How to Prioritize Your Next Step as a Writer (Without Feeling Overwhelmed)

From Edie: Feeling overwhelmed by too many writing priorities? Learn how to identify your next best step, focus your efforts, and make meaningful progress on your writing journey.

How to Prioritize Your Next Step as a Writer (Without Feeling Overwhelmed)

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

If you've attended a writing conference this year—or even listened to webinars, read craft books, or followed writing blogs—you're probably carrying around a notebook full of ideas.

That's a wonderful resource filled with valuable information.

Until it isn't.

Somewhere between the excitement of learning and the reality of everyday life, writers often discover something unexpected. The challenge isn't finding more information. The challenge is deciding what to do with all the information they already have.

That happens to me all the time. I come home inspired, determined to implement everything I've learned. I have pages of notes, a dozen new ideas, and enough motivation to conquer the publishing world.

Then real life shows up.

Email needs answering. Supper needs cooking, and laundry certainly doesn't do itself. Deadlines continue marching across the calendar. Before long, those wonderful conference notes are tucked into a notebook on the shelf, waiting for "when I have more time."

If that sounds familiar, you're not alone.

Information Isn't the Goal

As writers, we naturally assume that learning more is always the answer. Another class. Another podcast. Another book on craft. Another social media strategy.

Learning is vital if we want to continue growing as writers.

But eventually there comes a point where more information actually becomes a distraction from the work God has called us to do. We reach a point where we don't need another notebook, another list of ideas, or another course.

What we do need is a way to put those ideas into practice.

There's a HUGE difference between learning and implementation.

One fills our notebooks.

The other fills our manuscripts.

But there's another challenge we don't often talk about.

Sometimes the hardest part isn't deciding what to learn next—it's deciding what to do first.

I've discovered that writers rarely suffer from a lack of good ideas. More often, we have too many. We know we should improve our websites, build an email list, grow our social media, pitch articles, finish our manuscripts, learn AI, attend conferences, market our books, work on our speaking, and start the next project.

None of those things are bad. In fact, they're all worthwhile. But they ARE overwhelming. I’m tired just writing out that list. 

The problem with these things is that we can't do them all at once.

Progress doesn't usually come from trying to do everything. It comes from identifying the next faithful step and giving it our attention.

Sometimes that answer comes during quiet time with God. Sometimes it comes through honest evaluation. And sometimes it comes through a conversation with someone who's walked the road before us and can say, "For where you are right now, this is where I'd focus."

That kind of perspective is priceless.

The Value of Margin in a Writer's Life

One of the things I've noticed over the years is that progress rarely happens by accident. Unless I plan for it, I don't magically find time to write. Instead, I have to carve that time out of an already overloaded "must-do" list. Sometimes finding time to write means getting up earlier. Sometimes getting words on the page means saying no to something else.

And sometimes creating time to write means intentionally stepping away from our normal routines for a few days so we can focus.

Jesus often withdrew to quiet places—not because His work wasn't important, but because it was. There's wisdom in creating space by retreating.

When we do that, we're following His example. But we're also creating room for something that often gets crowded out by everyday life.

Space to think.

Space to pray.

Space to listen.

Space to write.

Ask Yourself One Question

Instead of asking,

"What should I learn next?"

Try asking,

"What do I already know that I haven't put into practice?"

That question has the power to change our writing lives. Maybe you already know how to strengthen dialogue. Maybe you already understand point of view. Maybe you know how to organize a nonfiction book or use fiction techniques to make your stories come alive. Maybe you've learned enough about platform building to take the next step.

Perhaps what you need is not another lesson.

Perhaps what you need is uninterrupted time to do the work.

Or—just maybe—you need someone with experience to help you sort through all those good ideas and identify which one deserves your attention first.

Sometimes one conversation can save months of spinning your wheels.

Give Yourself Permission

Writers often feel guilty about protecting time for their manuscripts. We call carving out time "being selfish." We tell ourselves we'll write after everything else is finished. But stewardship sometimes looks like protecting the calling God has entrusted to us.

Giving ourselves permission to focus isn't selfish.

It's wise.

Whether that means setting aside a Saturday, scheduling a personal writing retreat, inviting a trusted writing friend to help you evaluate your priorities, or investing in a focused writing intensive, creating intentional space often becomes the catalyst for real progress.

One Thought Before You Go

If you're looking for a way to move from inspiration to implementation, that's exactly why we created Mountainside Book Intensive.

Rather than another packed conference schedule, it's designed to give writers dedicated time to write, meet with experienced publishing professionals, and spend quiet moments seeking God's direction for the work He's placed on their hearts.

One of the things I love most about the Mountainside Book Intensive isn't simply the classes.

It's the conversations.

Sometimes a 20-minute discussion with an editor, an agent, or an experienced author can bring remarkable clarity. Instead of leaving with another notebook full of ideas, you leave knowing your next step—and having begun that step. You discover what deserves your attention now—and what can wait until later.

Whether your next step is our Mountainside Book Intensive or simply blocking out a few uninterrupted days on your calendar, I hope you'll choose implementation over information.

Your manuscript deserves more than another notebook full of ideas.

It deserves your attention.

Now it's your turn. What helps you create margin in your writing life? Have you been away on a retreat and how has it helped?

Don't forget to join the conversation!

Blessings,

Edie

Mountainside Book Intensive 

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Edie Melson believes God often teaches His deepest truths through the creative life. An award-winning author, speaker, photographer, and self-proclaimed organized creative, she has spent more than 25 years encouraging writers to pursue God's calling with courage, purpose, and joy. She is the author of more than two dozen books, including the award-winning Soul Care series, and serves as executive director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. Edie and her husband, Kirk, live in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where you'll often find her hanging off a ledge for the perfect photograph while Kirk patiently carries the tripod.