The Audacity to Write
Ten years ago, when I started writing what would be my first novel, I didn’t realize that I doing was anything particularly bold.
Several months previous, I had stumbled upon the obliquely-titled The Self Publishing Podcast, which led me to listen to The Creative Penn Podcast by Independent author Joanna Penn. Both shows were amazing with so much detail and inspiration for anyone interested in trying self-publishing.
Somewhere along the way I read Stephen King’s On Writing and also a little book called Mini Habits by Stephen Guise which came out about 5 years prior to the phenomenon which is Atomic Habits by James Clear. The mini habits book convinced me that I could write a novel in very small chunks. My original goal was writing just 250 words a day.
I had tried writing novels and plays… sort of. I think my best attempt had led to about 10 pages or so. I had never gotten very far.
But, I was suddenly learning about how it was actually possible for anyone to write and publish a book. People were doing it, they were going for it. It was okay to make mistakes along the way. Much of what I read was about how the hardest part is starting. I read The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield and it really resonated with me. Every day you must start again. Go to the chair and start writing. That was it!
I loved the advice that said to write a first draft as fast as possible, to out-run doubt with the speed of writing. This, coupled with Anne Lamott’s classic advice in Bird By Bird to write shitty first drafts kept me going. It didn’t matter that my first draft wasn’t great, I could fix it later. And that first novel ended up having more than ten revisions.
Of course, I had experience writing other things—sermons, mostly, which are a kind of storytelling, at least the way I do it. But, overall, I didn’t really know what I was doing. My not knowing all the hurdles, not knowing the publishing landscape, not knowing the intricacies of writing craft, that was the backdrop to my belief that I could actually pull it off.
It helped immensely that I didn’t have gatekeepers in mind. I didn’t worry about whether anyone would publish my novel. Initially, I was only hoping that my wife and my young daughter would like it.
As I learned about self-publishing (and I took a deep dive!), I felt motivated. All the control was in my hands. If I failed it was on me. This is the kind of situation that drives me. I just keep learning and just keep going. It turns out I’m good at starting things, especially when I feel like I don’t know very much. It all becomes an adventure of learning just enough to get to the next step. I was swimming in deep waters, barely aware of how much I didn’t know.
I did a very similar thing with my podcast Spirituality for Ordinary People. I didn’t know how to do all the podcasting things and, even though I had been a pastor for a long time, I’d say at the time I had a relatively narrow view of Christian Spirituality. Yet, off I went, eventually producing over 100 episodes.
And now, I’m embarking on another set of projects. I have some fiction projects I’ve been working on which I’m not ready to talk about yet, and I have this podcast and substack/blog which I’m calling Faithfully Creative where I’ve decided to focus on the intersections between creativity and faith.
I feel like I know so much more now than I did ten years ago about writing, podcasting, creativity, and spirituality. And yet when I look around at some of the artist communities, podcasts, and people writing about creativity and faith, I immediately feel daunted.
Who am I to write and speak in this particular area? And why would anyone turn to me when there are so many other places they could go?
Two such excellent places that I’ve discovered fairly recently are:
Merideth Hite Estivez’s book The Artist’s Joy: A Guide to Getting Unstuck, Embracing Imperfection, and Loving Your Creative Life and her wonderful podcast Artists For Joy.
I’d also highly recommend:
Andrew Peterson’s remarkable book Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making.
Art and Faith: A Theology of Making by Makoto Fujimura.
Lifting the Veil: Imagination and the Kingdom of God by poet and Church of England priest, Malcolm Guite. Also - his YouTube Channel is worth checking out!
And while not really about faith, I’d also recommend the classic The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. If anyone feels that book might be too much about “being an artist” and not just “being creative” she has a book which applies the ideas in The Artist’s Way to people embarking on retirement. I’d argue this could be for people of younger ages too. Check out It's Never Too Late to Begin Again: Discovering Creativity and Meaning at Midlife and Beyond.
I could keep listing more and more books, resources, and podcasts, and maybe that would help you discover the wealth of material out there on the subject of creativity and faith.
But when I look at such a list, I’ll admit I start to feel a little stuck, as if I don’t have the requisite expertise to say much of anything when you can just go and read or listen to someone else.
It was somehow easier to write and self-publish a novel when I didn’t know enough to know it that was such a bold action (and also when I didn’t realize how much work it would be!). It was somehow easier to start a podcast when I hadn’t already listened to so many amazing podcasts.
In these doubting moments it helps to remember these two things:
1. When I find something new that hits my interests, I’m always so excited.
An example… A number of months ago, I was listening to Sarah Westfall’s wonderful podcast Human Together and she was interviewing Meredith Hite Estevez who I had never heard of. Within a few weeks of hearing the interview, I had listened to The Artist’s Joy Audiobook and subscribed to her Artists For Joy podcast. I loved it!
When I discovered her book, I didn’t think “Oh no, another book about creativity.” No, I was thrilled to have another book about the subject!
I didn’t think “who is this Merideth Hite Estevez person? Who is she to write about this?” If anything I thought “how have I not come across her before?” And every time I learned something new about her in the course of reading her book, I was kind of delighted. I loved learning about how her experience as a Juilliard trained Oboist shaped her understanding of creativity and joy.
Why is this important for me to remember? Because just as I loved finding something new in an area of interest of mine, there are people out there that will probably love listening to my podcast or reading my words alongside those in their regular playlist. There are people who might be delighted to hear my perspective as a self-published fantasy-adventure author and small-church Presbyterian pastor and church-planter who has hosted podcasts on Christian Spirituality, Biblical Interpretation, and even Winnipeg Jets Hockey.
How does all that fit together? Beats me, but it might be kind of fun to live this creative life, share about it, and see where it leads!
2. Much of my work is about reminding people about who they are.
The Spirituality for Ordinary People podcast ended up being about reminding people that yes, you are spiritual.
My work as a pastor is often about reminding people that yes, you are beloved.
And lately, I have been on a kick of reminding people that yes, you are creative. This is kind of my latest quest—a quest to actually enjoy our own God-given creativity. Why not follow creative impulses and see where they lead?
As a fantasy-adventure author, I do love a good quest after all.
Feel free to come along, exploring what it means to be faithfully creative.