Five Lessons Writing Has Taught Me
I don’t know about other authors, but when I first started writing, I thought my novel would be published much sooner than it was. After all, Woman’s World bought the very first thing I wrote…I mean, how hard could it be? You can pick yourself up off the floor now and stop laughing.
Years passed and I committed to learning the craft of writing, and one day I was offered a contract from Revell, and June 5th, the third book in the Memphis Cold Case Novels releases. Over those years I learned a few things from writing that I’d like to share with you.
- Patience.
After I’d been writing for many years, mostly on my own, I got really serious about writing a book a publisher would want. At the same time I was studying the nine fruits of the spirit, and I had saved patience for the very last topic to study…now I know why. When I asked God to teach me patience, He gave me an idea for a book. And six years later, that book was published.
- Equipping yourself.
When God calls you to do something, He will enable you to do it. But, He won’t do it for you. It was up to me to learn the craft of writing, to learn about plot, structure, characters, point of view, settings and everything else that goes along with writing a novel.
- Good things in life are sometimes enemies of God’s best for me.
When someone asks me to do something and it sounds worthwhile, I’m quick to say yes. And I’m talking about good things like tasks at church or missions, or something I just plain want to do. But these things take time away from my writing. I believe God has called me to write, so that’s His best plan for me, which leads into the fourth lesson I’ve learned…
- Sacrifice
If I want to write, I learned I’d have to give up a few things. There are only twenty-four hours in a day, and we can’t do everything that catches our fancy. I learned that if I don’t make writing a priority, my writing time slips away. I can’t always go to lunch with my friends or take on an extra assignment at church. Writing is my job now, so I have to protect my time.
- Timing
Psalm 37: 4 has long been a favorite scripture verse. “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your hear.” I prayed that psalm, believing I would be published. When it didn’t happen as soon as I wanted it to, I wondered if I had misunderstood God. My heart’s desire was to get just one book published. Then I “discovered” Psalm 37:7: “Wait patiently for the Lord to act…”
Looking back now, I realize if I’d been published any earlier, I would be so ashamed to see it in print. My writing wasn’t ready yet and neither was I. I still had craft to learn and a little more maturing to do. But when it was God’s timing, it wasn’t one book He had in mind…it was three. My first contract was a three-book deal.
And like I said earlier, June 5, 2018, Justice Betrayed—a Memphis Cold Case Novel, the third book of my second series with Revel releases. I’m working on my eleventh contracted book. So, if you’re writing and you think nothing’s happening, just keep writing. Be ready when God opens the door
Bio
Winner of an Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award in Suspense, Patricia Bradley lives in North Mississippi with her rescue kitty, Suzy, and loves to write suspense with a twist of romance. JUSTICE Betrayed, the third book in the Memphis Cold Case Novels releases June 5, 2018.
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