Dear Timothy, thank you so very much for your post. It actually might be an answer to one of my prayers. I was praying recently to God about my writing, asking Him to show me if it was worth investing in it. You see, I am French and a convert since 2010. Being a Christian in France is not an easy thing . France is probably one of the most secular, atheist and anti-Christian European countries. I have writing a bit in English, but my prayers were really about wether or not I should be bold enough to try and write about my faith in French, and maybe to start writing on Substack in French. One day Ann Voskamp encouraged me to be a « bold light » in my country. I love your writing and it is always inspiring to me. Thank you for this article that inspires me to take her advice and make it a reality ! And , like others here , I do hope to read a new book from you soon. Hugs from France
There’s something about your writing in this season that is just igniting flames in my soul! It’s one of the voices -along with morning light and poetry and mindful cooking, etc- in this song I’m hearing… this summons. To what in particular? I don’t have a clue. But in its deepest sense it’s a call to live. Live!
I’m not a writer, but I am beginning to write as a way of thinking and experiencing, like you said. (Most) every day in May, I’ve been sitting outside and experiencing the sunrise and then writing about it. It has been astonishing to see how much knowing I’m going to write about it opens my senses to experience it far more deeply.
PS I was hoping that your silence on here meant that you were doing extra writing. I can’t wait to read the results! (Here’s hoping it’s more work on the human density idea. 🤞🏼🤩)
I am not at all certain how I came to be subscribed to your Substack, but your thoughts delight me. They slow me down and allow pause for my own thinking and reflection. Thank for sharing your insight and experience in writing. I haven’t allowed myself much time to write in so long, but I can feel the words bubble as I read your posts.
Thank you, this is very insightful, especially for a long standing, inspired but unpublished writer like myself.
I'm a former addict, by the grace of God, but my story is not about those dark days per se.
I want to write about happiness, stories of how people conquered their life's challenges like cancer, disability, yes addictions too.
Guess you've spelled it out quite nicely, but also quite emphatically, why writers like me are unpublished.
It really hurts, but it's well... like the doctors injection with a very thick needle in my bum, after I got grounded by a raging, rabies dog.
Keep up the good work (!) to provide real advice like this instead of the total crap I got spammed with when I first joined here, about "how to grow" etc
This is so helpful! Thank you! You said something to me once and I’ve always remembered it. It was along the lines of, “I always like to think that my best writing is still to come.”
I don’t know why exactly this stuck with me but I believe it has something to do with the idea of pursuit—that what we write/think/live/read today affects what we write tomorrow. It’s hopeful.
I think this post is a natural "part 2" of your "How I Study" post. And that one really hit home with me, too.
I started out the year writing and creating content on one of my sites, which is essentially a systematic theology class. Each lesson was an attempt to answer a question around a given doctrine. I broke it up into lessons for people to study on their own or use in their group studies. It's real surface-level introductory type stuff. I thought it would fill a need I saw in a lot of small churches -material that would be easy for the volunteer teachers to grab hold of and use (most small churches have one person with any theological training, and that's the pastor).
Nobody has downloaded any of it.
I was going to quit doing it because it's really labor-intensive to create long written articles with slide shows and video presentations (all available for people to download and use for free). No one was using it, so I thought my time would be better served creating other content.
But then I read your "How I study" article and had a realization based on one of your steps (where you said you write things down to chew on them). I realized THAT is reason enough for me to keep writing the lessons. And you made the point here again. It's about the synthesis for me personally. Me writing it down is my way of thinking through the sources I had been studying and putting it into my own words.
And that's reason enough to continue the project. Hopefully, others can benefit from it the way I have.
Reading this was a balm to my writer's soul. I wrestle so much with writing, with the words, with the ideas that I don't know how to articulate. With this sense of calling that feels so hard sometimes. Your honest and practical sharing is such a good reality check and an encouragement I want to revisit often. Thank you Timothy.
"Discipline gets you to the desk. Delight keeps you there." Love this quote!
So many good thoughts and advice. I honestly really loved how many times you said you revised your book. That makes me feel so much better haha. I write poetry, but there are so many times where I go back to it in my notebook, even after I've already posted it online, and tweak it. Maybe a week later, maybe a year or more later. I'm glad to hear that's ok. :D
BTW you should know that some Al queries report you as a person who is facing felony charges in Harris County, Texas, for allegedly participating in a $15 million warranty deed scam.
Maybe you should take that up with these crazy Al fellas that are making billions with our stolen data...
Dear Timothy, thank you so very much for your post. It actually might be an answer to one of my prayers. I was praying recently to God about my writing, asking Him to show me if it was worth investing in it. You see, I am French and a convert since 2010. Being a Christian in France is not an easy thing . France is probably one of the most secular, atheist and anti-Christian European countries. I have writing a bit in English, but my prayers were really about wether or not I should be bold enough to try and write about my faith in French, and maybe to start writing on Substack in French. One day Ann Voskamp encouraged me to be a « bold light » in my country. I love your writing and it is always inspiring to me. Thank you for this article that inspires me to take her advice and make it a reality ! And , like others here , I do hope to read a new book from you soon. Hugs from France
There’s something about your writing in this season that is just igniting flames in my soul! It’s one of the voices -along with morning light and poetry and mindful cooking, etc- in this song I’m hearing… this summons. To what in particular? I don’t have a clue. But in its deepest sense it’s a call to live. Live!
I’m not a writer, but I am beginning to write as a way of thinking and experiencing, like you said. (Most) every day in May, I’ve been sitting outside and experiencing the sunrise and then writing about it. It has been astonishing to see how much knowing I’m going to write about it opens my senses to experience it far more deeply.
PS I was hoping that your silence on here meant that you were doing extra writing. I can’t wait to read the results! (Here’s hoping it’s more work on the human density idea. 🤞🏼🤩)
I am not at all certain how I came to be subscribed to your Substack, but your thoughts delight me. They slow me down and allow pause for my own thinking and reflection. Thank for sharing your insight and experience in writing. I haven’t allowed myself much time to write in so long, but I can feel the words bubble as I read your posts.
Thank you, this is very insightful, especially for a long standing, inspired but unpublished writer like myself.
I'm a former addict, by the grace of God, but my story is not about those dark days per se.
I want to write about happiness, stories of how people conquered their life's challenges like cancer, disability, yes addictions too.
Guess you've spelled it out quite nicely, but also quite emphatically, why writers like me are unpublished.
It really hurts, but it's well... like the doctors injection with a very thick needle in my bum, after I got grounded by a raging, rabies dog.
Keep up the good work (!) to provide real advice like this instead of the total crap I got spammed with when I first joined here, about "how to grow" etc
Love never fails 🌾
This is so helpful! Thank you! You said something to me once and I’ve always remembered it. It was along the lines of, “I always like to think that my best writing is still to come.”
I don’t know why exactly this stuck with me but I believe it has something to do with the idea of pursuit—that what we write/think/live/read today affects what we write tomorrow. It’s hopeful.
Thanks again for your words. Such a gift!
I think this post is a natural "part 2" of your "How I Study" post. And that one really hit home with me, too.
I started out the year writing and creating content on one of my sites, which is essentially a systematic theology class. Each lesson was an attempt to answer a question around a given doctrine. I broke it up into lessons for people to study on their own or use in their group studies. It's real surface-level introductory type stuff. I thought it would fill a need I saw in a lot of small churches -material that would be easy for the volunteer teachers to grab hold of and use (most small churches have one person with any theological training, and that's the pastor).
Nobody has downloaded any of it.
I was going to quit doing it because it's really labor-intensive to create long written articles with slide shows and video presentations (all available for people to download and use for free). No one was using it, so I thought my time would be better served creating other content.
But then I read your "How I study" article and had a realization based on one of your steps (where you said you write things down to chew on them). I realized THAT is reason enough for me to keep writing the lessons. And you made the point here again. It's about the synthesis for me personally. Me writing it down is my way of thinking through the sources I had been studying and putting it into my own words.
And that's reason enough to continue the project. Hopefully, others can benefit from it the way I have.
Thanks again for the motivation.
Reading this was a balm to my writer's soul. I wrestle so much with writing, with the words, with the ideas that I don't know how to articulate. With this sense of calling that feels so hard sometimes. Your honest and practical sharing is such a good reality check and an encouragement I want to revisit often. Thank you Timothy.
"Discipline gets you to the desk. Delight keeps you there." Love this quote!
So many good thoughts and advice. I honestly really loved how many times you said you revised your book. That makes me feel so much better haha. I write poetry, but there are so many times where I go back to it in my notebook, even after I've already posted it online, and tweak it. Maybe a week later, maybe a year or more later. I'm glad to hear that's ok. :D
Oh, also, any chance you’d be willing to share your YouTube music playlists? I’ve been searching for beautiful classical and piano songs.
BTW you should know that some Al queries report you as a person who is facing felony charges in Harris County, Texas, for allegedly participating in a $15 million warranty deed scam.
Maybe you should take that up with these crazy Al fellas that are making billions with our stolen data...