Four Powerful Practices Using Your Discipline, Determination, and Direction To Move You Forward In Your Author Journey
You’ve shuffled back and forth from “Desire“ to “Denial”
You’ve learned the signs to tell if you are stuck at the pitstop of denial.
You’ve figured out which soil in the Parable of the Sower Writer’s Edition you are in – impenetrable, shallow, thorny, or good.
But now you’re ready to move forward – own your identity as a writer and move forward with discipline, determination, and direction.
What’s Your Writer’s Theme Song?
The title of Jeff Goin’s book – You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One became my theme song after I moved back and forth on the roadmap from a desire to denial. He shares his grappling of accepting his desire to be a writer:
“Well, I guess it is. I mean — I suppose I hope to maybe be a writer …. Someday.”
My friend looked at me without blinking and said, “Jeff, you don’t have to want to be a writer. You are a writer. You just have to write.” –You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One
I finally stopped shuffling back and forth, backtracking, treating denial like it was a place to live, not a pit stop. When I read Jeff Goin’s book, something clicked. Is there a book, a post, a quote that is your theme song? If not, maybe take some time and find one.
Just for reference, I didn’t read/listen to his book until after I had written and published my first book. So, if you are a published author, including through a blog, finding a writer’s theme song is for you too. What’s next? Let’s move on to discipline, determination, and direction.
Not sure you can write a nonfiction book? We can help with that. This checklist will confirm five reasons you CAN write a nonfiction book right now!
Schedule Writing Time On Your Calendar
Right now, I’m sitting at my computer at 6:30 am typing this article. I’ve had seasons when I have gotten up at 4:30 am to edit/revise/write before everyone in the house got up. Not only do I love working in the early morning hours, but it seems to be when my brain works best. If that’s how you are built, that’s great, if not, find a time when you are most alert. When the thoughts flow. When you are most creative.
Need some help making writing a priority? Read Three Tips To Help You Make Writing A Priority.
One of the reasons some writers never move onto discipline and determination is they have the erroneous belief that time will someday magically appear and they can write. Maybe that’s you.
- You’ve owned the fact that you are a writer.
- You have written it in your journal and on a post-it note on your desk.
- You have even begun to tell your friends and family.
- Regardless of what people think, you’re holding fast to using your talent or following your calling.
- You have a new dose of determination. You’re scribbling out ideas and thoughts in your journal, or on napkins in cafes. You bought a book of 300 journal prompts and you are faithful to do two or three a week.
- You’ve found some accounts on Instagram with helpful tips and cute quotes.
Then you hit a slump or get really busy with your family and/or your job and you don’t write for weeks. The determination sheen wears off and the discipline you had for two weeks is gone.
May I offer some brutal honesty from my own journey? The reason that determination and discipline wear off is that you don’t have a “why” linked to a set of goals. You’re practicing the art of writing. You’re educating yourself in the art of writing. These are both parts of the writer’s foundation, but they aren’t really writing. You can:
- Read all the right books about the craft of writing
- Listen to podcasts about writing
- Save inspiration quotes you gleaned on social media
…and still not be writing what you need/desire to.
All of those disciplines are good and will help you “envision the writer God wants you to become.” (Marlene Bagull).
But there’s more to it. Right? What do you have saved on your computer right now?
- A chapter of a book.
- Ten articles you started but never finished?
- A list of ideas in a journal somewhere.
- Or maybe you went so far as to reach out to another writer friend about writing your memoir. She met with you and helped you form a framework for what to write. You started. Then went back to journaling and surfing Instagram for writing tips.
I get it. I’ve been there. I’ve treated journaling and educating myself as if it were writing. Or I got stuck at a phase of my writing and abandoned the project and started a new one.
It’s not that we aren’t motivated. Or industrious. We’re just wasting our discipline and determination on the things that don’t move the needle forward in our writing. By that I mean, is this writing time leading to a goal being accomplished – an article finished, a book written (completely), or a series of articles written?
Confession. I have a few series of articles started and saved in a file. I have half of a new tween mystery novel for my Sera Craven series typed up (with a typewriter to boot – how’s that for determination?). I have a complete novel printed out and I’m revising it.
As I’ve said -sometimes I get distracted by shiny object syndrome. I see an author’s boot camp advertised by Thriving Scribes (love Brit Poe’s stuff -highly recommend) and I sign up. I sign up for a webinar on Journey to Kid Lit (because I’ve always wanted to write a children’s book). I will write one. It’s on my list. Just not today. None of the above are bad things. I’m a random organizer which means I can work on several projects at a time and make slow but good progress. And that’s good. As long as I have a plan. And the discipline to schedule each one of my projects on my calendar.
“Making it happen involves more than just desiring to see it happen. It also takes realistic planning and action…I find it helpful to first set long-range goals. What is God’s overall plan and purpose for my writing?”
Marlene Bagnull
It’s not enough to have determination and discipline. We have to also have direction. When I’m planning out a month, quarter, or year, I set aside time to be with the Lord. I write scriptures and affirmations for projects and ideas He is directing me towards.
I’ve had ladies reach out to me about crafting their authentic stories and after asking them some questions, and – it never fails- they tell me exactly what they feel led to write.
- I want to write a story about my rocky relationship with my mother to help others.
- I want to share my adoption journey so others will follow suit.
- I’d like to share my health journey. I’ll share tips, recipes, and the best types of movement for recovery from a chronic illness.
- I’d like to share bits of my early childhood trauma and abuse and how I’ve overcome them.
- I’d to minister to teens by sharing my story.
And the list goes on. This list is a great place to start. It can be your brainstorming starter. Maybe one of these ideas resonates with you. You want to start a blog and write about one of these topics. Or maybe you have a blog and you want to write a series that will eventually turn into a book.
That’s totally possible by the way – I’ve done that with two of my books – Five Things and 25 Days to Thriving Through Christmas.
Are you thinking- Wow, that’s a lot? I don’t want to try something that huge. Why not? What are you writing for? What’s your destination?
Harness your energy by having direction. It’s important to start with the end in mind. Are you headed in the direction of scribbling your thoughts here and there with no true destination? Or are you willing to take the time to decide exactly what you want to write about? If the Lord is prompting you to share your authentic story, warts and all, don’t let fear hold you back.
Is fear is holding you back? Read Three Fears That Keep Us From Writing And How To Conquer Them for some tips!
Not sure you can write a nonfiction book? We can help with that. This checklist will confirm five reasons you CAN write a nonfiction book right now!
Grab a journal and answer these questions:
- What are God’s overall plan and purpose for my writing?
- What’s my writer’s theme song? (It’s okay to put out an actual song!)
- What do I intend to write about? (Look at the list above to help you get started)
- What’s my authentic story? The one I want to craft but also scares the life out of me to share?
- What is something God brought me through and I’d like to share with others to comfort and encourage them?
- A week from now, what do you want to have accomplished in crafting your authentic story?
- A month from now?
- A year from now?
I’ll admit these are tough questions to answer. Take some time in a quiet space and grab your Bible as well. Ask God to give you at least one scripture to anchor your direction. Write the scripture down and date it. Place the scripture somewhere you can see it often.
Congratulations!
You have the discipline and determination you need. And with the journaling exercise, you did you now have a direction. It’s totally okay to take your time with the exercise. You can stretch it over a week’s time. Don’t rush it because it’s a big decision.
But at the same time, I think your direction is already keeping you up at night. You wake up thinking you want to craft your story. You want to make a difference in other people’s lives. You want to walk in your purpose.
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