How to Keep on Writing!

I've been enjoying a creative flow recently. It's been wonderful to sit down at my computer and have scenes and conversations come out of my fingertips effortlessly. It's been a long, dry season of over a year for me where I found it hard to be inspired. Everything I wrote felt flat and forced. I had bursts of happy, busy moments but nothing as sustained as the latest jag I've experienced. It did get me thinking though: how did I get over my writer's block? Is there anything I could've done to snap out of it quicker? What takeaway points do I have from this experience? Is there anything I could do to promote longevity as a writer?


Here's the number one discovery I stumbled upon about the writing process and my own struggle with writer's block: 

Writers need refreshment

And we need it from positive sources! Unfortunately, there's a persistent stereotype out there of the suffering artist who can only create in the midst of angst. I don't believe that is true. Instead, writers (like all artists) need to be restored into wholeness. We need inspiration from positive sources. We need to be constantly filled with good stuff, so that we can pour out good stuff. Being filled with suffering and angst--and wallowing in it--is not going to bring about art that will encourage others. And that's what I want to do. I want whatever I write to be enjoyable, uplifting, encouraging. Sure, I want to make people think, I want to write about deep themes, but most of all, I want people to walk away from whatever I've written and believe themselves to be better for reading it.

How do we get refreshed?

First of all, get outside! 


Go for a walk, go to the beach or forest. Look at the stars, roll in autumn leaves or revel in spring flowers (depending what hemisphere you're in!) There's something about getting out in the middle of creation that soothes our soul and takes us higher. I've rarely come away from some time outside and not felt richer from the experience

Another strategy I discovered was to immerse myself in great literature. 


Not just the classics, mind you, but some of the popular and well-written novels of today that are in my genre. I even read some that were completely opposite from what I write! I rolled sentences around in my head, admired a perfect description, laughed over witty conversations (was possibly green with author-envy of some particular jewels!), and came out of the many books I read as a more confident writer. To be a great writer, we've got to be great readers! So head to your local library, stock up your Kindle, buy out a bookstore. Well, maybe not that last one ;-) I also watched a few TV shows and movies that really helped me see story structure, and how to leave an audience begging for more. I may or may not have binge-watched certain shows because I could not stop wanting to know what happened next! Now, that's great writing!

Finally, we can turn to our writing community. 


I've found such support and encouragement from fellow writers, especially the women I blog with (here's a big shout-out to Robin, Deanna, and Lucy--you gals ROCK!) Critique groups are great to keep you motivated as well. And I seriously can't wait to go to my first writers' conference in August. Something about being around the people who 'get you' makes us feel good, doesn't it? We realise we're not alone, there are other crazies who stay up way past midnight because they've got to get this piece of dialogue just right or have to rewrite this scene because there's too much 'tell' and not enough 'show.' If you're not part of a group or guild, I'd encourage you to get involved. Even one person who writes and can be there to support you will make a huge difference!

So that's me. I've put down 25,000 words in 2 1/2 weeks which is a personal best, and I credit much of this to the advice I've put down. It's been a hard slog to get to this point, but I'm thankful for the lessons I've learned. 

Be blessed,







What about you? What do you do when you hit the writing wall? And what are your hints for longevity?

Silencing the Inner Critic

I completed my first NaNoWriMo this year. And my initial thought was, well, that was a fail. I was supposed to write 50,000 words in one month. I wrote 15,000. 

Here's what happened every day:

I'd sit at the computer with my fingers poised over the keyboard. I'm gonna do this thing, I’d think. Write. Tell a story. Create something out of nothing. I'd type a few sentences, and it all sounded wrong. So I'd go back and delete, cut and paste, write some more. But my words still sounded flat. Like a two-dimensional sun setting over a cardboard cut-out of a mountain range. See. Even that sounds terrible!

And then I'd hear it. The voice. We've all heard the voice. The specifics may vary from person, but the message is the same:

You're no good. You can't do anything right. Your efforts will never amount to much anyway.

It's hard to ignore. The voice that plays like a song stuck on an endless repeat. It sounds so reasonable. So knowledgeable. So sure of itself.

You might as well give up before you do something stupid.

The voice paralysed me. I decided I'd be better off quitting because, you know, I don't want to look stupid. And not trying isn't any worse than trying and failing, right? It's easier even.

Not trying means I could sit on my sofa with a block of Whittaker's peppermint dark chocolate and binge-watch Once Upon a Time. At least I wouldn't have to listen to the voice telling me I'm no good.

It’s not just in writing that I struggle with listening to this voice. It’s in other areas as well. Because I’m my own worse critic. I often look back over things I’ve done – teaching a Bible study, tackling a sewing project, trying out a new recipe – and I’ve thought, well, that was a fail.

And that’s simply not the case.

Except the cauliflower pizza crust. That. Was. Just. Yuck. But I digress.

Believing we’ve failed or we’re going to fail is counter-productive to our true purpose.

We’ve got to learn to tune the critical voice out.

Because the voice is wrong.

Hallelujah, the voice is wrong.

We’ve got to remember that God has set us up to succeed.

Now I’m not saying that we don’t face adversity. We’ve all got trials we go through, and I’m not one to pretend that everything is perfect and problem-free in the Christian life! Discussing trials is a whole different post!

But I love what Ephesians 2:10 reminds us: 

^“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.”

God created us to do good things.

Let that sink in for just a minute.

God created us to do good things.

One of the applications of this verse is that we can step out boldly and confidently in those things He’s called us to do and know that they’re going to be good. He didn’t call us to failure.

The key to silencing the critical voice is to have assurance that what we’re doing is what He’s called us to.

Among other good things He has for me to do, I know that God has called me to write. I know there are ideas in my head that are gifts from Him that only I can express. But when I start doubting His call, I’m much more susceptible to believing I’m going to fail.

We’ve all got tasks we’re called to. We’ve all got good things we get to walk in.

Believe that. Take the truth from the Word of God and mix it with faith. Be bold and grab the opportunities He’s given you.

And that voice will be silenced.

Because God created us to do good things.

Be blessed,

What good things has God called you to do? What have you found to be a good strategy to silencing the critical voice? Share in the comments below.

Writing is Enough

By Robin


Some Mommas are called to work. Some Mommas are called to stay home.

I'm the latter. I gave up a teaching career to be a stay-at-home-mom. There is no scriptural command for this. It wasn't a black and white decision. It was obedience to a conviction deep in my conscience. Some call it a gut feeling. I believe it was the prompting of the Holy Spirit, guiding me in the absence of a black and white word on the page.

Obedience to that conviction has freed me to be obedient to another: the call to write. Maybe it's presumptuous to call it a "call." It began as an interest, a hobby, a passion. Now I can't not do it. I'm restless when I've been too long away from the screen or the page.

It's not a job. There's no editor, no deadline, and definitely no pay. It's just something I do. I've been thankful for the task, the way it's challenged me, grown me, and forced me to delve into the things of God.

A strange thing happened recently. After 10 years of having littles in the house, my youngest, my baby, went off to kindergarten. Suddenly I had whole, uninterrupted days to work on my craft. It should have been a writer's dream, but it didn't take long for insecurity and doubt to break through the loam of my confidence like obtrusive, tough-to-kill weeds.

Americans especially, but humans in general, are, I think, hardwired to produce. To do something useful with their time in this fast-paced, high-payoff society. Writing as a hobby with no foreseeable contribution to the family began to feel like it wasn't enough.

Our family's financial path has not been a smooth one. Today the paychecks come on time, and the pantry is always full. We have enough, and we are thankful every day for that. But over the years there have been job losses, months of unemployment, under-employment, and periods of uncertainty. The savings account is not where it should be.

Some days the compulsion to leave my home, my nest, my refuge, to work at a paying job is stronger than my conviction to stay home and write.

Just seeing that sentence makes my heart beat a little faster. Maybe I was mistaken all those years ago. Maybe it was only my gut, which is prone to be wrong, and not the Holy Spirit. Lots of women work. Work is good. Work is safe. Work is necessary. Would it really be so bad if I put down the pen and left my writing desk in pursuit of a much needed paycheck?

I've been bringing these thoughts to God for weeks. I've waited, avoided writing, avoided thoughts of a future without writing, just waited. Patient. Wondering. I've turned to my steady old friend, my bible studies, which keep me thinking on the things of God when I would rather be thinking on the things of Robin.

This morning my study took me to the first chapter of Daniel, in which Daniel and his friends have been recruited to serve the Babylonian king but refuse to eat the king's food or drink his wine. My commentary says the reason for the abstention isn't stated. God's people frequently eat meat and drink wine. It doesn't appear that they permanently abstain, so it's reasonable to conclude that the food is not bad or unclean. Many ate of it. It wasn't necessarily a sin to consume it.

All we know is that Daniel felt a deep conviction not to eat it. He wanted less. He would subsist on vegetables and water. For him to eat the king's richer fare would have been a sin.

You know how the story ends, don't you? After a time of testing, all could see that God had met Daniel's physiological needs. Not only was the diet of vegetables and water enough, but he was better off, fatter and healthier than the other young men.

Can't I say the same?

I have found so much solace, peace, and purpose in my time at home, mothering, keeping a home, and yes, writing to my heart's content. God has met my family's needs all this time, preserving, delicately at times, our one-income arrangement.

It has been enough.

It would be a sin for me to say to God, "These vegetables and water are not enough. I want Babylon's meat and wine. I want the paycheck. The fat retirement account. Security. Stability. Predictability."

These things aren't bad. It is possible for others to serve and honor God in the midst of pursuing them. It is not a sin.

But they have not been called to subsist on vegetables and water. They have not been shown, over and over, that it is enough. I have.

My friends, fellow aspiring writers, who labor with me at a thing which seems at times to be fruitless, hold fast. Remember why you started down this path. Be patient. See if God doesn't prove His sufficiency. See if you are not "better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king's food." Daniel 1:15

I'm not talking about being fatter in the flesh of your savings accounts. I'm talking about your appearance, having "put on," as Paul says in Colossians 3:12, "compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience."

Listen to those promptings, friend. Be obedient to them. Don't look at the world around you and begin to question what you were once so sure of. Where God has brought you, what He has provided, though at times it feels meager in comparison, it is enough. Trust Him with that, and with your future. And write on. For goodness' sake, write on.

The Truth About Creating Order From the Chaos

by Jebraun

I’m not very tidy. That’s not one of my talents. I can bake a mean chocolate brownie, teach a Bible study, run a 10k, and knit a pair of fantastically cabled socks. But I am not tidy. Like, at all. I’ve got piles of stuff everywhere. Books. Paperwork. (Mostly) clean laundry. Various finished and unfinished craft projects. And don’t even look in my pantry.

I don't mind the chaos.

And yet one place I love to make order from chaos is in my writing. I love taking a convoluted idea that’s roaming around in my very messy brain and beating it into submission until it sparkles and shines like a well-polished silver pitcher.

All artists enjoy this process. Writers, musicians, painters, dancers. There’s something satisfying about developing something out of nothing. Why is that?

God's plan for order in the chaos

I believe it goes back to God’s instructions to Adam and Eve in the Garden. “Fill the earth, and subdue it,” He told them in Genesis 1:28.

The Amplified Version says it so beautifully. “And God blessed them [granting them certain authority] and said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subjugate it [putting it under your power];”

So many times I’ve heard this passage refer only to having children, but it goes far beyond that aspect. Fruitfulness also refers to our creativity. When we use our gifts and talents,we're working alongside God to make His will done on earth as it is in heaven.

We need to be creative

When we create – when we write a song, story, or poem; paint a delicate watercolor or spray paint a mural; dance a ballet or dubstep – we’re echoing the vast imagination of an unlimited God. We're showing our fruitfulness. We're multiplying the truth. We're flexing the power He gave us. 

So get out there and do it! Write, paint, dance. Learn how to play a musical instrument. Sew a quilt. Build an end table. Decoupage to your heart's content. 

And enjoy the process. Know you’re actually putting into motion His plans. Filling our world with His glory and goodness. Taking chaos and turning it into order. Even if the pantry stays a wee bit messy.

Be blessed,

What’s your favorite way to make order from chaos? Let us know in the comment section!