Advent for Christian Writers: Turning Luke 1 into Powerful Writing Ideas

From Edie: Discover how Christian writers can use the Advent season and Luke 1 to spark meaningful writing ideas. Explore an ADVENT acrostic, a 20-day Scripture journey, and practical inspiration for creating Christmas articles, devotionals, and stories for the year ahead.

Advent for Christian Writers: Turning Luke 1 into Powerful Writing Ideas

by Julie Lavender @JLavenderWrites

What does ADVENT mean to you? What do you think of when you hear the word? Have you incorporated advent into your writing this season?

My 2026 Writing Bucket List: How My Creative Goals Have Evolved Over a Decade

From Edie: Explore how a writer’s creative goals evolve over time in this updated 2026 writing bucket list. Discover inspiration, process-focused insights, and practical encouragement for shaping your own writing dreams in the year ahead.

My 2026 Writing Bucket List: How My Creative Goals Have Evolved Over a Decade

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

Do you have a writing bucket list?

I do. I started one back in 2014, and I even wrote about it here on The Write Conversation in a post titled One Writer’s Bucket List. I’ve kept up with my list over the years, but until recently, I’d forgotten that I’d actually shared it publicly.

So why write a new one?

Understanding the Editing Process: What Every Writer Should Know About Working With Editors

From Edie: Discover the essential stages of the publishing edit and learn how writers can work effectively with content, copy, and proof editors. Gain practical tips for meeting deadlines, improving clarity, and building strong editor partnerships to help your manuscript shine.

Understanding the Editing Process: What Every Writer Should Know About Working With Editors

by Cindy K. Sproles @CindyDevoted

They came. I wondered when they would arrive, and they finally came—my proofing edits from the publisher. Once your book is contracted and begins its journey down the publishing pipeline, you’ll meet up with several different editors. 

Let’s take a second to familiarize ourselves with the types of editors (and these are just a few). The content editor will review your manuscript, identifying any plot discrepancies or areas that require clarification. They’ll note when descriptions are not working, or characters may become lost in the story. Content editors are responsible for ensuring the story flows smoothly from beginning to end and that all the plot points work together effectively. 

After content, you’ll meet up with a general editor who’ll begin to clean up grammar, make sure all your sentence construction is in order, and that everything is clear. 

Depending on the need, you may be assigned to a sensitivity editor whose role is to ensure that cultural and racial implications are appropriately addressed and corrected if necessary.

How Writers Can Set Achievable Goals for 2026: A Practical Guide to Planning, Deadlines, and Finishing Your Book

From Edie: Learn how to set achievable writing goals for 2026 with practical strategies for planning your writing life, breaking big projects into manageable steps, creating deadlines, and finally finishing your book. A clear, encouraging guide to help writers build consistency and confidence in the new year.

How Writers Can Set Achievable Goals for 2026: A Practical Guide to Planning, Deadlines, and Finishing Your Book

by Larry J. Leech, II @LarryJLeechII

“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.”—Pablo Picasso

I first learned about goals when I married Wendy more than two decades ago. This time of the year, like many others, she starts thinking about goals for the following year. I thought it was silly. Probably because in my journalism career I spent most of the time living in the day-to-day. But I watched Wendy succeed in her personal life by setting goals. 

Now, after weeks of thinking and jotting down notes, we spend a day at a coffee shop writing our goals for the coming year in various categories. For me, that includes spiritual, health, husband, father, now grandfather, to name a few, and, of course, my professional path.

Spiritual Practices for Writers: The Practice of Joy

From Edie: Discover how the spiritual practice of joy begins with seeking shelter in God. This reflection for writers explores the Christmas story, the theme of divine refuge, and how resting in God’s presence renews creativity, clarity, and purpose. A gentle invitation for writers to create from a place of joy and holy shelter.

Spiritual Practices for Writers: The Practice of Joy

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank

But may all who take shelter in you be happy. May they continually shout for joy. Shelter them so that those who are loyal to you may rejoice. Certainly you reward the godly, LORD. Like a shield you protect them in your good favor (Psalm 5:11-12).

From the start, the story of Christmas is a story of sheltering. God sought a shelter for His Son, and found it in the pure heart and womb of the virgin girl named Mary. Mary and her holy child needed shelter from the cultural consequences of shame, and Joseph chose not to withdraw his name and his promise, marrying her instead of quietly divorcing her. On the night of His birth, Jesus and His faithful parents needed shelter, and a compassionate heart defied societal edicts by offering a stable. Some tree, somewhere, was cut down, hewed into a manger, and became the holy shelter of the newborn Messiah. Joy to the world!

How Writers Can Restart Their Fiction After a Long Dry Spell: Finding Momentum, Motivation, and a New Writing Routine

From Edie: Struggling to return to fiction after a long writing dry spell? Discover practical encouragement and simple steps to restart your novel, rebuild momentum, and create a writing routine that fits real life. This hopeful guide helps writers find motivation, clarity, and joy on the writing journey again.

How Writers Can Restart Their Fiction After a Long Dry Spell: Finding Momentum, Motivation, and a New Writing Routine

by Tim Suddeth @TimSuddeth

I have to admit, I’m going through a dry spell with my writing—specifically my fiction writing. Recently, it seems I can focus only on articles. I love sharing here what I’m learning on my learning journey. On this blog, we have a great group of accomplished and award-winning writers contributing wisdom on the craft and business of writing.

I’m not one of them. I can’t look down from a peak and shout directions to us climbers below about how to traverse the writing mountain. Yet.

How Writers Can Build a Sustainable Writing Life in 2026: Reflection, Renewal, and Practical Steps Forward

From Edie: Discover how to build a sustainable writing life in 2026 through reflection, renewal, and practical daily steps. Learn how to set creative goals, work through hard seasons, strengthen your writing muscle, and partner with God to create a healthy, consistent writing rhythm for the year ahead.

How Writers Can Build a Sustainable Writing Life in 2026: Reflection, Renewal, and Practical Steps Forward

by A.C. Williams @ACW_Author

We have reached the last month of 2025. How has that happened so quickly? Weren’t we just in January? 

I don’t know about you, but 2025 has been a hard year in a lot of different ways. Lots of change. Lots of loss and grief personally. Major adjustments professionally. 

Due to the personal loss and grief I’ve faced this year, I didn’t write as much as I normally would have. I was able to keep writing devotions, and I wrote all my various blog posts. I wrote my regular daily devotions over at AlwaysPeachy.com because that helped me process what was happening in my heart.