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| Melinda V. Inman |
Do
We Follow the Gurus?
When I attended my first writers’ conference, I learned that
authors who wanted to publish were expected to have a blog. That trend had
begun years earlier with Ann Voskamp, the most famous blogger of that era. In
fact, her first book was created from her blog content. I went home and began
to blog.
But much has changed in the writing world, including this
expectation.
About the time I began blogging, it seemed that every other
new author also began blogging. The writing of words exploded, producing so
much content that no one could keep up with every writer they wanted to follow.
Our inboxes filled up, and we didn’t have time to read the plethora of words.
I’ve always loved this verse from Ecclesiastes.
“Be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and
excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body” (Ecclesiastes 12:12b
NASB). Amen to that! You probably agree.
If we’re published, and we’re not in the upper echelon of
authors who have people to do the rest of the work, we must balance several
different tasks. We’re composing and/or editing new novels while also
completing all or most of the marketing, content design, and business
management of our previously published work.
We also have a life. Or, at least, we hope to have a life!
These stressors are why we encourage new writers to enjoy the
relative calm of the pre-published phase of writing. When we examine the list
of responsibilities that published authors have, we can easily see that we must
listen carefully to God’s leading if we want to keep our lives balanced.
So, my encouragement to you is to listen to the Lord, not to
the latest author guru. Yep. I actually said that. Don’t necessarily follow the
advice of the latest hotshot. Don’t jump through the hoops, just because
they’re being held up in front of you.
Maybe you don’t need to blog. Is it something you enjoy? Does
it connect you with your readers? Examine the effectiveness of your blogging
goals. Is it accomplishing what you desire? Pray about it. Not everyone blogs,
and you may choose not to.
Some author gurus recommend churning out three novels a year!
Really? Maybe you’d like to have a life. Maybe you’re also employed. Maybe you
homeschool. Maybe your children and your husband need you. Maybe all of the
above. Pray. Critically evaluate this author goal. Does the Lord want this for
you? Put everything before Him and follow in His steps.
Authors are the prophets of our era. We write the words others
are afraid to speak. We shine the light of truth into the dark corners. We
illustrate these truths in stories. Therefore, it behooves us as Christian
writers to attune ourselves to the Lord’s leading and to write as He leads.
Jesus usually did exactly the opposite of what the gurus expected. Remember
that.
The solution to our time-pressured scheduling conundrum is not
to follow the guru and jump through the hoops, but to present to God our requests
for guidance and solutions for our writing, thanking Him as we do and following
His leading. And then “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7 NIV).
Pray thoughtfully. Listen to Jesus. Write as He leads, even if
you’re the only one traveling on that path. To write with clarity and focus, we
must begin here.
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| Melinda V Inman, Author of Refuge, Fallen, and No Longer Alone |
Raised on the Oklahoma plains in a storytelling family,
Melinda Viergever Inman now spins tales from her writer’s cave in the Midwest.
Her faith-filled fiction illustrates our human story, wrestling with our
brokenness and the storms that wreak havoc in our lives. Find her weekly at http://MelindaInman.com/blog/. To find
her work and to be notified of future published novels, follow her at http://bit.ly/MelindasBooks/.
Connections:
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Melinda-V-Inman/189731601076470
Website: http://melindainman.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelindaVInman
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/melindavinman/
