Tag: mindset

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The Intentional Writer

How to Quit Striving and Work by Grace

The intentional writer

If you’re like me, you often feel overwhelmed by all the things an author should do to succeed. Social media, interviews, guest posts, newsletters, running ads, and on and on. How are we supposed to accomplish all this platform and promotion stuff and still have time to write?

And is it possible to do it without losing the joy of writing?

Yes.

But it takes a mindset shift. And Grace over Grind by Shae Bynes has helped me move from frantic, guilt-ridden striving to a more confident, calm, and steady writer’s life. Does that sound like something you’d like, too? Then read on.

These quotes summarize the focus of this book:

“You don’t have to strive endlessly to make things happen with the dream God placed in your heart for your business. You simply need God’s empowering presence, and everything else is going to flow from there. … [Grace] enables you to successfully do what God has called you to do, and to do what you could never do on your own.”

Shae Bynes

“If you grind long and hard enough, you will get results in your business. You can absolutely achieve business success by the world’s standards in your own strength, requiring exertion and excessive hard work. … Alternatively, you can embrace the invitation laid before you to embrace a new standard, one that seeks God’s best, testifies of His amazing grace, and ultimately has greater Kingdom impact.”

Shae Bynes

The trouble with working from a grind mentality

As the author points out, you can be successful through grinding and hard work. But I’ve heard several accounts lately of good Christian men and women that were caught in a grind mindset of overwork and overachievement—until something in their lives crashed. Their body gave out or some unforeseen trial arose that left them helpless. And in that place of helplessness, they realized they’d been working by grind instead of grace.

Once they shifted their mindset, the Lord led them to new ministries that impact the world more effectively while enabling them to live a more intentional, non-striving life.

You and I can make this mindset shift now, before we hit burnout!

Grace Over Grind lists several indications that you may be grinding instead of abiding in God’s all-sufficient grace and power.

  • Financial anxiety
  • Prayerlessness
  • Lack of sleep
  • Analysis paralysis
  • No boundaries
  • No joy or peace

If these sound familiar and you’re ready for a change, embrace the freedom of working in the unforced rhythms of grace instead of the relentless striving of the world’s grind mentality.

How to choose grace over grind

This slim volume will point you toward seeking God first and appointing him as your business partner. With biblical examples and real-life stories, it illustrates how to run a business through faith and god-honoring principles instead of doing it all in our own strength and scrabbling after opportunities and connections.

This is not a book of answers. It is a book of biblical principles with questions to help you ponder these truths and figure out how to apply them to your writing life. I urge you to take your time and work through all the questions as you read.

If you are willing to surrender every part of your dream, your business, and your life to God, this book will lead you to a lower-stress, more confident way of pursuing your writing dreams.

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Matthew 11:28-30 MSG
Lisa E Betz

Lisa E. Betz is an engineer-turned-mystery-writer, entertaining speaker, and unconventional soul. She inspires others to become their best selves, living with authenticity, and purpose, and she infuses her novels with unconventional characters who thrive on solving tricky problems. Her Livia Aemilia Mysteries, set in first-century Rome, have won several awards, including the Golden Scroll Novel of the Year (2021).

She and her husband reside outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with Scallywag, their rambunctious cat—the inspiration for Nemesis, resident mischief maker in her novels. Lisa directs church dramas, hikes the beautiful Pennsylvania woods, eats too much chocolate, and experiments with ancient Roman recipes. Visit www.lisaebetz.com.

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Guest Posts

Ideas for Overcoming Writer’s Fatigue

Guest posts

Do you ever feel like you just can’t write another word? That no matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to get inspired? This is a common problem for writers, known as writer’s fatigue.

When you’re feeling burnt out or exhausted, it can be hard to produce quality content. In this article, we will discuss ways to overcome writer’s fatigue and begin writing from a place of inspiration again.

Set Smaller Goals

When you’re feeling burnt out, it can be helpful to set smaller goals rather than try to force yourself to write an entire article or chapter. Maybe try setting a goal for 500 words instead of 1000 or splitting up your writing project into several smaller tasks.

Another way to set smaller goals is by creating a daily writing practice. Set aside some time to write every day, even if it’s only for 15 minutes or so. By doing this, you’ll gradually get back into the habit of writing regularly, and you’ll be more likely to complete larger writing projects down the road.

Give Your Eyes and Brain a Break

When you’re feeling exhausted, it’s often helpful to take a break from your computer screen and your physical writing materials. Spend some time away from your work, whether that means taking a walk outside or reading for pleasure. This can help refresh your mind and give you a new perspective on your writing project.

Eye strain can play a significant role in a writer’s fatigue. If you spend hours every day staring at your computer screen, it could be contributing to your exhaustion. Try setting aside some time for non-screen activities, such as reading from an actual book or magazine or drawing and painting outside of the digital environment.

Change Your Environment

Sometimes all you need is a change of scenery to get out of your writing slump. If you’re working from home, try going to a coffee shop or library for a few hours. If you have an office at work, take your laptop outside and sit in the sun for a while. Or, if you live in a noisy city, try finding a quiet spot to write outdoors.

By changing your environment, you’re able to coax yourself into feeling more inspired to write. This is because you’re not stuck in the same conditions that may have contributed to your writer’s fatigue in the first place.

Use Mind Mapping Techniques

When you’re feeling overwhelmed or stuck, mind mapping can be a great way to generate new ideas. This involves writing down a central topic in the middle of a piece of paper and then brainstorming related sub-topics around it. Then, you can keep branching out from there until you’ve generated plenty of new ideas for your writing project.

This technique can also help you get unstuck when you’re midway through a project. If you feel like you’ve hit a roadblock, try doing a quick mind map on the problem that’s preventing you from moving forward. This often helps to generate fresh ideas and solutions.

Exercise More Often

Exercising is not only good for your physical health, but it’s also great for your mental well-being. When you’re feeling exhausted, it can be helpful to get moving and take a break from sitting at your desk all day. A moderate amount of exercise can help you feel more refreshed and energized, making you more productive when you eventually return to writing.

Try combining your exercise with writing by walking or running while carrying around a pen and notepad. You can also find quiet places outdoors to write in, such as parks or beaches.

Connect With Other Writers

One of the best ways to overcome writer’s fatigue is connecting with other writers. This can be done in various ways, such as online writing communities, local writing workshops, or simply talking with friends who are also passionate about writing.

By sharing your experiences and advice with others, you can gain a new perspective on your writing struggles. You can also find inspiration and motivation from those around you, which can help you get back into a productive mindset.

In Summary

These are just a few ideas for overcoming writer’s fatigue. What works for you may vary depending on your circumstances, but the most important thing is to find what helps you stay inspired and motivated to write, even when you don’t feel like it. So get creative and experiment with different techniques until you find what works best for you.

Amanda Winstead, a writer from the Portland area with a background in communications and a passion for telling stories. Along with writing she enjoys traveling, reading, working out, and going to concerts. If you want to follow her writing journey, or even just say hi you can find her on Twitter.

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Platform and Branding

Platform Starts with Your Mindset

When you hear the word platform what comes to mind? A mountain between you and getting published? One more thing to add to your to-do list? An elusive goal you’re not sure how to chase?

Thankfully, while platform is important for today’s writers, it’s not impossible to build. You probably have more of a platform than you realize.

Platform isn’t just social media followers.

Platform is potential readers.

Followers and reader are two very different things. Sometimes they’re the same, but often followers and readers are different. Put simply, the people you interact with, online or in person, who may purchase your book, that’s your platform.

This is where mindset comes in.

1. Share Your Passion

What we do with our lives often shows the areas we are interested in. You probably won’t write a how-to guide on rock climbing if you don’t love rock climbing. But if you love it, you’ll also probably join clubs or Facebook groups that focus on rock climbing. There’s an audience there.

To continue with this example, find people who reviewed movies on rock climbing (Free Solo, for instance) and find out what social media they like best, and what kind of content they engage with. These are the type of people you want to engage in your daily life because of shared interest. Naturally, they become potential readers.

2. Refuse the Scarcity Mindset

Platform is built off relationship, and relationship is born out of mindset.

Last year I attended a writing conference. I met a lot of great writers and made some great friends. Over lunch one day some of the writers started asking me questions about writing and platform. I could’ve answered vaguely and kept all my answers to myself. After all, the more writers working to build their platform the more competition, right?

Actually, not really. The world is full of readers, and there are plenty to go around.

Believing someone’s success lessens the possibility of your own is a scarcity mindset. Instead of choosing a scarcity mindset, I gave them my tips, helped them as much as I could, and then went on with the rest of the conference. Today, I keep up with some of them and we support each other in our writing.

3. Engage with Those Around You

If you can’t attend a conference this year, start small. Although writers are often viewed as introverts, even introverts talk about what excites them. When you’re in line at the coffee shop and the barista asks you what you’re working on today, tell them about your book. You just talked with a potential reader.

Remember, people talk about what excites them, and there are plenty of readers to go around. Share your passion, refuse the scarcity mindset, and engage with those around you. You’ll be surprised where it takes you!

Sarah Rexford is a Marketing Content Creator and writer. She helps authors build their platform through branding and copywriting. With a BA in Strategic Communications, Sarah equips writers to learn how to communicate their message through personal branding. She writes fiction and nonfiction and offers writers behind-the-scenes tips on the publishing industry through her blog itssarahrexford.com. She is represented by the C.Y.L.E Young Agency.

Instagram: @sarahjrexford
Twitter: @sarahjrexford
Web: itssarahrexford.com

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Writer Encouragement

Writing in These Evil Days

(Author Note: I posted this blog over two years ago, yet the message is perhaps even more relevant today)

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Ephesians 5: 15-20

Being careful how we live in the evil days. So what does this have to do with encouragement for writers, you might ask? I would answer, “Everything.”

There is not a day goes by when the news is not inciting pain in our hearts as we hear of more unrest, murders, and other terrible “deeds of darkness.” It is enough to cause even the strongest Christian to tremble and become consumed with anxiety and depression. Yet these days of evil do not take God by surprise. Instead, He has given us a means by which we can fight the enemy that seeks to consume our minds with fear. It is called speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. It is singing and making music in our hearts and giving thanks to God our Father—not for the evil days but for our hope in Jesus Christ.

Is this our natural, human response to frightening news that toys with our minds 24/7? Of course not. It is a decision that we make.

It takes a conscious choice to turn off the constant news and put on Christian music  that will uplift our spirit. I find that, even if I’m working and barely paying attention to the music in the background, the message of the music is making an impact. In the quiet moments, I find the words of the songs playing through my mind and uplifting me, shifting my focus from this world to the heavenly realm.

As writers for the Lord, we need to be aware that we “struggle not against flesh and blood…but against the powers of this dark world.” (Ephesians 6:12) The battleground is our mind. If we are frozen by fear, we become ineffective at spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Don’t let the evil one control the input. Take back control over what you allow into your minds and hearts. “Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord.”

Carry on.

Elaine Marie Cooper has two historical fiction books that recently released: War’s Respite (Prequel novella) and Love’s Kindling. Love’s Kindling is available in both e-book and paperback. They are the first two books in the Dawn of America Series set in Revolutionary War Connecticut. Cooper is the award-winning author of Fields of the Fatherless and Bethany’s Calendar. Her 2016 release (Saratoga Letters) was finalist in Historical Romance in both the Selah Awards and Next Generation Indie Book Awards. She penned the three-book Deer Run Saga and has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies. You can visit her website/ blog at www.elainemariecooper.com

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Mastering Middle Grade

Gratitude

The life of a writer isn’t for the faint-hearted, is it? Words do not always order themselves on the page in the inspiring pose you had intended to place them. Editors not only suggest you kill your darlings, but perhaps maim a few other precious pumpkins while you’re at it. Readers view things differently than you expected they would. Agents or publishers look for stories other than what you have written. This is the life we’ve chosen, and it is not always pretty.

The good news is, here we are in November, and it is the perfect time of year to reflect on all that we are thankful for. If you’re like me, you’ve noticed that the more you fill your heart and mind with what is good, the better equipped you are to navigate the less-than-good (or the downright ugly).

Here is my gratitude list for this year. I’m thankful for:

Electricity. It’s not just about keeping the ol’ Dell laptop buzzing. If I am on a deadline, I need the coffeemaker going. Electricity is my friend. Plus, can I tell you how many times an electric crockpot has saved dinner when I’ve had to hunker down over a draft? That number is higher than I thought possible.

Stolen moments. In the face of work changes and illnesses, I have learned how to claim even the tiniest blocks of time to write. Day by day, week by week, these little chunks add up to a completed manuscript, freelance work, and an occasional blog post.

Community. It’s odd for me to write this because I am an introvert through-and-through. In spite of that (or maybe because of it?) I know that I need writer people in my life. I have been fortunate to meet people who have cheered and encouraged me throughout this journey. As important as encouragement is, it is also healthy to have trusted people who will tell you the truth in a way that helps you hear it.

Words and the children who love them. This may seem like a no-brainer to some, but for me it is essential. Without words to build worlds and tell stories, we writers have nothing. We cannot take for granted that our world needs children who read, and parents and grandparents who encourage them. I am exceedingly grateful that words exist, and that there are children and adults who love to read them.

If you have read this far, I am thankful for you too! Thank you for letting me be part of your writing journey today. Since you’re here, what are you thankful for? Please take a moment and write your list in the comment section below. I would love to read it!

Kell McKinney earned a B.A. in journalism from the University of Oklahoma and an M.S. in documentary studies from the University of North Texas. She’s a part-time copywriter, double-time mom and wife, and spends every free minute writing and/or hunting for her car keys. Connect with her on Twitter @Kell_McK or kellmckinney.com.