Writing Risks that Draw Us to Christ

For over fifteen years, I had a clear lane as a nonfiction writer. I majored in writing in college and then continued on through two masters degrees in—you guessed it—nonfiction writing. I loved the field of nonfiction, and I taught in the field for years. 

Along with teaching at the college level, I spent over fifteen years penning articles, devotionals, and nonfiction books. I was strengthening my craft and helping others to do the same, and I both enjoyed and felt comfortable in my work.

After my second nonfiction book released, though, I found myself worn down by the process. Writing and releasing a nonfiction book—especially one that involves stories from your own life—requires a lot of promotional writing, marketing, and interviews around the book and, therefore, around your own story. I was tired of speaking about the tender parts of my own story, and writing in general had started to feel more like a burden than a joy. 

Pursuing Joy in Our Writing

All of us go through ups and downs in our writing life—there’s an ebb and flow that happens based on seasons of life, spiritual growth, and creative margin. Sometimes, the hard and holy work of writing will feel heavy.

When I found myself in my own writing rut, I longed to get back to why I fell in love with writing in the first place—for the connection I experienced with the Lord when I wrote, and for the sheer joy of writing in and of itself. 

And so I asked myself: what sounded fun in my writing life? I hadn’t thought of that question in a long time, and the answer that came surprised me: I wondered what it might be like to try my hand at writing a novel. It sounded refreshing to try something completely new, and because I had no deadline and no contract to fulfill, I was simply enjoying the process of learning and trying fresh concepts as a writer.

As I did my research on novel structures, imagined ideas and started writing, I found my way back to the joy that Christ had given me as a child when I started writing in my diary, because I was delighting in him and in the gift of writing that he had given to me. Imagine that—writing for fun again! I wasn’t worried about platform or agents or finding a way to cut into the market: I was writing out of joy and delight. 

Writing Risks that Lead to Spiritual Fruit

In switching genres and trying something new in my writing, I discovered that two things happened. First, I found my way out of my writing rut. A new project with completely new goals and aims helped me to try innovative things in my work. 

Secondly, I experienced spiritual refreshment when I returned to enjoying writing as a gift from the Lord rather than seeing it as a project to be published. 

Don’t get me wrong: the business side is important. We want our words to get out into the world, and that takes work. But if we lose the passion and the joy of the gift of words that Jesus has given to us, we’re losing what’s meant to be at the heart of our calling: joy in Christ. He has called us to writing so that we will know him better, and so that we will “proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). There are countless ways to do that as writers, through everything from poetry to novels to essays to devotionals. But the heart is the same: we write out of love for Christ and for his glory.

If you’re in a writing rut, consider taking the risk of switching genres! Write something that feels out of your comfort zone, and delight in getting to try something new. Praise God for the gift of words, and focus on communing with him rather than building your platform. The latter may come in time; communing with the Lord is eternal.

Question: How could you take a risk in your writing that might lead to deeper connection with the Lord?