Holiday writing can be tough.

Okay, that’s a huge understatement.

Holiday writing can be BRUTAL.

There. That’s more accurate.

As someone who has been on a deadline every holiday season for the past four years, let me share some words of wisdom for those of you who are worried about how the holidays will impact your writing.

Write every day that you possibly can.

Even if it’s just for five minutes. I’m not a fan of the “you have to write every day to be a real writer” philosophy, but when life is bonkers and you can barely keep up, taking that five, ten, fifteen minutes may not make much of a dent in your word count, but it does keep the story fresh in your mind. That few minutes a day will pay off huge when you do sit down to write for a longer stretch, whether that’s next week or in January.

Prayerfully ask yourself why you’re so focused on writing during this season.

Is it a deadline? Then prayerfully beg God to give you words and time, and eyes to see when He gives you pockets of peace to create. He does that, and I’m always staggered by the way He gives me time I didn’t think I would have.

If you aren’t a deadline, then look hard at your motives. Sometimes we secretly enjoy our martyr status. There’s a sneaky vein of pride in that, y’all. Sometimes we use our writing to help us avoid less pleasant things or as a convenient excuse to help us get out of things. There’s a twisty river of dishonesty there.

But what if it’s really about fear? Fear that if you take any kind of break from the push toward publication that it won’t happen. If it’s fear, and y’all, I’ve been there, then it’s time to release your grip on that story, that poem, that study, that essay, and remember that you serve a God who writes amazing stories and He’s writing yours.

Take a few days off to be with your family.

I know, I know. I just said to write every day. But that’s about keeping the flow of the story going. You also need to spend time with the people who love you and put up with your weirdness on a regular basis. Don’t let a scarcity mentality keep you from enjoying the season. If your family celebrates big on Christmas Eve, don’t worry about the story. It will be there on the 26^th and you may have a new perspective on a plot point after hanging out with your family for a few days!

This season, choose trust. Trust that God, the same God who loved you so much He sent His Son to live and die for you, will give you the time to create. And whether He chooses to give you five minutes or five hours, whatever He gives will be enough.

Grace and peace,

Lynn H. Blackburn loves writing romantic suspense because her childhood fantasy was to become a spy, but her grown-up reality is that she’s a huge chicken and would have been caught on her first mission. She prefers to live vicariously through her characters and loves putting them into all kinds of terrifying situations while she’s sitting at home safe and sound in her pajamas!

Unknown Threat, the first book in her Defend and Protect series, was a 2021 Christy Award finalist, and her previous titles have won the Carol Award, the Selah Award, and the Faith, Hope, and Love Reader’s Choice Award.

She is a frequent conference speaker and has taught writers all over the country. Lynn lives in South Carolina with her true love and their three children. You can follow her real life happily ever after by signing up for her newsletter at LynnHBlackburn.com and @LynnHBlackburn on Bookbub, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.