Writing is hard work. The late author Thomas Mann wrote that a writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people, and I agree. When I began writing professionally a decade ago, I thought it would become easier with practice, but the opposite is true. There certainly are moments when the words tumble easily onto the page, but the more I learn about the craft of writing, the higher I set my standard and the harder I must work to reach it.
In January, I struggled to write the message for my monthly Worthy Words newsletter.1 I spent many hours over the course of several mornings writing ugly drafts and deleting them. They were not even worth saving in my “Darlings” folder2 for future redemption. Day after day, I opened the document, agonizing over the words that refused to come together in a way that was engaging, encouraging, or equipping. The message I eventually wrote was the fourth piece I had written for that particular newsletter.
Four complete drafts.
One little newsletter.
Some days, it felt like those first three drafts were a waste of time. I even considered giving up on the piece at one point. My readers won’t miss one more newsletter. It’s no big deal if I skip one month.
But I’ve come to accept that this struggle is part of the process. It comes with the territory of being a writer. A call to write for God’s glory requires perseverance and endurance.
So, how do we press on when the words won’t do what we want them to? How do we push through the frustration, false starts, and fatigue of creative work in a fallen world? How do we overcome the tough moments when writing a piece is arduous? There are probably as many answers to those questions as there are writers. But here’s what I know for sure:
Writing well is beyond me. I can’t do it alone.
I sometimes pridefully believe I can handle this myself. I know what I need to know, and I have what it takes to write what I want to write. Easy-peasy. When it’s harder than I think it should be, or when I can’t seem to write what I want to write how I want to write it, it’s usually because I refuse to learn something new or I refuse to ask for help.
But God never expects us to fulfill his call alone. His plan and purpose for our God-glorifying words are always more than we can handle on our own.
We need his help.
We need the empowerment of his Spirit.
We need his provision.
We need the inspiration of his Word.
We need him to do a work in our own hearts before we can write something authentic and transformative for others.
In addition to God’s help, I need encouragement and help from others. Only I can write the message God gave me to write, but he has also designed me to live in community and to benefit from the example, inspiration, and support of others (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
Being part of a community of other Christian writers has proven invaluable.3 When I’m stuck on a piece, I can share my struggle, and others can pray. When a freditor4 offers to review a piece, they always provide fresh insight and suggestions to improve it. This almost always gets me out of that stuck place and back into the “groove”. And sometimes simply sharing our struggles, reminding each other that we’re in this together, that our difficulties are not unique to us, that writing is hard for other writers, too—it’s all the encouragement I need to keep going.
The key here is humility. Asking for help requires us to lay down our pride, to give up the illusion that “we got this”. The “experts” emphasize presenting ourselves as an authority on the topics we write about, but even the highest-qualified professional on any subject benefits from feedback, encouragement, and help. Transparently admitting our weaknesses tends to endear more people to us than putting on a false front of unflappable competency and independence. Perhaps this is especially true for Christian writers since the very foundation of our faith demands the admission of our need, humbly admitting our sin and our failure to save ourselves, and then placing all our hope and trust in the sufficiency of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:5, 12:9).
There’s a time to push through and press on when writing is hard, but there’s also a time to let go and wait on the Lord. While I’m an ardent believer in developing a daily writing practice, I’m learning to set aside a piece I’m struggling with and switch to something else, trusting God to provide the inspiration I need in his perfect timing. This was ultimately the solution to my newsletter problem last month. After three failed drafts, I set that project aside for several days and focused my writing efforts on other pieces. The break seemed to provide the refreshment I needed, and one morning, I had a tiny idea for the newsletter that became the finished piece in minutes instead of hours. It was almost effortless.
So, here are some practical ideas to help you break through a writing wall:
- Pray about it. Ask for God’s help, inspiration, and guidance.
- Spend some dedicated time refilling your spiritual inkwell5.
- Reach out to a writing friend and share your struggle.
- Recruit a couple of freditors to read your piece and provide some feedback.
- Join a Christian writing community for inspiration, encouragement, and support.
- Take a break. Do something else. Trust God’s timing.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).
What helps you crush a writing roadblock? Share your experience in the comments to encourage other writers.
- In case you missed it, you can read it here. Don’t miss the next one! Subscribe here. ↩︎
- My “Darlings” folder was inspired by Roy Peter Clark’s book Murder Your Darlings. He wrote, “You will write things you love. That’s wonderful. Enjoy that feeling. During revision, though, ask yourself a crucial question. Does that gorgeous passage or that clever thought support your main idea? If not, take it out. You do not have to ‘murder’ that darling metaphor. You can save it for another story on another day.” So, my “Darlings” folder is where I save those sentences and paragraphs that didn’t serve my reader well in the first piece I wrote it. ↩︎
- I cannot emphasize the value of community for Christian writers enough. It is literally life-changing. Read more about my thoughts on that, including the online Christian writers communities I enjoy, in Why Community is Crucial in Writing for God’s Glory. ↩︎
- I first encountered the term “freditor” in advice to writers by Jen Wilkin. She defines freditors as “my friend editors who offer feedback as co-laborers in my writing ministry.” ↩︎
- Is your inkwell filled to overflowing. Read You Can’t Write From an Empty Inkwell for inspiration. ↩︎
