The Secret to Being a Confident Christian Writer

By Emily Golus

In my nearly 20 years of participating in Christian writing conferences and critique groups, I’ve noticed two types of Christian writers:

• Those for whom writing is a hobby, job, ministry, and/or passion.
• Those for whom being a writer is the whole reason they exist.

    That second category may sound good. If that’s not dedication, what is? But in my observation, going “all-in” on being a writer—making it a key part of your identity—is a recipe for anxiety and personal crisis.

What Being a “Christian writer” Isn’t

A Christian may feel that God is calling him to be a writer, and that can be wonderful. But sometimes that vocational calling takes on a deceptive significance. Writing is no longer an activity this Christian does, but the essence of who he is—perhaps, in his mind, the very reason God created him.

And then when something an “all-in” writer creates gets a negative review, or a rejection letter, or is simply ignored—she’ll be more than disappointed. She’ll be shaken to her very core.

How could God allow this? Does she not have enough faith? What justification does she have to exist if she failed at the one thing that makes her life count?

When Your Writing Doesn’t Actually Matter

Let me share the truth that ended my own spiral of anxiety and doubt:

Your writing can be meaningful to others, 

but your writing does not give YOU meaning. 

Only Jesus can do that.

Listen, Christ didn’t die for you because you had the potential to be a great writer. He did it because He is kind (Ephesians 2:7-9). He wanted YOU, even in your flaws. You have nothing to offer back—not on that divine scale—that makes you a strategic choice for His kingdom (1 Corinthians 1:26-30).

You matter because the God of the universe loves you. He is so delighted about your rescue that He sings over you (Zephaniah 3:17). You matter to Him, end of story. There’s nothing you can do to add onto that.

Let the power of that roll over you like ocean waves. Let its peace sink into your bones.

What It Really Means to be a Christian Writer

Now, with that in mind, do you want to write? Great! You can be a Christian—with all that security and peace in place—who also enjoys the writing process.

And here’s the paradox: When you don’t take your writing so seriously—when your self-worth doesn’t ride on it—you become a better writer. The stakes are lower, and suddenly you’re free to be more daring and creative.

Experiment. Try hard things. Learn from negative feedback. If you fail, shake it off and try again.

If you enjoy the creative journey, that itself is a bonus gift from God. If you end up having success—hey, another bonus. If not, there’s nothing to be worried about, because your performance as a writer doesn’t change your significance one bit.

You’re free, writing friends. Enjoy the adventure.

(Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels and Stuart Miles from FreeDigitalPhotos.net.)

TWEETABLE

When you don’t take your writing so seriously—when your self-worth doesn’t ride on it—you become a better writer. via Emily  Golus @worldofvindor (Click to tweet.)

Emily Golus has been dreaming up fantasy worlds since before she could write her name. A New England transplant now living in the Deep South, she is fascinated by culture and the way it shapes how individuals see the world. Golus aims to create stories that engage, inspire, and reassure readers that the small choices of everyday life matter.

Her first novel, Escape to Vindor, debuted in 2017 and won the Selah Award for young adult fiction. Its sequel, Mists of Paracosmia, released in April 2019.

Golus lives in Upstate South Carolina with her woodworking husband, an awkward cat, and the world's most talkative toddler.

You can keep up with Vindor news at WorldofVindor.com and EmilyGolusBooks.com, or find her on Instagram as WorldOfVindor.

What Might Have Been

By Andrea Merrell

Sometimes I wonder where I would be today if I had ignored the words of someone who told me over twenty years ago that it was time to “get to writing.” Or if I had failed to make that all-important phone call ten years later to someone who gave me great advice about my writing journey. A woman who would become a mentor and a good friend.

What would have happened had I not submitted that first devotion? Would I have had the courage to submit my first article and then a short story? What if I had been too afraid to pitch my first book or attend my first critique group and writing conference?

The what ifs are endless, but so are the possibilities.

When God gives us gifts, we should never be afraid or reluctant to use them. In fact, the Bible says, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10 NIV). One writer says, “When God gives you a gift, He give you the grace, guts, and grit to use it.” But even though He equips us, we have to step out in faith and do the work.

What is it you’re struggling with? Fill in the blanks:

• I want to go to a writers’ conference but________________
• I’m ready to submit my proposal but ___________________
• I know I need an agent but _______________________________
• She asked to see my first three chapters but ___________
• There’s a contest I would love to enter but _____________
• I’ve been thinking about blogging but ___________________

Whatever God has put in your heart, go for it. Will everything you try work out? Probably not. But that’s how you learn and grow. You can’t reap a harvest without first sowing the seed.

Don’t wait for the perfect time or the perfect opportunity. Take the opportunities that come your way. You never know what God might have in store just for you.

As John Greenleaf Whittier said, “For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: it might have been.”

(Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and Stuart Miles.)

TWEETABLE

Writer, don’t look back with regret on what might have been. Take the opportunities God brings your way. via @AndreaMerrell (Click to tweet.)