us,
so let me earn the wisdom to move on.

But over and above those two mad specters of parsimony and profligacy,
Lord, let me be brave, and let me, while I craft my tales, be wise:
let me say true things in a voice that is true,
and, with the truth in mind, let me write lies.

Hopefully, this gives you peace as we head into 2025.

Originally published at http://adreonpatterson.net on December 5, 2024.