Writing For A Change: Six Things I’ll say to any Christian Writer

It’s been six years since I began my journey as a Christian writer. It has both been challenging and interesting. I have crossed valleys and climbed mountains. I have made mistakes and received commendable feedbacks. The best part of this journey is the impact my stories and articles have had on the lives of my readers.

As part of my contribution to this Writing for change series, I hope to share certain lessons I have learnt in the years of sharing the gospel through the written word. I believe one or more of these will stir and encourage Christian writers.

1. Depth in writing comes from a solid devotional life. A Christian writer must not play with the secret place.

You may be very good with words. You may have the professional requirement that allows you stand on the same pedestal as other secular writers but your articles will lack the breath of the spirit if it does not come as an outflow of a disciplined devotional life. Of course, people will applaud you. They’ll tell you how wonderful your words touched them. It might even draw emotions. But it will not get to their spirit.

And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 1 Corinthians 15:45.

A Christian writer without a consistent prayer and study life may touch the soul realm of a man-his emotions, intelligence, feelings but the transforming power that come from the life of the spirit will be alien to him. The smart Christian writer knows that what he pours out to the readers is an outflow of what’s inside.

…But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law doth he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Psalms 1:3.

2. Invest diligently in your writing skills.

There is seed time and harvest time. The former requires tilling, watering, planting the seed placed in your hand. Many writers want to jump the process. They won’t read quality books. They won’t cut down on social media time to hone their skills. They don’t understand the place of consistency, yet they want a bountiful harvest. Nothing just happens. We can’t put off hard work and expect prosperity. It is clear from scriptures. It is the soul of the diligent that shall be made fat.

Develop great roots as a Christian writer. Pursue proficiency. Edit brilliantly. Go after quality first and then you can press into quantity. Our work should stand out. Our light must so shine that darkness will not be able to comprehend it.

3. Discover your niche as a Christian writer.

Under what genre does God want you to operate? Prose? Drama? Poetry? Is your primary way of sharing the written word through Fiction or Non-Fiction? Is God calling you to blog? Is there a nudging to write for the screen? Does God want you to focus on writing books for a targeted audience? Find out the direction God wants you to take per time and walk in it.

4. A Christian writer must see writing as a ministry.

While we hope to be blessed financially from our creative works, we must always remember this is a ministry. Souls are first our currency in this writing business. This will help to keep us focused, especially on days when they feel like giving up.

Pray for the growth of your ministry. We are preachers, only that we do this through the written word. Your readers are the members, the souls God has given to you to impact. Engage in declarations. Ask that the works of your hands bring fruits. Call forth readers from different corners of the earth. Seek God’s mind always on what he desires you to share with the platform given to you. We walk in the Spirit not just for our personal lives but also for our assignment as Christian writers.

The effective fervent prayer of the righteous avails much. James 5:16

Also, understand that the devil does not want to see the gospel of Christ spread. We are in a battle over the souls of men. We understand that our writings are powerful tools through which the brokenhearted receive healing, captives are delivered, believers are edified, oppressed are set at liberty and the light of the knowledge of Christ comes to those who are blind.

…And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel; Ephesians 6:19.

5. Understand the language of the web.

This is for bloggers and writers who publish articles on the web. Sometimes when I sincerely want to read an article by some Christian writers, I just see unending jamming of words which can be discouraging.

Here’s what I have discovered. The way the eyes settles to take in printed words is different from that of a phone screen. Besides, there are lots of distractions, so if a Christian writer cannot hold readers in the first few seconds, they just might lose some of them.

Many times, it’s not that your message isn’t powerful enough. You just need to understand how your platform works. The way I write on my social media platform is different from how I write on my blog. Ardent blog readers are more patient than readers on social media. Understand the different platforms opened to you and find out what works there.

If we continually seek the wisdom of God, I believe he will show us how to get more people to respond to the words we are putting out there.

6. Have a heart of thanksgiving.

How many times have we thanked God for the progress we have made as Christian writers. Whether your works reach one person or a thousand, remember, all glory goes to God. As we thank Him for the level of growth we have attained, we can be sure that he is more than ready to do more for us.

Blessings!

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Author: Ife Grace Dada. Ife is a faith blogger with a passion to contribute my quota to the body of Christ. She is the author of two books: The Reunion and Spring.

She loves to tell stories that address different life issues all from a biblical perspective. She blogs at ifegrace.com