It’s been close to a week since I returned from the annual ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) Conference, and I’m still trying to digest all that I learned. Is that even possible?
I’ve been rolling around the key concepts, lessons, and skill building tools in my mind to share since returning. So much information, good information, so what do I want to latch on to, focus, and apply to my life and writing?
Here are six points/lessons that keep churning to the front of my brain:
1: God is priority in our lives.
This means:
*We make time to read the Bible, pray, & hang out with other believers.
*Writing must not come before our time with Him or our time with our family.
*We must trust God & His timing with our words, whatever that means in our life situation, whether published or not.
*Understanding we are unique. Some people write quicker than others. For me, I can write a book in about a year. Others well, they are bionic, and can pump out more. Ha. 🙂 Hugs to all you bionic writers out there. 🙂
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| W/ my Publishers from Olivia Kimbrell Press, Author Hallee Bridgeman & her hubby Gregg! |
2: Set writing goals. Tangible goals. Write them out. Put them were they’ll be seen.
My goals now hanging at my desk:
* Write a minimum of 1,000 words a day, 4 days a week.
* Market on Social Media 15 minutes a day, 6 days a week (Market not only my books but books and blogs by other people, fun pics, quotes, recipes, things happening in my life etc.).
* Replace a teacher’s salary with my books, turning my part time income into a full time income within three years.
Will I achieve these goals? Maybe. Maybe not. But they’re there, and if I fail, then I’m closer to the goals than if I hadn’t set any.
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| Speaker, Author, Film Producer Bill Myers charges us to always say ‘Yes’ to God. |
3: Use a timer to help get things done.
Whether doing dishes, cleaning around the house, blogging, scheduling social media posts –whatever– a timer helps. When the timer beeps, time to move on to the next thing. The timer has FREED me ya’ll!
4: Don’t quit.
* Always continue to develop writing skills. Study the craft. Read books that you enjoy.
* Just write.
* As followers of Christ we were meant to persevere — even if a publisher or agent rejects our work. It’s alright. No is a part of the game. He’s given us a talent and desire, so we should hone our writing craft, and use our words to bring Him glory.
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| Author & Founder of My Book Therapy, Susan May Warren encourages & equips writers. |
5: Treat Readers the way we want to be treated
* Connect with readers, reply to their posts as often as possible.
* Share bits and pieces of our life with them.
* Make them feel special, because they are.
6: Write from the Deep.
*We gotta be in God’s Word, and spending time with Him to do this.
*Writing from the deep goes to those places in our lives that we don’t want others to know. It’s that hurt, that question, that thing unresolved, a fear down in our core. It’s opening up our heart to let God clean out the cobwebs, and work out a novel from those depths. It’s authentic, and readers will appreciate that.
*This is where I wanna stay, wanna be, when I’m writing. I want to give my readers something real, and meaningful.
Wondering if investing in a writer’s conference is worth it?
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| Gifts to Share with Readers, & to review, enjoy & share with others. |
Yes. It is. Every penny!
Conferences are like college course for writers. They’re an amazing time for growth in many avenues of our life, renewal & refocus, networking, encouragement, and mentoring.
Looking for Christian Writer Conferences close by? Check out this list of events.
Thanks for stopping by today, and God Bless You wherever you are in your writing journey!
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| In class with Authors Dani Pettrey & Becky Wade, learning how to tame the social media beast! |