@KatyKauffman28

After my second book, I ran into several dead ends. I thought maybe God wanted me to write about the book of Nehemiah. I have learned so much from Nehemiah’s story, but no, I wasn’t suppose to write about that. Then the Gospel of Mark—another book I love and hoped to write about. But I wasn’t feeling it. You know what I mean? I even thought about fiction. (I have a great idea for a YA series.) But it wasn’t the right timing.

If you have the ache to write but you don’t know what to write about, don’t lose heart. Now is not the time to give up on the dream of writing, especially if you’ve tried to write about a topic and it didn’t work out. There’s a message (or a story) waiting for you to tackle it.

If you’re having trouble picking a topic for a book (or even a blog post), ask yourself these questions to identify what your next subject is. Since I write nonfiction, I will ask “nonfiction questions,” but you can tweak these if you happen to be a fiction writer. Once I give you these questions, then I’ll tell you what my third book turned out to be.

12 Questions to Spur Ideas for Nonfiction Writing

1. What spiritual topic acts as your homing beacon—you are drawn to it whenever you hear it preached on or mentioned in conversation?
2. What book of the Bible do you drift to the most, and what about that book inspires you?
3. Do your favorite Bible verses have a common theme?
4. If you could identify a major turning point in your life, what would it be? What prompted the change? How are you better off today? (That may be a story you can share with others.)
5. What lessons have you learned from mission trips? Parenting? College life?
6. Which stories on the news or social media capture your attention? What felt need do these stories address, or what problem do they solve?
7. What cause are you most passionate about, and how could your writing help to promote it?
8. What one thing would you want to tell someone about God?
9. How has Jesus rescued you when you couldn’t rescue yourself?
10. What place does faith in God have in everyday life?
11. Why is God’s Word a treasure?
12. Do you have a special slant through which you see life’s joys and trials, struggles and victories?

After months of praying and searching, I found my third book. It is actually a compilation which includes nineteen other authors. Its title is Breaking the Chains: Strategies for Overcoming Spiritual Bondage, and it identifies ways to break free from the chains of fear, anxiety, anger, loneliness, and more. I didn’t know this would be the adventure that God had in store—to gather writers to tackle this topic—and it was a great privilege to put this book together. It became the first of three compilations my family’s company has published, and we have a fourth one in the works, plus plans for three more compilations to come.

You never know what God has in store for you until you seek Him and ask for His guidance. He knows exactly what message He wants to share through our words and our lives. My prayer is that you can identify for each of your projects what God wants you to write about and you enjoy the adventure with Him.

Which of the questions above gives you an idea to write about? Tell us in the comments below, and don’t stop writing!

Katy Kauffman is an award-winning author, an editor of Refresh Bible Study Magazine, and a co-founder of Lighthouse Bible Studies. She loves connecting with writers and working alongside them in compilations. Her compilation, Heart Renovation: A Construction Guide to Godly Character, was a 2019 Selah Awards finalist and Director’s Choice finalist. Katy’s writing can be found at CBN.com, thoughts-about-God.com, the Arise Dailyblog, PursueMagazine.net, and two blogs on writing. She loves spending time with family and friends, making jewelry, and hunting for the best donuts. Connect with her at her blog, The Scrapbooked Bible Study, and on Facebook and Twitter.