"Don't wait until you feel inspired."

and other advice that's changed my writing practice (and my life)

One of the most asked questions I get related to my writing is this:

“How do you do it?”

Mommy-ing, wife-ing, full-time career, speaking gigs, and writing a new book every couple of years. Yes, life is busy full.

Ask me on a Saturday morning on our way to my six-year-old twins’ soccer game and between sips of cafe au lait, and I’ll say it’s overflowing.

But I believe that we can learn in the fullness.

We can also learn by hearing wisdom from other writers, creators, visionaries, and publishing experts.

Here are 6 bits of wisdom that have changed my writing (and life).

Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash

1. “Don’t wait until you feel inspired.”

I used to think that writing happened when you “felt inspired.” Somehow a bolt of brilliance would strike (and like the old school poets Keats or Wordsworth or another one of my English degree crushes), the words would drop onto the page without much effort on my part.

Not. The. Way. It. Works.

Not surprisingly, when I wrote believing this, I didn’t write much.

When I did sit down to write (at that time with an old-fashioned pen and paper), it felt forced. Instead of a free flow, that flash of brilliance I was waiting for, writing felt like squeezing the last bits of toothpaste out of a tube.

Friends and fellow creatives: Writing, I’ve learned over time, is a practice.

It’s not something you wait for—it’s something you prepare for.

Schedule time into your week to do the thing (“butt in chair”) as I’ve heard folks say.

Connect with people who know more than you about writing and learn from them.

Read lots of books.

2. “Hope is not a strategy.”

Mike Salisbury at Yates and Yates Author Coaching says this and it is at the same time both a punch in the modern writer’s gut and a word of encouragement.

For a long time, I thought that if I hoped enough (or perhaps prayed enough) that I would fulfill this dream and vision I’ve had since I was a little girl: to be an author.

What I’ve learned since diving into the real and gritty world of publishing is that while hope and prayer (I believe) is always helpful, strategy is also key. This means not only strategy on how to actually write a book, but also how to build a platform (and what this even means) and how to nurture readers and build authentic relationships.

Ultimately, it’s important to plan before undertaking the project. Strategize before, during, and after the writing process is over. You may find that this is when the work really begins.

3. “Our stories are mirrors and windows.”

One the best things I’ve done for my author career (and my recovery and life) is to reach out for support. I’ve learned that writing requires community. When we learn from others, our craft can get better. Sharper.

And when our craft gets better and sharper, people might actually start reading what we write.

And when more people read what we right, there is a greater chance that they will be impacted, moved to new action, compassion, insights, or other goals we may have for the work of our hands.

I believe that writing is a ministry and a calling.

I met with

Will Parker Anderson

from The Writer’s Circle to get feedback on my writing. To offer feedback on what I could do better to reach the reader in a new way.

It was 100% worth the investment.

When we met, he shared this:

It was such a simple, yet profound statement. His words helped me to rethink how I go about telling stories.

Not only was it affirming for the writing I’d been doing, it was also a battle cry of sorts. I could let go of the pressure I felt to say it right. I could just focus on these two things:

Reflect the reader’s experience and invite the reader in through storytelling.

There were also other gems he shared during our session, and I’m continually moved by his weekly newsletter. Check it out here.

4. “You don’t have to perform.”

Please don’t look at my Instagram grid before 2021. When I started this author journey, headfirst and all in, I felt pressure to show up a certain way because that’s how everyone was showing up.

“All the cool kids are doing it.”

At that time, people were dancing around and pointing at fragments of ideas on the screen with captions that floated eerily and then disappeared.

Hours of YouTube tutorials and really bad “performances” later, I was listening to an author and editor,

Stephanie Duncan Smith

talk on a podcast. She said something that I immediately wrote down on a piece of paper and have on my desk.

She gave me the permission I’d been waiting for as I’d been dancing around and trying to figure out the timing on an IG reel without losing my mind or any more precious hours in the process.

Now, I focus on creating social media content that I resonate with and feel okay about (though I do prefer showing up here). I also don’t try to do everything and show up everywhere. I’ve asked for help to do the things that I’d rather not (ahem, Facebook/Instagram).

I’ve decided that I want to hang out where my friends are. And most of you all are here.

You will hear amazing writing advice and also insights on the craft of writing in Stephanie’s thoughtful Substack, Slant Letter.

5. “Writing requires community.”

I was sitting at my desk during writing time, which happens most weeks on Saturday afternoons during my kids’ rest time (aka Disney move time) and looking out the window. One of my favorite distractions.

Our old house is at the base of a foothill in Eastern Tennessee, and I get all sorts of visitors out this particular window: deer, owl, squirrels, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, depending on the shifting of seasons. In autumn it is a brilliant yellow, in spring, buds are bursting forth.

While all of this sounds very poetic, I’ve realized over time that unlike the romantic notion of writers (that we are solitary and special creatures), I need more community than meandering woodland creatures.

That’s why about a year ago, I decided to start an informal group of writers who have similar interests and passions (no catch, no charge), just a smallish group of people with kindred spirits and pens. It’s been SO life-giving and supportive we’ve decided to meet monthly and invite guests to join us to teach and encourage.

What I’ve learned about having a community of writers to belong to, is that we can learn so much from one another. Our writing not only gets better, but our hearts do too.

If you are looking for community, Substack is a great place to hang out and I’ve got lots of friends who have open groups who may be waiting for you.

6. “Of the writing of many books, there will be no end.”

Lastly, I had to end here.¹

On our last date night, my husband and I found ourselves in Barnes and Noble (yes, they still exist), and I was hanging out by the new fiction.

Suddenly, the bold, blocky, title-facing covers started hurting my eyes. I sort of stumbled back and wobbled down to the faith-based titles where I like to hang out the most and it hit me:

There are so many books.

And then of course, the doubt started creeping in:

Why am I writing?

What else do I possibly have to say?

What’s even the point when there are so many books?

Not just in real-life stores which are becoming fewer and fewer but the eternity of halls of Amazon warehouses and self-published, traditionally published, hybrid published, even robot-written and published (AI). Pretty much anyone can write a book or put words into the world in different ways.

Photo by Susan Q Yin on Unsplash

We are saturated with content. And it is dizzying.

And yet…

While this is true and there is no end to the drive for humans to share ideas and tell stories and help each other through words, I think that it is important to remember that our stories still matter.

We can still feel called to be modern day scribes who are writing and perhaps publishing in this new and (sometimes) maddening era.

There may be no end to books and that’s okay by me.

Let’s keep writing—with support.

Let’s keep learning together in the fullness of our shared experience.

What tip resonated the most with you and why? Do you have a writing and life tip that is helping you? Share below!

1. Ecclesiastes 12:12