by Sandy Kirby Quandt @SandyKQuandt

Have you ever looked at your writing journey as a process of taking the land of writing little by little instead of all at once? Let me explain what I mean. 

After I completed my first book for middle grade readers, I knew without a doubt Mandee the Manatee was brilliant. Even the alliteration in the title was brilliant. This story needed no editing or correction. The book was gold, I’m telling you. Pure gold. 

I hear you chuckling. Yes. The naiveté of a first-time writer.

This was my first completed book. Although I had published numerous articles and devotions, I never completed a full-length novel. I had so much to learn about writing, and didn’t even know it. It’s really rather embarrassing to think about now. 

As you can imagine, Mandee the Manatee really wasn’t ready and it definitely wasn’t gold. Maybe somewhere in the bronze category. After a lot of editing. 

I know that now but I didn’t at the time. I didn’t see the flaws and lack of writing skill. I didn’t understand I had a long way to go to have a publication-ready manuscript. I didn’t realize I wasn’t ready for prime time. It has taken me years of reading books on the craft of writing, attending writer’s conferences, reading writing blogs, writing, revising, submitting, only to do it all over again. 

Writing is a continual learning process. They are few if any shortcuts to mastering the craft.

When the Israelites headed for the Promised Land after their exodus from Egypt, God told them they would not quickly take the land. The process would be a gradual one. Little by little. The people weren’t ready to possess the land. They weren’t strong enough to occupy it. If they took the land too early, wild animals would be everywhere and the land would be too poor to support future crops.

Any of that sound familiar to the writer’s journey? 

We can’t take the land all at once. We must do it little by little. We aren’t strong enough to accomplish all that goes into the writing process through publication and beyond when we attempt it too early. And we certainly won’t be able to support any future crops we might plant if we rush the process.  

It’s all about God’s perfect timing. His plan for our writing journey is perfect. Even when we don’t understand it one bit. Regardless of how sure we might feel we’re ready to conquer the land, God knows best. 

Obviously, if I’d gotten Mandee the Manatee published when I first finished it, I wouldn’t have been ready for that step in so many ways. Maybe you can say the same thing about your unrealized writing goals.

Waiting is difficult, is it not? But it’s better to wait than go in too early and face wild animals running amok all around us. 

So what is God working on with your writing little by little before you take possession of the land?

I wish you well.

Sandy Kirby Quandt is a former elementary school educator and full-time writer with a passion for God, history, and travel; passions that often weave their way into her stories and articles. She has written numerous articles, devotions, and stories for adult and children publications. Her devotions appear in two Worthy Publishing compilation books; So God Made a Dog, and Let the Earth Rejoice. She has won several awards for writing including the 85th and 86th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition in the Young Adult category, First Place in the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference Children’s Literature 2016 Foundation Awards, First Place in the 2017 Foundation Awards in the Young Adult, Middle Grade, and Flash Fiction categories. Looking for words of encouragement or gluten-free recipes? Then check out Sandy’s blog, Woven and Spun. When The Way Is Steep