I recently did an article on my writing journey for Ministry Today. I posted some thoughts earlier this week. Here’s a link.
Here are seven writing tips, but I think they can double as preaching tips as well.
#1 Write for intrinsic reasons
If you write for the wrong reasons your dream will short-circuit. I often ask aspiring authors if they are willing to write a book even if it doesn’t sell one copy. That is the litmus test because it reveals whether they are writing for extrinsic reasons or intrinsic reasons. Writing for intrinsic reasons is like singing in the shower. You write, first and foremost, because you love to write. In fact, you can’t not write because you feel called to write. Every author who believes in what they write wants to sell as many books as possible, but that can’t be the driving motivation. Don’t write because you want people to read. Write because you’ve got something you have to say.
#2 Find a Writing Rhythm
Half of writing is rhyme. The other half is rhythm. My peak writing hours are six AM to nine AM. In fact, I get more accomplished before my official work day starts than I do the rest of the day. I hit a point of diminishing return around Noon. My mind is too cluttered to write straight. I also find that sometimes I need to walk away from whatever I’m writing for twenty-four hours to regain my perspective.
#3 Keep Reading
Writers are readers. I read approximately one hundred and fifty books per year. Granted, I have an unfair advantage as a preacher because I slot about twenty-five hours of study time per week. But I’ve also leaned to be a good steward of my time. I have a book with me wherever I go. And the truth is that everybody could read at least one book a month if they simply kept a book in their bathroom.
#4 Find Your Voice
Writing a book is baring your soul. You feel intellectually and spiritually vulnerable. Writing forces you to come to terms with who you are and who you aren’t. Unfortunately, many authors hide behind their words. You don’t feel like you know them any better at the end of the book than you did at the beginning. I try to write as if I’m having a conversation with someone over coffee. Keep it real. Keep it personal. Don’t just share your thoughts. Share your life.
C.S. Lewis said that every life consists of a few themes. Finding your voice is giving expression to those themes–your core convictions and core passions. Write about the things you’re passionate about. And dare to be different. Don’t be afraid to express your personality and originality in what you write.
#5 Know Your Writing Strengths
Writers need editors because all of us have blind spots. A good editor understands and complements an author’s weaknesses. I know my strength is saying old things in new ways. I juxtapose truth in creative ways. I’m insatiably interested in everything so I import knowledge from a variety of disciplines–everything from physics to business to philosophy to neurology–to add density and variety to my writing. I’m good at conceptualizing truth in creative ways, but my weakness is application. And I recognize that in my own writing and preaching. I’m a thirty-thousand foot thinker. I tend to fly circles around the airport so I need editors who help me come in for a practical landing.
#6 Tie Off the Umbilical Cord
I’m a perfectionist by nature. I will keep revising a manuscript till Kingdom Come if I don’t have a deadline, but at some point you have to tie off the umbilical cord so a book can take on a life of its own. According to Parkinson’s Law, the amount of time it takes you to complete a project depends on how much time you have allotted. If you have a month, it’ll take a month. If you have six months, it’ll take six months. One way that I’ve overcome my perfectionism and procrastination is the 80% rule. I send my chapters to my editors when I feel like I’m 80% of the way there. It relieves some of the pressure I feel to make sure every chapter is perfect.
#7 Pray Like It Depends on God
We have a core value at NCC: work like it depends on you and pray like it depends on God. That is a pretty good modus operandi when it comes to writing. Writing is hard work. There is no way around it. But prayer is what helps a book come to full-term. I actually had a prayer team that was interceding for me while I was writing In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. The prayer team prayed for every person who would pick up the book and read it. They prayed for my editors. And they prayed that I would write exactly what God wanted me to say. Those prayers give me a sense of destiny. I can’t wait to see the way God answers those prayers in the lives of readers.
