Last week, I attended the Florida Christian Writers Conference—and it was so good! I reconnected with old friends and met so many new ones: writers, editors, agents, and publishers—all amazing, friendly, and faith-filled people.
If you’re a new writer, I highly recommend getting to a writers’ conference as soon as possible. It will change your writing life and open doors you never expected—especially a Christian writers conference. As Christians, we believe God has a plan for our lives, so if writing is part of your calling, you can be sure He has a plan for that too.
At the conference, I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with Linda Goldfarb—a podcaster, speaker, author, and coach. For the past few months, I’ve been listening to her podcast and learning so many valuable lessons for writers at every stage of the journey.
Since I had her ear, I asked her for something to bring back to you as a writer—something that would help you right where you are. I told her I hear so many new writers share what I’ve heard countless others say as well: I’m just not sure if my writing is good enough. Who am I to write?
Linda’s answer to that was powerful:
“Don’t let anxiety over writing negate God’s leading in your writing. He’s not going to lead you astray. Trust that God has that open door.”
As Christian writers who feel called by God to write, we don’t need to focus on anxiety—we need to focus on God’s leading in our writing. If He brought us to this writing adventure, He will provide for us. He’ll provide the right contacts, the right coaching, the right editor, the right resources and inspiration—the perfect plan for every writing endeavor.
Whether God is calling you to write one book or to make writing your lifelong vocation, He has a plan for it.
One last thing Linda encouraged me with—and I’ll encourage you too—is to plan to grow in knowledge. She asked me what my plans were for the first quarter of the coming year to grow my knowledge. That made me pause and think.
What about you? With the goals you want to accomplish, do you have a plan to gain the knowledge you’ll need to reach them? If you’re not sure where to start, check out these ideas:
* Check out your local library for any free writing workshops that may be coming soon.
* Choose and read three books on writing for your genre and take notes.
* Look into upcoming writers’ conferences in your area.
* Join a writer’s critique group for helpful feedback.
* Sign up for one-on-one writing coaching with me, just fill out my contact form here.
We’re coming up on the holiday season, but before the busyness begins, take a moment to think ahead to January, February, and March. How will you grow in your writing craft—or in the skills that support it, like marketing or self-editing? Whatever your next step looks like, make a plan—and trust God to guide your path.
And if you’re not sure where to start, I can’t recommend a writers conference enough. It might just be the turning point in your writing journey. I’m so glad I went and met Linda. Thank you, Linda, for your words of wisdom!