25 Feb Four Things I’ve Learnt while Writing a Book

This past year has been a year of writing. There’s been my first book; an eBook to be released shortly called The Easy Way to Hear God’s Voice, my second book – a memoir in the third stage of revision, and the beginnings of a third, still at the conceptual stage.

It’s been a whole new branch of ministry for me. Here are four things I’ve learnt along the way:

1. It’s Harder than I Thought

You love those moments. You’re sitting around an open fire, stirred by a golden flame, warmed by the possibilities. But then the fire burns out and you’re left with a pile of charred embers and a haze of smokey memories. The idea is great, but after it flares up, it turns into plain hard work. At least that’s what my brother-in-law told me when he decided not to build an open fireplace in his log cabin.

Writing a book sounds like a great idea until you actually try doing it. Drafting, editing, checking grammar, labouring over vocabulary and realising you still aren’t communicating accurately, writing when there’s no inspiration and you can’t find the right word, then editing it all over again. Whose idea was this anyway?

It’s harder than I thought.

2. It’s Never Too late to Learn

So I decided to write about how God speaks as a memoir rather than as non-fiction; another great idea except I’ve never written in that genre before. (I didn’t even have a label for what I was trying to do.) I don’t have an English degree. I didn’t study English Lit at school. For some odd reason, my subjects of speciality were science and maths, topics that tend to bore me now.

You could say I didn’t know what I was doing.

So it’s been a huge learning curve. But it’s also been an amazing one. I’ve discovered again that the process of learning is a rich one, full of revelations about myself and others. I’ve learnt that once you get started, it gets easier; that learning starts with a decision, and each step uncovers a new one. I’ve learned that there are multiple resources and expertise out there – if only we are prepared to access them.

It’s never too late to learn.

3. The Dictionary/Thesaurus App is Awesome

Enough said.

4. It’s better to Listen to God than Yourself

It wasn’t my idea of course. I rarely find myself wanting to do things I believe I can’t do. Writing a book has been like discovering a room in my house I never knew existed; like I was led down a secret stairwell, to a hidden room where I explored shadowed nooks and uncovered hidden troves of rich furnishings. I never realised any of it was there.

But the owner did.

It got me wondering, how much more of us lays buried deep beneath? How much more undiscovered potential? How much more gifting? More creativity? How much the world would see what God can do with someone fully consecrated to him (Dwight L. Moody).

It’s better to listen to God than yourself.

What about you? What has God asked you to do that led you on a learning journey? What have you discovered about yourself along the way?

Love to hear your thoughts here!

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Life, Love and Valentine’s Day!? 

On Valentine’s Day last week I chatted with Karen Hunt on Vision Radio Network’s Morning Cafe show. Here’s some thoughts about life and love from someone who wasn’t celebrating the day with a bunch of red roses. You can listen here!