The Purposeful Pen - Clarity for Christian Writers

Do you dream of writing and publishing a book, but you wonder if it’s too late in life to do it? Or maybe you’ve considered writing children’s picture books and aren’t sure what that looks like. If so, listen to my conversation with Gina Gallagher, author of “Reading with Remmy”, the story of an unlikely friendship between a little girl named Finley, and a Golden Doodle named Remmy. Remmy finds it difficult to obey, and Finley finds it difficult to read the books she so desperately wants to learn to read. When they find each other, the patience of Remmy and the determination of Finley leads to wonderful results.

Gina Gallagher is married to her high school sweetheart. She is the mama of five grown children and the grandma of six precious grandchildren. Gina loves reading, as her overflowing bookshelves can attest. She has always loved to write. Gina just published her first children’s book, Reading With Remmy. She began writing a weekly devotional blog, Whispers of His Movement, in 2012 and still publishes weekly.

You can find her on Instagram or at her website.

How about you?

Do you want to write a book but you’re not sure where to begin? If God has put a message on your heart, but you aren’t sure what your next step is, I’ve created a resource for you called the Journey to Publication. It’s a step-by-step guide to get you on your way to writing a book that will glorify God and serve the Body of Christ. You can find it at amylynnsimon.com/journey.

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]

Disclaimer: I believe in and approach life (and writing) from a distinctly evangelical Christian perspective, but some of my guests may not. When I interview a guest on a specifically spiritual topic, I do my best to know in advance that I can support their theological stances on the topics that relate to our interview. When the topic is not particularly spiritual, our theological views may differ. My interviewing of guests and providing links to their work does not necessarily indicate a complete theological endorsement of all their written work.

Have you wondered what it really means to be “called” as a writer? If you’re confident that God has called you, then is it normal for the journey to feel difficult? Listen in on my conversation with international author Hadassah Treu as we talk about that topic and others.

Hadassah Treu is an award-winning international writer, speaker, poet, and author of "Draw Near: How Painful Experiences Become the Birthplace of Blessings." As a contributing author to faith-based platforms like Proverbs 31 COMPEL Blog and 13 devotional and poetry anthologies, she loves encouraging people in life's dark valleys. Hadassah has been featured in The Upper Room, (In)Courage, Today's Christian Living, Proverbs 31 Ministries, Her View From Home, and many other popular sites and podcasts. Grab Hadassah’s free book, “How to Overcome Disappointment,” and connect with her website.

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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]

Disclaimer: I believe in and approach life (and writing) from a distinctly evangelical Christian perspective, but some of my guests may not. When I interview a guest on a specifically spiritual topic, I do my best to know in advance that I can support their theological stances on the topics that relate to our interview. When the topic is not particularly spiritual, our theological views may differ. My interviewing of guests and providing links to their work does not necessarily indicate a complete theological endorsement of all their written work.

Are you trying to fit writing in among the cracks of a busy life as a mom, wife, and follower of Jesus? In this episode, I talk with Grace Thomas about balancing all those roles and still finding time to write.

Grace Thomas is a Christ-follower, wife, and mother. When she’s not playing with her children, she serves at her church and enjoys living in sunny California. You can connect with her on her blog, Instagram, or email.

If you’d like more info about writing articles, you can find that 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]

Disclaimer: I believe in and approach life (and writing) from a distinctly evangelical Christian perspective, but some of my guests may not. When I interview a guest on a specifically spiritual topic, I do my best to know in advance that I can support their theological stances on the topics that relate to our interview. When the topic is not particularly spiritual, our theological views may differ. My interviewing of guests and providing links to their work does not necessarily indicate a complete theological endorsement of all their written work.

Do you want to write, but your brain is lost in the fog of overwhelm and information overload? Are you not sure where to start or what to do next?

We’ve all been there, and we all still go there in different seasons of life. In this episode, I offer 5 steps to finding clarity in our writing lives and in the rest of life.

I reference Kendra Adachi and her book The Plan in this episode.

Book a free 30-minute coaching discovery call to see if coaching is right for you.

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]

Have you ever considered writing children’s chapter books? Or maybe you wonder if there’s a place in your life and writing for childlike faith. Listen in on this fun conversation with children’s book author Melody Trowell.

(We had some tech issues, so thank you for your patience with the audio quality!)

You can Melody and her book, “The Girl Whose Frown Shook the Ground” at www.melodytrowell.com

She also hangs out on Instagram.

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]

Networking with other writers is a great way to grow your writing platform and build up the Body of Christ. If that term sounds icky and sales-y, don’t cringe—listen to the episode! I talk about ways to network such as…

* encouraging other writers

* collaborating with other writers

* saying yes to even small or uncomfortable opportunities

You never know how God is going to use an encouraging email, a new relationship, or a simple yes to help someone out.

In this episode, I reference episode 11 on collaborations, which you can find here.

The “Path to Purposeful Writing” workbook 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]

Being a guest on a podcast can be a great way to share your message with a broader audience. If you’ve ever considered it but aren’t sure how to get yourself booked as a guest, this episode is for you!

You’ll learn:

* What type of podcast is a good fit for you

* How to prepare yourself to pitch to that show

* What to include in your pitch

* What to expect if the answer is “yes”

If you have something to offer my listeners and would like to pitch to The Purposeful Pen, you can do that here.

If you’re just getting started as a Christian writer but feel overwhelmed with what to do first, sign up for my free, 3-day email course on how to get started. You can find it 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]

What are some of the lies you believe as a Christian writer? How about things like:

* I have nothing to offer

* God can’t use me

* No one will read what I write

* It’s all been written before by someone better

In this episode, we tackle those lies head-on. The most effective lies have an element of truth. If we try to ignore or minimize that truth, then the lie will still hold its power. But when we acknowledge what is true and then counter the rest of the lie with God’s Word, then we are free to serve God and honor Him with our writing.

If you want to get started as a Christian writer but you aren’t sure where to start, take a look at my free, 3-day email course. You can find it here.

Do you need a little help finding time in your schedule to write? Or maybe you’d like to start writing on Substack but would like someone to help you set it up. Take a look at micro-coaching. It’s only $30 for a 30-minute session to get you on your way.

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]

Setting aside time to write can be tricky amid our busy lives. We can also struggle with feeling like we’re deserting those we love by asking for time away to invest in our writing. How do we love our people and honor our life priorities while still pursuing writing? Listen in for some ideas.

If you’d like some help finding time to write, I offer 30-minute micro-coaching sessions where we look at your current season of life and responsibilities and find space in your schedule to invest in your writing. www.amylynnsimon.com/microcoaching

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]

God is sovereign over everything and everyone, so is it pointless to make plans? Should we wait to write or move forward until we have specific, undeniable instructions from God?

In this episode, I look at some biblical examples of making plans but being flexible enough to change those plans as God leads. Then, we apply those principles to our writing lives.

Do you want to get started writing for God and others but you aren’t sure where to start? Go to amylynnsimon.com/start to sign up for a free, 3-day email course for step-by-step guidance.

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]