The Purposeful Pen - Clarity for Christian Writers

We live in such a busy, distracted, instant gratification culture - we want everything to happen that we think should happen, and we expect it to happen now. And yet, that’s neither realistic nor healthy. 

What if growing slowly as writers turned out to be a much more healthy and sustainable way of operating?

Listen in as I talk with best-selling author and acquisitions editor, Jennifer Dukes Lee, about her own journey from the fast-paced world of city journalism to a slower pace of life writing books on her farm in Iowa.

You’ll also learn about the benefits of slow growth from the perspective of the publishing world, and what publishers look for in a book proposal (and it’s not necessarily an enormous platform).

This was such an encouraging conversation, wherever you are in the writing journey!

About Jennifer:

Jennifer Dukes Lee is the bestselling author of several books, including Growing Slow, It’s All Under Control, and Stuff I’d Only Tell God. She’s a fan of queso, bright lipstick, and singing too loudly to songs with great harmony. She lives on a fifth-generation family farm in Iowa, where she and her husband have made a life of growing crops, pigs, two beautiful humans, and an enduring faith. 

You can find her at https://jenniferdukeslee.com/, on Instagram, or Facebook. Her book on this topic, Growing Slow can be found here.

The Purposeful Pen is a weekly podcast for Christian writers designed to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. Each week you’ll hear practical tips and Biblical truth on topics such as improving your writing, honing your message, and managing your time. I always respond to listener emails and I’d love to hear from you! [email protected]

We talk a lot here about building a writing platform, finding time to write, and organizing our ideas, but how do we actually improve in the craft of writing?

This week I talk with Benjamin Vrbicek, managing editor with Gospel-Centered Discipleship, about some ways to go about doing that. He also explains some of the things that GCD is looking for in the articles they publish.

If you would like to check out the “Writers’ Coaching Corner” videos we talked about in the episode, you can find them here.

Benjamin Vrbicek is the lead pastor at Community Evangelical Free Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and the managing editor for Gospel-Centered Discipleship. He and his wife, Brooke, have six children. He earned an M.Div. from Covenant Theological Seminary. Benjamin is the author of Don’t Just Send a Resume and Struggle Against Porn, and coauthor of Blogging for God’s Glory in a Clickbait World. He blogs regularly at Fan and Flame, and you can follow him on Twitter.

The Purposeful Pen is a weekly podcast for Christian writers designed to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. Each week you’ll hear practical tips and Biblical truth on topics such as improving your writing, honing your message, and managing your time. I always respond to listener emails and I’d love to hear from you! [email protected]

What does contentment look like as a writer? There’s nothing wrong with having goals and desires for our writing, but sometimes we have to hold them loosely and allow God to direct our steps. Listen in this week as I talk with Rachel Allord about how she finds contentment while working as an American missionary in London.

Originally from Wisconsin, Rachel Allord lives in London UK where she and her husband serve as city missionaries. She’s the mother of two young adult children and the author of four books, including The Girl on the Tube, a YA novel that follows the humorous and heartbreaking journey of an expat tween. She loves street food, London’s Underground, and writing stories and resources that point people to Jesus. Connect with her at rachelallord.com.

The Purposeful Pen is a weekly podcast for Christian writers designed to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. Each week you’ll hear practical tips and Biblical truth on topics such as improving your writing, honing your message, and managing your time. I always respond to listener emails and I’d love to hear from you! [email protected]

What role does fear play in your writing? Perhaps you struggle with some of the following:

* fear of failure

* fear of success

* fear of vulnerability

* fear that we’re wasting our time and resources

This week, you’ll learn what the partial truth is in each fear, the hidden lie, and the ultimate Biblical truth that counters them all.

The Purposeful Pen is a weekly podcast for Christian writers designed to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. Each week you’ll hear practical tips and Biblical truth on topics such as improving your writing, honing your message, and managing your time. I always respond to listener emails and I’d love to hear from you! [email protected]

We talked about perfectionism back in episode 58, but this week, we’re continuing the conversation. In this episode, I talk with Cheryl Balcom about her own struggle with perfectionism, both as a writer as well as in the rest of life. She offers insight and several practical suggestions for overcoming perfectionism and serving our readers in love.

Cheryl Balcom is the author of Winds of Grace: Losing my Father, Surrendering Control, and Growing in Faith (available on Amazon.com), a memoir inspired by tracing the hand of God through the pages of her prayer journals. She and her husband Jim live on five acres tucked in the corner of southwest Michigan where they enjoy watching wildlife through the window. She writes about God’s generous grace at cherylesperbalcom.com.

The Purposeful Pen is a weekly podcast for Christian writers designed to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. Each week you’ll hear practical tips and Biblical truth on topics such as improving your writing, honing your message, and managing your time. I always respond to listener emails and I’d love to hear from you! [email protected]

Are you looking for ways to get your words out into the world but aren’t ready to write a book?

Writing for online publications, both paid and unpaid, can be an opportunity to improve your writing skills and share your message with a broader audience.

Listen in as Kimberly Coyle shares about why writers can benefit from publishing articles online and how to get started.

Kimberly Coyle is a freelance writer with an MFA in creative non-fiction. She writes regularly on Substack and has written for numerous online and print publications. In addition to writing, she is a writing tutor and adjunct professor of College Writing and Critical Reading at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey. She loves to help other writers grow in the craft of writing and see their words published. 

Connect with Kimberly at The Attentive Life, on Instagram: @kimberlyacoyle, or find resources for writers at The Writer’s Work Shoppe.

The Purposeful Pen is a weekly podcast for Christian writers designed to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. Each week you’ll hear practical tips and Biblical truth on topics such as improving your writing, honing your message, and managing your time. I always respond to listener emails and I’d love to hear from you! [email protected]

Do you struggle with perfectionism?

Listen in for a fresh, Biblical perspective and some tips for moving past perfectionism to loving God and your reader through publishing your words.

Looking for an online Christian writing community? Check out the Writers’ Bloc.

Try it for one week free by using this link.

The Purposeful Pen is a weekly podcast for Christian writers designed to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. Each week you’ll hear practical tips and Biblical truth on topics such as improving your writing, honing your message, and managing your time. I always respond to listener emails and I’d love to hear from you! [email protected]

We want to write in a way that pleases God, but how do we do that? Do we wait for Him to tell us specifically what to write and where to put that writing? Or do we do the next thing and hope that God is in it?

Listen in for a Biblical perspective on the mysterious cooperation between us and the Holy Spirit as it relates to writing.

The Purposeful Pen is a weekly podcast for Christian writers designed to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. Each week you’ll hear practical tips and Biblical truth on topics such as improving your writing, honing your message, and managing your time. I always respond to listener emails and I’d love to hear from you! [email protected]

It’s time for a spring pause! In order to bring you more quality content, I won’t be posting any new episodes for the rest of May.

In the meantime, you can get caught up listening to older episodes, leave a review, and share the podcast with a friend.

I’ll see you back here on June 4 with new content and a fresh look!

Do you need some encouragement on your writing journey? We all do. Listen in as I share some Bible verses that encourage me in my writing. I’m sure they’ll encourage you, too.

Your words matter and your writing is your faithful stewardship of God’s gift entrusted to you.