The Purposeful Pen - Clarity for Christian Writers

So many times, the person we’re writing for is a past version of ourselves. We’ve been through some things and we want to help others who are going through similar situations. But sometimes, the topics we write about involve how others have hurt us, either intentionally or unintentionally. As Christian writers, how do we handle those topics with grace, truth, and forgiveness in a way that will help our reader but not encourage anger and bitterness?

In my conversation with author Kori Morgan, we talk about how she learned to navigate that tension in her new book, “Why I Dyed My Hair Purple and Other Unorthodox Stories”. I think you’ll find her gospel-centered approach refreshing and encouraging.

Kori Frazier Morgan is an author, disciple, and creative entrepreneur. A graduate of Ohio Northern University and West Virginia University's Master of Fine Arts program in fiction writing, she has been featured in publications such as Shenandoah, SN Review, Blanket Sea, Agape Review, Switchback, Rubbertop Review, Cantos, and Clayjar Review. She is the author of The Goodbye-Love Generation: A Novel in Stories, which centers on the members of a Kent, Ohio rock band during the Kent State shootings in May 1970, and Why I Dyed My Hair Purple & Other Unorthodox Stories, a collection of essays about the intersection of creativity and faith within her Christian testimony.

Kori is the founder and Chief Literary Strategist of Inkling Creative Strategies, an author services company that helps writers reach their full creative potential so they can impact and inspire readers.

Author website: https://korifraziermorgan.com/

Inkling: https://www.inklingcreative.work/

Substack

Instagram: @writerkori

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.

Welcome to 2025 and Season 3 of the Purposeful Pen Podcast! Is 2025 the year that you do something more with your love of writing, but you don’t know where to start? There are so many options and questions that it can feel overwhelming. If that’s you, listen in! In this episode, I’ll give you the starting point that will enable you to serve God and others through your writing. I’ll also show you how to quiet those murmuring voices of discouragement and start writing.

In the episode, I also talk about a free, 3-day email course to give you a clear path to getting started writing for God’s glory and the good of others. You can find that here: amylynnsimon.com/start

I also announce new “micro-coaching” sessions. If full coaching sounds like too much money and time for where you are in the journey, these micro sessions can bring you clarity and direction at a much lower price tag. Take a look at those here: amylynnsimon.com/microcoaching

What would you like 2025 to hold for you and your writing? Let me know in the comments!

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 it look like for a writer to take a Sabbath rest? Part of the answer is probably what you would expect, but the other part may surprise you.

Listen in to find out!

This is my last episode for 2024. I’ll see you in January for season 3!

If you’re considering the 2:2 Launch Lab 6-month mentorship, remember that doors close for the 2025 cohort on November 25!

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]

Writing is a solitary endeavor and can feel lonely and discouraging at times. God has wired us for relationship and community—we need each other!

In this episode, I talk about 3 benefits to writing friends, both online and in-person. I also give you some suggestions on where to find a writing community if you aren’t involved in one.

Links from the episode:

Episode 11 about collaborations.

Voxer voice messaging app

Writers’ Bloc Community

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]

I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that the months of November and December can be the busiest time of the year. Some writers take those months off of writing to spend time with their families. A great option and nothing to be ashamed of!

But what might it look like to dig into your writing, or at least one aspect of it, during those months through a fun writing challenge?

In this episode, I talk about different ways that writing challenges of all sorts can help keep us motivated and making progress.

Links:

National Novel Writing Month www.nanowrimo.com

Register for the 3-Step System to Launch Your Writing Platform webinar: www.mywritersbloc.com/launch-lab

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 been told that you need to “build a platform”, but it feels like self-promotion when you’d rather just write?

This week, I talk with both Jana Carlson and Cara Ray about some of the myths and misconceptions about writing platforms. We also share our own experiences in discovering platform-building methods that are life-giving rather than drudgery.

If you’d like to learn more, join for the free webinar, “The 3-Step System to Launch Your Writing Platform” on November 7 at noon EST. Register 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]

Do you struggle with having too many writing ideas? Too many topics you’d love to write about? Are you concerned that if you narrow your message too much, you won’t ever be able to write about the other things that interest you?

In this episode, I talk about finding the “one thing” that ties our gifts, strengths, and passions together, creating an umbrella under which our different projects can fall. Then, focusing on one specific project at a time, we use our words to glorify God and serve others.

Master of One by Jordan Raynor

Link to my interview on the Writers’ Bloc

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’s a book proposal and why would I need one? If you’re writing a non-fiction book, a book proposal will sell your idea to an agent and then a publisher, which is a necessary step in traditional publishing.

Listen this week as I talk with Lara d’Entremont about what a book proposal is, what makes a good one, and how to approach writing one.

Lara will be leading a book proposal writing challenge in the Writers’ Bloc writing community starting later this month. It will include instruction, opportunities to ask questions, and accountability. Check it out here.

Lara d’Entremont is a mother and the author of A Mother Held: Essays on Anxiety and Motherhood. While the wildlings snore, she primarily writes—whether it be personal essays, creative nonfiction, or fantasy novels. She desires to weave the stories between faith and fiction, theology and praxis, for women who feel as if these pieces of them are always at odds. Much of her writing is inspired by the forest and ocean that surround her, and her little ones that remind her to stop and see it. You can find more of her writing at laradentremont.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]

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 a book but don’t know where to start? Opening a blank document and typing “Chapter 1” is NOT the first step of the process!

In this episode, we’ll walk through the steps to get from “I want to be a writer” to pursuing publication. If you want to get started as a Christian writer but have no idea where to begin, this will tell you how!

Download the free resource, “The Journey to Publication” here.

This download maps out the steps discussed in the episode and includes additional resources to help you with each step.

Included resources:

* Specific podcast episodes that go into more depth on each step

* A free Canva template to help you design your own personal brand

* Link to a “Simple SEO” course to help others find your work

* Self-publishing and traditional publishing resources

* A free writing community for Christian women

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 is the trellis that your writing life grows on? What habits or practices help you eliminate distractions and provide an environment where your writing can flourish?

This week, I talk about a concept called a “Rule of Life” - a custom-designed set of habits or practices that help us grow in our faith. We’ll talk about it not only for our growth as disciples of Jesus, but also how the same idea can be applied to our writing lives.

Books and resources mentioned:

Coaching info: www.amylynnsimon.com/coaching

Practicing the Way, by John Mark Comer

The Common Rule, by Justin Whitmel Earley

Episode 72 with Hannah Brencher

The Unplugged Hours, by Hannah Brencher

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]