From Edie: Discover 10 practical writing tips for Christian writers to strengthen your craft, grow in discipline, and stay faithful to your calling. Build habits that lead to writing excellence.
10 Best Writing Tips for Christian Writers: Habits That Strengthen Your Craft and Calling
by Lori Hatcher
If I asked you, “What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve received,” what would you say?
Today, in the spirit of collective learning, I’d like to share ten of my favorite random best practices for writing excellence.
- 1. Say thank you—often. Thank those who have helped you along the way: mentors, writing friends, conference instructors, blog authors, Word Weavers members, readers who leave encouraging comments, social media followers, etc. etc. etc. Most of all, thank God for giving you the gift of words and the ability to share them.
- 2. Be a generous writer. Share what you have with others. Write book reviews. Share books, blogs, and posts that have ministered to you. Be generous with your knowledge or connections. Give away your writing. Choose a charity or ministry to give a portion of your writing earnings. Consider tithing on your time and talent as well as your money. God loves a cheerful giver and promises to bless the giver as much as the receiver.
- 3. Don’t neglect your physical needs. Eat regularly, especially when you’re immersed in writing. Take stand/stretch/walk breaks at least every hour. Get a massage or buy a massage gun, a stand desk, or a treadmill.
- 4. Don’t neglect your emotional needs. Writers tend to be cave people, but even the most introverted need friends. Intentionally schedule an occasional lunch out or a phone call. Take time to play, especially if you think you can’t afford the time away from your computer. Do something fun with your spouse. Trust me. You’ll come back refreshed and better able to write.
- 5. Don’t neglect your spiritual needs. You can’t write from an empty well. The best way to fill it up is to drink deeply of God’s Word. He also calls us to be active members of a local church (Hebrews 10:25). Christ loves the church, and we should too—the local church, not only the universal church. We must also study, study, study, and pray, pray, pray. God promises that we will find Him if we search for Him with all our hearts.
- 6. Strive for excellence. We must always battle the temptation to be lazy. Writing is hard. Rewriting is hard. Editing is hard. Marketing is hard. The writers who truly glorify God are those who do the best they can at whatever stage of their writing career they’re in. Notice I didn’t say their writing is perfect. They seek to do the best work they can do for the stage they’re in.
- 7. Resist the urge to make excuses for what you don’t know. In this digital age, we have no reason to be ignorant. If your critique group members keep writing passive voice on your submissions, go online (or search The Write Conversation archives) for articles explaining what it is and how to fix it. If you realize you don’t know how to add graphics to your blog post, send out a newsletter, or write a book proposal, do an internet or AI search. We live in the perfect era to learn new things.
- 8. Pray before, during, and after you write. Before, ask for God’s direction and inspiration. During, pray through the first draft, edits, and rewrites. After, ask God to direct your words to those He intends to help through them.
- 9. Use the Read Aloud tool (found under the Review tab in MS Word) to get your computer to read your work back to you. As you listen, edit for awkward phrasing, typos, and clarity.
- 10. Adjust your expectations. Sometimes we need to step back or step away, and that’s okay. During seasons of illness, crisis, or family turmoil, it’s unrealistic to think you can keep chugging along as if the sun was shining and the wind was at your back. Instead, keep a journal of how you’ve seen God manifest Himself on your behalf. Jot down vignettes that happen in the hospital, doctor’s office, or sick room. Look for spiritual connections and lessons from the days’ experiences and capture them so you can write about them later. “Micro-blog” on social media by sharing a photo and a thought instead of a long, perfectly-formatted post. When circumstances crowd your writing time or you’re physically or emotionally sidelined, it’s okay to step away. But don’t step out. If God has called you to write for Him, He’ll either make a way for you to write in the circumstances or change them to allow you to continue.
My list of writer best practices may have jogged your memory about one of your best practices. I’d love for you to leave a comment and share it with the Write Conversation family.
Write on!
~Lori
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