Daily Wisdom for the Christian Writer

Lewis Carroll’s book, Alice In Wonderland, perfectly illustrates the importance of goal setting during  an exchange between Alice and the Cheshire Cat

Alice asks, “Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?”

The cat replies, “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.”

“I don’t much care where—“

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.”

“—so long as I get somewhere.”

Getting somewhere may have been okay for Alice, but just getting somewhere isn’t enough if you’re serious about becoming a published Christian writer. You will need concrete and specific goals on how you plan to get there.  In an article  by Heather Kreke called Setting S.M.A.R. T goals, she challenges writers to use the following strategies to help them achieve their writing goals:

• Specific: Know what you want. “I want to write” is too broad. Do you want to write stories, non-fiction, a novel, a devotional, or articles? Do you want to write 300 or 30,000 words?

• Measurable: Set goals that will produce results you can see. Measure your progress in daily or weekly word counts, or as your number of submissions grows.

• Attainable: “I will write 10,000 words a day for a month,” is not likely attainable. Make your goals reasonable. When you accomplish them, you will feel the excitement. If you set the bar too high you may end up being discouraged.

• Realistic: Dreaming big is good. But, when you set goals to obtain those dreams, keep a firm grasp on reality. Know your limits. Know when to ask for help.

• Timely: Set or accept only reasonable deadlines, given your other commitments.  Too soon and you’ll be stressed. Too long and you’ll procrastinate.

Christian writer, don’t  just wander aimlessly on the road to publication.  Choose to be S.M.A.R.T instead in achieving your writing goals.

Sharing the  journey,

Jeaninne

Praise the Lord, I tell myself, and never forget the good things he does for me. Psalms 103:2, NLT.

I was talking with my prayer partner and asked her to pray for me as I determined what to accomplish in the upcoming year as a Christian writer.  Before she would pray with me about the new goals I wanted to accomplish, she asked me a very interesting question:  "Jeaninne, what goals did you accomplish this year?"

What a great question.  For many times I  begin a new year of setting goals without evaluating first what I have already accomplished on my writing journey. Many times I am critical about what I haven’t accomplished and forget to praise myself for what I have accomplished.  But I know I’m not the only one.  As a Christian writer, you may also forget  to rehearse what you have accomplished on your writing journey, and criticize yourself for what you haven’t accomplished.  So as the year closes, I encourage you to take a moment and ask yourself the same question my prayer partner asked me, along with an additional one I’ve added:

 1)What goals did I accomplish this year as a Christian writer?

2)Have I praised myself for the goals I achieved this past year?

It’s always good to see another year approaching, because it’s another year of opportunity to achieve our writing goals.  But before we’re off and running in 2012, let’s be sure to first evaluate what God has already done in our lives as Christian writers.  We may find we’re a whole lot further along on our journey than we ever thought we would be.

Happy new year,

Jeaninne

Christian writer’s prayer: Thank you God for all that you allowed me to accomplish this past year as a Christian writer. I look forward to the new opportunities you will give me in the upcoming year.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith. (I Peter 5:8,9, NLT)

I had a major virus on my computer so I took it to a computer repair shop to have it removed.  Although the computer repairman removed the virus and installed an anti-virus software, he informed me I might still have latent viruses on my computer.

 A latent virus, according to Webster, is a virus that is ‘present and capable of becoming, though not now visible or active.”  And just like we have viruses on our computer that are latent, we too have latent viruses in our lives as Christian writers that are present and capable of becoming active.  For example, there is the latent virus of discouragement that can become active when we feel like we aren’t as far along on our journey of publication than we think we should be. The latent virus of doubt  can become active when we question if our writing is good enough for publication. Lastly, the latent virus of disappointment can become active when we’ve sent our work out for publication but it gets rejected.

How can we combat the latent viruses that are capable of destroying our joy and motivation as Christian writers? By using the best anti-software we can buy –  the word of God. As we apply God’s word to our lives on a regular basis, we can guard against any attacks that will come our way.

So when the latent virus of discouragement, disappointment or despair seek to become active in your life, remember to use your anti-virus software!

 Sharing the journey,

 Jeaninne

Writer’s prayer:  Thank you God for giving me the best anti-virus software I can buy while on my journey to write for your kingdom - your word.

Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than people.  Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward.  Colossians 3:23-24, NLT.

Sometimes I wonder if the message I send out each week is making a difference in the lives of my readers.  For though I send my message to an email distribution group of over one hundred people, only a small percentage open the email I send them and respond that they’ve been helped by my message.

But I cannot allow the  lack of response to determine whether I keep writing.  For this is the ministry God has called me to do, and no matter what people say or don’t say, I must continue to work hard and cheerfully at it, and keep my focus on who I am really writing for.

Christian writer, there will be times when you get discouraged too  because it seems like no one is responding to your message. But don’t let it keep you from working hard at your writing craft, for God promises your labor is never  in vain.

Sharing the writing journey,

Jeaninne

Remember to keep the main thing the main thing.

~E. K. Bailey~

My beloved Pastor, who is now deceased, used to share the above quote periodically  with the members of his congregation. It was a reminder that no matter how busy our lives were, we had to keep our relationship with Jesus Christ priority.

This quote is a helpful reminder for me today because my life is very busy.  I play the role of wife, mother, employee, breast cancer survivor, Christian writer and speaker.  At times my relationship with God suffers because of all of the roles I currently wear. But if I am going to be an effective Christian writer, I realize I have to keep my relationship with God priority; otherwise my writing will lack in substance and power.

What about you ?  Are you wearing a lot of life roles today along with the role of  Christian writer? As you manage you life roles, don’t forget to keep the main thing the main thing, and your writing will be everything you desire it to be.

Christian writer’s prayer: Dear Father, I wear a lot of  roles, but please help me to keep my relationship with you priority so I can write effectively for your kingdom.  Amen.

Sharing the writing journey,

Jeaninne