You’ve done OK by yourself. Sure, your book isn’t done, but once you really set aside the time and make the commitment, you could get it done if you really wanted to. The isolation of the writing life does not get to you at all. Friends and family may not understand the sacrifice you need to make to write your book, but you’ve got yourself and God.

If you struggle with overcoming hindrances to your writing and have not been able to break through and write anyhow, let me offer that it is OK to push back against them. Do not lay back as if failure is your lot. It is not.

Your spiritual life as a writer is more than just about how often you read the Bible, pray, and go to church. It’s also about how your whole internal life provides you the right environment to create what God has called you to create and how you will share what you create with others. Helping to develop this right environment, The Pray Hear Write practice enhances your spiritual and writing life in three significant ways.

This is about actively participating with the Spirit of God to assume the right heart posture. How you think and believe as you engage with God is important. So here are the heart postures that help me approach God about my writing.

As I cycle through what is required or what I am committed to as a CEO, a creator who leads and coaches other creators, a mom, a daughter, a sister, and a friend, the messages my mind, spirit, and body communicate back to me are writing a new set of rules.

I brought in the new year reading Kim Perell’s Jump. It was a perfectly timed read. In chapter 4, “The Power of Decision-Making,” she writes about the powerful bit of advice her mom gave her when she was dealing with indecision: “Maybe means no.” Your gut. Your intuition. Your Holy Spirit. Trust it. Trust Him. You know when you are not feeling open to the options in front of you. You know a no when you feel it.

Discomfort is a catalyst for change, for taking a leap you wouldn't normally take, for breaking into something you wouldn't have chanced if your back wasn't against a wall.

Feeling soft brushes of distant sea breezes against my face and through my hair, I am thinking about all the work I have to do after a few back-to-back conferences and a business trip. On this dream-like, cloudy day in perpetually sunny Florida, I’m attempting to get back to the daily grind after succumbing to involuntary pressure to allow a few days to recoup from the last few weeks.

Revising (or self-editing) is the next step in the process after you’ve gotten the first draft of your manuscript written. It can involve several levels, which all begin with you.