Three Blessings for Readers of My Forthcoming Book about Spiritual Direction for Writers®

Here are three blessings for the readers of my forthcoming book about Spiritual Direction for Writers. I’m still waiting to hear back from Eerdmans on whether or not the final draft will be accepted for publication. I should know in the next couple of weeks.

For now, here are three blessings for the readers of my next book:

Three Blessings 

First, a “real writer” is anyone who writes.

If you hesitate to call yourself a writer because you don’t write every day, please reconsider. When asked about their creative practices, celebrated writers report a wide variety of approaches to the page. Some write every day, some only write on the weekends. Some writers work best during focused retreats. There are as many different writing rhythms as there are writers.

And, there are as many reasons to write as there are writers. Some of us write for pay, write to publish, and write to inform. Others write for less public reasons. The joys and trials of writing are similar regardless. And here’s one thing that’s true for all writers: moving toward more freedom in your writing practice and your creative identity is always a good idea. Always. But you get to determine what constitutes freedom for your circumstances and contours of life.

May this book help you along that journey.

Second, the writing life and the spiritual life go hand in hand. Both are modes and practices of inquiry and discovery. While I write from a Christian perspective, writers from diverse faith backgrounds are welcome in these pages. Throughout the book, in order to create space for various understandings of the sacred, I often use the phrase "the divine" when referring to God; I also sometimes speak of God and Jesus, which are important ways that I name the divine in my own prayer life.

May you feel at ease as you read and ponder.

Finally, all of life is the writing life. This mantra makes an appearance throughout the book, and I invite you to establish your own relationship with the idea that all of life is the writing life. When you aren’t sure if you should keep writing or if your writing matters, whisper the sentence to yourself a few times and see where that takes your mind and soul.

May you discover how all of life is the writing life.