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The Writing Grind: July Edition

Sorry for the late blog post! We had lots of visitors over the weekend and into the week, and I’ve been swept up into glorious catchings-up and encouragements and Jesus and all the jazz. Other than the deepest apologies, I’m starting out this post similar to the last Writing Grind post: I have really enjoyed the last couple of months of writing. But for very different reasons. I said last time:…

#Christ #coffee #coffee shop writing #editing #Jesus Christ #July writing #the writing grind #word count #writing #writing on laptop #writing on paper #writing without editing

The Pocket-Legacy of George MacDonald

Unlike C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, George MacDonald seems lesser known. I’ve mentioned him in a previous post—as I’ve mentioned Lewis and Tolkien. He was also an author who was deeply devoted to Christ, but whose works are respected and consumed in both secular and sacred contexts. In fact, MacDonald’s book Phantastes: A Faerie Romance is part of what led C.S. Lewis to Christ. But his legacy,…

#authors #books #cloud of witnesses #following Jesus #George and Louisa MacDonald #Jesus Christ #Jolyn Canty #reading #writing #writing legacies #writing vision

A Book Review: Bird by Bird

Today’s review is of the book Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott. This book was really fun to read. There were several nights where me and my husband were reading together and I patted him excitedly, barely able to speak through my laughter, saying, “Babe, babe. Stop, listen. You have to hear this.” Or, “Oh my gosh, this is exactly what this feels like,” and…

#Anne Lamott #becoming a better reader #becoming a better writer #Bird by Bird #book review #books about writing #The Elements of Style #writing #writing advice #writing book #writing craft

Writing as a Mom: Part 2

We were just going for a walk as a family. “Mommy!” I turned to see Rhoda racing toward me with a notebook gripped in both hands. “I’m writing a book right now, and I’ve called it God’s Good Creation, and I want to bring my notebook on this walk so I can write down and draw all the good things I see.” I hesitated. I want to be the mom who’s immediately jumping for joy over the pursuit of…

#being a mom #children #helping kids write #Matthew 28:18-20 #motherhood #the Great Commission #writing #writing as a mom

The Pocket Legacy of J.R.R. Tolkien

I recently posted a pocket-sized version of the writing legacy of C.S. Lewis. Today, I’m posting something similar, but this time it’s about J.R.R. Tolkien. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien is another author I’ve cited as being deeply spiritual and devoted, but whose works and words were respected and consumed in both secular and sacred contexts. I’ll never be able to match Tolkien’s skill in writing,…

#books #character-driven writing #creation #creative writing #David Day #fantasy #Genesis #J.R.R. Tolkien #Jesus Christ #The Hobbit #the legacy of Tolkien #The Lord of the Rings #tolkien #writing

The Writing Grind: May Edition

I have really enjoyed the last couple of months of writing. There have been many days when I was just putting words down on paper to check the block. But there have also been many days when I wanted to write. This is always exciting to me; it means that I’m writing often enough to create motivational habits for my brain to fall back on. It’s the best. This also means that the future is full of…

#Christian marriage #Christianity #God&039;s faithfulness #Jesus Christ #journals #marriage #praying #reasons for writing #synopsis #the Bible #vision #writing #writing sessions #writing update

Knowing (or at Least Imagining) Your Audience

I was in line with my friend Edward and a group of his friends, waiting to get inside Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, NYC. I don’t remember the names of the people I was with, but I do remember the conversation. Stranger: “Oh, you’re studying writing. What kind of writing?” Me: “Oh, I’m thinking of writing books for Christian women, maybe even Bible studies.” Stranger: “So,…

#Christianity #David Day #genre #J.R.R. Tolkien #Jesus and the disciples #Jesus Christ #know your audience #non-Christians #reading #Redeemer Presbyterian #the Bible #The Hobbit #Timothy Keller #writing

Writing without Abiding

There’s a quote I bring up a lot in my blog posts, and that is of Presbyterian minister and Olympic runner Eric Liddell. He says, “God made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure.” Another version being, “When I run, I feel God’s pleasure.” This quote reminds me that my writing and writing practices matter to the Lord. This quote rings within the echo chamber of my mind, reminding me that…

#abiding #abiding in Christ #bearing fruit #children #Christianity #Dawson Trotman #Eric Liddell #flourishing in Christ #Jesus Christ #John 15 #mom of four #motherhood #Romans 12 #the Bible #The Wheel Illustration #writing

The Writing Grind: March Edition

Hey guys! It’s once again time for an update on my current writing project(s). To be honest, this transition between homes has thrown me for a loop with writing, but writing and reading have happened nonetheless. So, here we go! First Period: Totes Unmotivated It’s ironic that my biggest issue over the last couple of months has been overcoming blocks to writing…which is one of the blog posts I…

#Anne Lamott #Bird by Bird #Characters Emotions Viewpoint #faith #God #Jesus Christ #motivation #Nancy Kress #novels #writing #writing craft #writing from faith #writing without motivation

A Book Review: The Hero with a Thousand Faces

Hello! This is my first post this time around focused on book reviews. And not just any books, but books about writing. My hope is to post a review like this once every three to four months. These books will either be explicitly about writing, or they might be useful to writing. Today’s review is about a book written by Joseph Campbell, titled The Hero with a Thousand Faces. It is not overtly…

#book review #books #Christianity #Jesus Christ #John 14:6 #Joseph Campbell #The Hero With A Thousand Faces #writing #writing book

Sowing the Seeds to Reap the Fruits of Consistency

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about some of the things that keep writers like me from writing. As me and my family continue to travel during the month of February, I’m here to talk about some things that help writers write. This post and the last post are shorter than usual because of the context of my life right now. Side note: thank you for your passive accountability! I often feel…

#accountability #disciplines #faith #focus #habits #helps to writing #the fruit of consistency #traveling #writers #writing

Establishing the Habit of Writing: Doom-Scrolling and Other Obstacles

While me and my family are traveling all over the universe this February, I wanted to post about some blocks to writing. I’ve been thinking about this a lot as I evaluate my own writing habits and what makes writing more challenging. As we’ve been staying in hotels and enduring long van rides, the opportunities to write have actually been many! They’ve just required a little flexibility. But all…

#discipline #distractions #establishing habits #faith #focus #habits #writing #writing habits

The Writing Grind: January Edition

So, for the first couple of weeks of 2026, I’ve been working on a project. It’s a novel of the fictional realism genre. If you don’t know, it means “real life but made up.” It means, “This could happen, but didn’t happen to these specific people.” It means, “These people don’t actually exist, but this did happen.” You get the idea. This is project I keep coming back to as I try to write 3-4…

#abiding in Christ #Characters Emotions Viewpoint #Eric Liddell #faith #God #Jesus Christ #Nancy Kress #novels #The Shack #writing #writing craft #writing from faith

Writing Goals for 2026

Happy New Year! In my last post, I shared some of my writing reflections from 2025. As is appropriate, this post is about my writing hopes and goals for 2026. But first, an intro. I hate setting goals for writing, mostly because I never achieve them. One year, I wanted to finish the first draft of a fantasy novel. I didn’t finish it. One year, I created a writing calendar and committed to…

#2026 #Christianity #Jesus Christ #keeping goals #New Year #Romans 12 #setting goals #the Bible #writing #writing goals #writing habits

Writing Reflections for 2025

I initially planned to make this post about how I did with writing over the year. What was my word count? What projects did I complete? What writing books did I read and what were my reviews? Writing in this way would give me a lot of superficial joy. I love geeking out about these things! But as I do a “writing reflection” of 2025, something very different comes to mind. “Retreat!” In March…

#2025 #Christmas #Ephesians 5:15-16 #Hebrews 12:1 #Into the Harvest #Jesus Christ #reflections #the Bible #writing

Writing as a Mom

I often look back on when Jake and I first married. We had both agreed that it would be best for me to not work, but instead keep house and get to know the ladies in our church community. While there were a lot of days spent doing these things, there were also days with few chores and no meetups. I regret not spending more time writing or reading during those days. Now I’m carving out 15-20…

#following Jesus #Jesus #making time to write #motherhood #writing #writing as a mom #writing for Jesus

Writing as a Vision

I read the book Saving Leonardo by Nancy Pearcey during my first year at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. My future mother-in-law sent it to me to give me a vision and guidance as I maneuvered the new environment I was in. In this book Pearcey traces moral evolution throughout history through art. She points out the changes that happened as American culture sifted out the evidence of a Creator…

#Bach #C.S. Lewis #discipleship #Elisabeth Elliot #George MacDonald #Jesus Christ #life purpose #Nancy Pearcey #the Bible #writing #writing for Jesus

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