By Sara Davison As writers, I believe we wrestle with many of the same issues: self-doubt, lack of confidence, times of being blocked creatively, discouragement. Most of us also have a tendency to compare ourselves to other writers, worrying more about what they are doing or achieving than focusing on our own lives and work. Peter struggled with this. When Jesus …
Fish-Belly Dreams: Encouragement for New Writers
by Ashley Worrell @byashleyworrell I’ll never forget the day I walked out of my HR career forever. With my dying anthurium plant in hand, I walked down the government building’s corridor, uncertain of my choice. I’d worked my whole adult life to achieve this ‘dream job’, making money I never thought I’d make, and having doors open to me I …
Seeing the Bright Side of Rejection
By Lori Domingo @loridomingo22 To say that I was beyond excited to be nearing the finish line of my MFA program would be an understatement. I had in my hands a completed, full-length novel – my first in my genre of choice, Christian fiction. Part of the requirements for one of my classes was to research a favorite author in …
Step Outside You Comfort Zone and Write
by Terry Overton Listening to my Bible Study leader speak in our recent study of Rahab, the point was made very clear to me. God asked Rahab to step out of her comfort zone and do something she probably never thought she would do. He had selected Rahab to take in two spies and to lie to the authorities when …
Feel the Rain
by Chandra Lynn Smith It’s a pretty little blank book. Well, it started as a blank book. I began writing in this journal in 2003, twenty years ago. On the first page I quoted Galatians 6:4 from The Message. “Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that.” …
Self-Deception is Easy when Comparing Yourself to Others
If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. ~Galatians 6:3 NIV Well, that verse hit me between the eyes, literally. My phone slipped. I’ll let you use your imagination. That attempt at humor was necessary because the verse hit too close for comfort. Yes, that was a lame attempt at a pun. Being an independent …
Does Writing Scare You? Here’s One Thing You Can Do Today to Overcome Your Fear
By Tammie Fickas Are there writing opportunities you regret not taking? How about dreams you’ve put aside? Do you ever wish your life was different? What’s holding you back from taking chances and fulfilling your God-given purpose? For me, the answer is fear and more questions. What if I fail? Or look like a fool? Sometimes I let the “what …
Step One to Publication: Overcome Your Fear
By Janette Melson Step one of publishing a novel might seem like a “duh”—write a novel first! You can’t publish something which doesn’t exist. However, you can garner the interest of agents and editors without a completed manuscript, as I did. So, what do I think the first step is? Overcome your fear of failure (or even success). As Wayne …
Called to be Light in the Darkness
By Lana Christian Photo by Nathan Jennings on Unsplash John Krasinski’s program Some Good News was a light in the darkness of 2020. Between March and May, it garnered more than 72 million views and 2.5 million YouTube subscribers. We sure could use more SGN episodes (hint, hint, ViacomCBS). But 2021 hasn’t eased authors’ social media comments about lack of …
Approval versus Love
By Tara Johnson Approval and love are not the same thing. It’s taken me a lifetime to figure that out. I desperately want people to like me. The thought of someone being displeased with me in any way causes my stomach to curdle. What’s one way to shake that cold feeling of dread? Work harder. Be more agreeable, more likeable. …