by Ane Mulligan  @AneMulligan

My word for 2026 is sanctify. To be honest, I was a little confused about how to apply it, so I decided to study it. Stay with me, because there is a writing application in this.

Sanctification is primarily God’s work through the Holy Spirit, making believers holy in position (justification) and character (transformation). After we accept the gift of salvation, then the ongoing, lifelong process of spiritual growth, where believers become more Christ-like and separate from sin’s influence through obedience to God’s Word (e.g., 1 Thessalonians 4:3, John 17:17 NLT).

As a verb, sanctify means to purify, which means to cleanse from sin, making one pure and clean in a spiritual or moral sense, often through a process of removing impurities (confession of sins, etc.) to restore fellowship with God.

How can we apply these principles to our writing?

Our writing is a holy calling, and we owe it to God to give our very best not a halfway job. In the same way God sanctifies us by growing us (if we allow him to), then as authors, it is our work to grow our writing in quality. That includes applying techniques that elevate our writing: deeper characterization, descriptions that allow the reader to experience it, and many more.

[tweet_box design=”default” float=”none” inject=”#Writing #BRMCWC #Writinglife”]Sanctify Your Writing by @AneMulligan on @BRMCWC[/tweet_box]

Reading blogs on writing, books on writing, and attending conferences helps us slough off bad habits and weak writing. This is a lifelong practice. We never stop learning.

When you glean a new tool for your writing toolbox, practice it over and over until it becomes a natural way to write.

For instance, I like to read action, so tend to write that and leave out what my character feels and thinks. That leads to a flat character. That’s okay for the first draft; I can always add it in. However, it would be much easier to write that way in the beginning.

We don’t want our reader to see dim word pictures and puzzle over our meaning. We want to communicate our work clearly (unless of course, it’s a mystery). That’s the balancing act in writing.

So as 2026 moves on, make sure you sanctify your writing like God sanctifies us.

What new tools have you gleaned in the past few months? I’d love to hear about them. You may have one I don’t have.

Blessings!

Ane Mulligan lives life from a director’s chair, both in theatre and at her desk, creating novels. Entranced with story by age three, at five, she saw PETER PAN onstage and was struck with a fever from which she never recovered—stage fever. One day, her passions collided, and an award-winning, bestselling novelist emerged. She believes chocolate and coffee are two of the four major food groups and lives in Sugar Hill, GA, with her artist husband and a rascally Rottweiler. Find Ane on her website, Amazon Author page, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, The Write Conversation, and Blue Ridge Conference Blog.