by Maggie Wallem Rowe

How do you know when you’ve arrived as a writer?

 Is it the first time your byline appears in print or online? Could it be when you sign that initial contract? Or is it when you finally see a book with your name on it on the shelves of your local library or bookstore?

A good friend told me about a writing conference she attended on the West Coast a few years back. She was working on her first novel, and she was awed by the stellar lineup of writers who were serving on the faculty. On her first day, she spotted an older woman sipping coffee in the cafeteria whom she instantly recognized from her photo on the back of dozens of bestselling Christian historical novels.

Not having seen this author’s name on the faculty roster, my friend approached her deferentially, inquiring about the classes she’d be teaching. She was stunned when the novelist said she had registered as a conference participant solely because she was there to gain new skills herself.

“There’s always so much to learn in our trade, isn’t there?” she said with a smile.

Most of us remember childhood journeys when we squirmed in the backseat and begged our parents to tell us how soon we’d get to our destination. While scripture cautions us to leave childish ways behind and mature into our faith, we sometimes still beg our Father to tell us when we’ve “arrived” as writers.

Truthfully, we never do.

The journey to grow in skill and acuity as a Christian writer is the trip of a lifetime. Whether we’ve published one book, twenty, or none at all, there are always areas in which we need to sharpen our pencils and our skills.

That conference you’ve been wondering about? Take the plunge and attend, knowing that whether or not you come home with an invitation to submit a proposal, you’re still miles ahead of where you would have been if you’d stayed home.

That online workshop, webinar or Mastermind group? Carve out the time to challenge yourself to learn from others ahead of you on the journey.

That critique group you seldom attend? Make it a priority to humbly accept suggestions and to graciously offer them to others as well.

In David Yeadon’s The Way of the Wanderer, he quotes Lawrence Durrell:

“A great traveler…is a kind of introspective; as he covers the ground outwardly, so he advances fresh interpretations of himself inwardly.”

Writers are by nature introspective. To write means we need time to pause, to look inward at God’s work in our lives as well as outward at the world and the relationships around us. Introspection takes time.

If finances, time constraints or physical incapacity are keeping you close to home these days, know that time is not wasted. You’re still on the writer’s journey, for there is no final destination.

“The journey of faith, the path to spiritual wholeness, lies in our increasingly faithful response to the One whose purpose shapes our path, whose grace redeems our detours, whose power liberates us from the crippling bondages of our previous journey, and whose transforming presence meets us at each turn in our road.”  M. Robert Mulholland Jr., Invitation to a Journey

 The most vital thing about being a Christian writer has nothing to do with us and our achievements, but rather in our response to the One “whose purpose shapes our path.”

Rest in peace today, fellow writer. He is with you.

Maggie Wallem Rowe is a national speaker, dramatist, and author whose first book, This Life We Share, was a finalist for the 2021 ECPA Christian Book Award in the New Author category. Maggie has also been a TEDx presenter. Her second book, Life is Sweet, Y’all: Wit and Wisdom with A Side of Sass, released from Tyndale House Publishers in 2022. Maggie writes weekly from Peace Ridge, her home in the mountains of North Carolina. MaggieRowe.com.