Some insight from Penelope Stokes, author of The Complete Guide to Writing & Selling the Christian Novel:

“Readers know the difference between religiosity that is pasted on and true spirituality that rises from deep within. They can discern integrity, even if they cannot articulate what it is. And they are looking for real fruit—the kind of spiritual truth that is rooted in reality and natural to the characters and plotlines we ask them to accept.”

Ah, and this:

“True spiritual content in a novel grows out of the story from deep within, the way sap rises up through the root system of a tree to produce leaves and flowers and fruit.”

If spiritual imagery infuses our story, it has to flow from the ‘reservoirs’ of our own experience with God, Stokes reminds us. Readers can sense when we’ve merely peppered our prose with God-talk. But a genuine faith permeates all that we do, especially our writing.

Do we not write to make a difference in the hearts of our readers? Then our stories must bear the mark of our King, carrying eternal significance by always writing with spiritual integrity as our undercurrent.

Something to think about, anyway.

“Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps if you are not willing to move your feet.” ~ author unknown

“Dreaming about a thing in order to do it properly is right, but dreaming about it when we should be doing it is wrong.” ~Oswald Chambers

“There is an eagle in me that wants to soar, and there is a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud.” ~ Carl Sandburg

To see why, read here .

“God calls each of us to a life of stewardship. The Bible teaches us that everything we have—our time, skills, and abilities, relationships, money and material resources, and the message of the gospel itself—are gifts God entrusts to us to manage and use wisely for the good of his kingdom.” ~ Kevin & Kay Marie Brennfleck

Right now, I’m taking time to be with hubby and work on wedding plans for our youngest son. A very busy, emotional time, but I’ll be back in a few days, Lord willing. Feel free to peruse the archives and leave comments.

Blessings to all who visit here.

“Beware of anything that competes with loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of devotion to Jesus is service for Him…The one aim of the call of God is the satisfaction of God, not a call to do something for Him.” ~ Oswald Chambers

We may be writing good things for good reasons, yet feel a frenzy coming on. After all, we’ve got some competition out there, right? A gentle reminder to the faith-writer: We’re in the world, not *of* the world.

According to Gordon MacDonald, here are characteristics of stressed and driven people:

- Value accomplishments and results above everything else.
- Seek to acquire things that represent power and status.
- Strive for involvement in increasingly bigger and more visible endeavors.
- Demonstrate a highly competitive spirit.
- Try to impress people with our schedule and how busy we are.
- Spend little time pursuing relationships with our spouse, family, friends, and especially, with God.

(Gordon MacDonald, from Ordering Your Private World, pg.33-37)

Sometimes we become driven when we listen to our fears. We wrestle with the drive to achieve. “Living in a competitive world where achievement is almost everything, it would be easy to…be driven, to hold on, to protect, to dominate. And I might even find myself doing those sorts of things while telling myself that I was doing God’s work.” ~ Gordon MacDonald.

Ah, but this quote puts us on the right path:

“His power within us enables us to exchange our frenetic life of achievement, acquisition, and activity for a life centered on pleasing the Audience of One.” ~ Kevin & Kay Marie Brennfleck, authors of Live Your Calling

Friends, the antidote to every human tendency is to turn our hearts towards God. His love, grace, and truth will not only guide us, but banish all our fears. Our calling is not writing. Our calling is to know and follow Christ.

Whether we work at home or at the office, the attribute of graciousness still applies to us. Our sphere of influence is far-reaching:

“Any job, regardless of how well it fits, gives us an opportunity to live our primary calling by being God’s representative in the workplace. In any job, we are called daily to exhibit a gracious attitude of service toward our boss, coworkers, customers, and others. We are called to avoid gossiping, complaining, speaking unkindly about people, lying, and cheating by not working diligently and to the best of our ability. . . In our job, as in every aspect of our lives, we are called to be God’s people.” ~ Kevin & Kay Marie Brennfleck, authors of Live Your Calling

“I find television very educational. Every time someone switches it on, I go into another room and read a good book.” ~ Groucho Marx

It’s a radical concept. Some call it weird. But you can do it - unplug the TV. Never mind the brief withdrawal. Think of all the writing you’ll get done! It’s the one way I know to carve a kazillion extra hours out of my week. I’m not saying that watching TV is wrong, but it’s a time killer. And sometimes our time is better spent elsewhere.

“Our dilemma goes deeper than shortage of time; it is basically a problem of priorities. We confess, ‘We have left undone those things that we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done.’”

Are you pursuing your writing passion? Are you honing your craft? Are you getting those stories on paper?

Literary agent, Terry Whalin, knows the writing life isn’t easy. According to him, we have to persist with our passion. “It is a key characteristic of the writers who ultimately find success,” he says.

One of Terry’s passions is to help writers produce better book proposals. As an editor and agent he sees many proposals with “a gem of an idea” that aren’t always pitched in the most compelling fashion.

“I can’t fix every one of these proposals. It’s impossible. What I can do is encourage writers to read Book Proposals That Sell and study the contents and grow in their abilities.”

I’ve learned quite a bit through Terry’s Right-Writing.com site. If you haven’t read his books or linked to his site, make a point to do that soon.

Thank you, Terry, for encouraging writers. We value your insight and appreciate your servant’s heart.

Check out Terry’s great resources:
Whalin Literary Agency
The Writing Life
www.Right-Writing.com
Books Proposals That Sell
Straight Talk from the Editor

And these:
Insight to Common Writing Questions
Magazine Writing Leads to Book Publishing
Create a Resume That Stands Out
Free Writing Newsletter

“Terry has written more than 60 nonfiction books plus published in more than 50 magazines. For five years, he’s been an acquisitions editor at a book publisher, and now he is a literary agent at Whalin Literary Agency. Terry encourages writers of any level (from beginners to professionals) at Right-Writing.com. To help people pursue their own dreams of a published book, Terry has written Book Proposals That $ell: 21 Secrets to Speed Your Success.”

“Books on writing tend to make much of how difficult it is to become a successful writer, but the truth is that, though the ability to write well is partly a gift—like the ability to play basketball well, or to outguess the stock market—writing ability is mainly a product of good teaching supported by a deep-down love of writing.” ~ John Gardner

“In the final analysis, the only thing that will improve your writing ability is more writing. But it’s also true that most of us need both the encouragement that comes from associating with others of similar interests and the instruction that comes from honest but gentle criticism.” ~ Bodie & Brock Thoene, Writer to Writer

“For this I toil, struggling with all His energy that He powerfully works within me.” ~ Colossians 1:29

Marlene Bagnull, author of Write His Answer, shares a time when everything seemed to get in the way of her writing. Good things, but distractions nonetheless. A friend confronted her. “You’re running from the very thing you most want to do,” she said. This friend suggested Marlene was protecting herself from the possibility of failure by “getting involved with other things so she’d have an excuse not write.”

Sound familiar?

As Marlene’s friend suggested, seeing ourselves as a failure is sometimes just a cop-out. In her excellent book, Write His Answer, Marlene candidly shares her writing mentor’s admonition: “You’ve served your apprenticeship. It’s time to move on—to make a commmitment to being successful even though success is a lonely and risky thing.”

Are we serious about writing? If so, we’ll probably face a similar turning point. Any of us, beginning writer or seasoned pro, can feel anxious or struggle with doubt. Either we play it safe and bury ourselves in excuses, or draw on the confidence which comes from God, step out in faith, and WRITE.

“I know the one I have faith in…” ~ 2 Timothy 1:12

We can face our crisis of confidence by putting our confidence in Him.

“The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.”
~ 2 Thessalonians 5:24

Praying you’ll write well this week.

“All the darkness in the world cannot put out the light of one small candle.”

“There is no better exercise for the heart than reaching down and lifting up people.” ~ John Andrew Holmer

“Trust the past to the mercy of God, the present to His love, and the future to His providence.” ~ St. Augustine