by Fayla Ott
There’s a saying around my house: If Mom plans it, watch out and cover your head. The sky will most certainly fall.
Maybe that’s why my guys are known to wear hats.
I’m addicted to planners, lists, and charts. It’s like a sickness that can’t be medicated. My office looks like an Office Depot had a baby with Pinterest. And yet, despite my color-coded calendars, Post-its, and checklists, life still sits in the corner of that office… and laughs.
I love to write, but my schedule doesn’t seem to want me to. I want to serve my readers and build the creative business God has placed in my hands. But by the time I’ve answered emails, met with faculty and students, lectured, graded papers, homeschooled my son, managed book orders, sorted out website glitches, attempted something resembling marketing, and maybe scrubbed a dish or two—my brain has already filed for retirement.
But the real derailment doesn’t come from overloaded to-do lists. It’s the unplanned chaos that creeps in and ambushes my carefully blocked-out time. I picture a little monster lurking beneath my desk, just waiting to throw off my rhythm. As a professor, my colleagues and I jokingly blame these interruptions on “The Teams Gremlin” or “The Canvas Gremlin,” depending on the tech platform betraying us that day.
Well, authors have Writing Gremlins too—and I seem to wrestle that little
monster more than I’d like.
Take last Friday.
I flipped my “Writing. Please do not disturb” sign over on my office door, lit a candle that smelled like literary genius, opened Spotify to my writing playlist, and sipped my freshly brewed coffee. My dog curled up in my lap. No publishing. No marketing. No signing or shipping books. Just writing. Finally—a moment to focus on why I do this in the first place: storytelling.
What could go wrong?
Cue the sky. Grab your hat.
My dog jumped off my lap, barking like Armageddon had arrived. Someone knocked at the back door. A man needed to speak to my husband about working on our gas heating system, but he wasn’t home. Thirty minutes vanished. When I returned to my desk, the noise outside was so loud, even my characters stopped talking to listen.
Then a frantic email from a student pinged my phone, my son asked what was wrong with the dishwasher, and just like that, my precious writing time waved a sad goodbye.
In moments like these, it’s hard not to question why God called me to write when I can rarely focus on creating. Real-life demands are heavy, and writing can feel like it’s slipping off the priority list. But that’s when God steps in and reminds me: this is His schedule, His timing, and His way.
Sometimes the interruptions are invitations to remember that no planner—no matter how color-coded—can replace surrender. My need for control often stifles the creative passion He’s given me through the freedom I find in letting go. When I release that need, I find rest instead of pressure. I find moments—unexpected, unplanned, but God-ordained—to write.
Even in the noise.
Even in chaos.
Even when the sky falls around me.
“A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.” —Proverbs 16:9 (KJV)
Fayla Ott is an award-winning author of historical and supernatural suspense fiction with emotionally rich themes and gritty spiritual depth. She’s an English professor, homeschooling mom, and speaker who believes stories are a powerful ministry. Learn more about her books at www.faylaott.com.
Comments 14
I can SO relate to this, Fayla! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much for reading—I’m really glad it connected with you! Always nice to know we’re not in this writing journey alone. ????
Fayla, what a wonderful perspective. I love your humor, which is so necessary in writing endeavors!
‘My need for control often stifles the creative passion He’s given me through the freedom I find in letting go.’
That statement is gold! Copying it to post on my keyboard!????
Aw, thank you kindly! That just made my day. I have to remind myself of that line all the time—usually while muttering and staring at a blinking cursor. ???? I’m so glad it resonated with you, too.
Thank you for a great reminder. With everything you have going on, it is definitely a miracle when you find time to write! Love your humor!
Thank you, Lynne!
With the challenges that have come your way, I’ve been so proud to see how you refused to let go your call to write for the Lord. I’ve found, too, that God can often use us more in the busy and disciplined times than we imagine…. As if spotlighting how it must be by His help that we are able to do it at all.
Thank you, Lin. “Not by might, not by power, but by my spirit says the Lord”.
Love this “no planner—no matter how color-coded—can replace surrender”…so true.
Thank you, Elle!
I identify with this sooooo much! Thank you for sharing it!
I also checked out your website — I write Christian sci-fi that also “isn’t your grandma’s Christian fiction”…❤️. Gonna check out your books!
Thank you, Jennifer! I will do the same. ????
Great article and so well written! I found myself groaning and relating to every point and then laughing with you as you relate your message. I hope you write humor. You’re good at blending humor with sad truth, which makes it all the more fun and relatable. Thanks!
Thank you, Dave! I do include humor in my books, but they’re stories that deal with intense situations, so probably not categorized as humor.
But comic relief is a must—both in story and in life.