By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills

Most writers think they can handle life’s challenges on their own. I’m not one of those, but I know who to turn to when I need self-help. The world offers lots of resources to “fix” us in the quest to produce quality writing.

Want to sell more books?

• Eat healthy
• Exercise
• Learn more about the craft
• Master marketing and promotion
• Practice good social media habits
• Manage stress
• Pursue a top agent
• Seek a publishing house
• Get up earlier and stay up late

Some are good suggestions and some are . . . exhausting. The #1 key to a fulfilling writing life has nothing to do with specific disciplines or performance, but spending time with God first thing every morning and allowing Him to guide us throughout the day. Without His presence, we are exhausted, depressed, unable to rest, and search aimlessly for peace and joy—miserable writers. Our intimacy with God isn’t separate from our writing; the spiritual relationship is woven into a means to glorify His name with the gifts He’s given us.

[tweet_box design=”default” float=”none” inject=”#BRMCWC #Writing #Writinglife “]Self-Help for Writers – God’s Way by @DiAnnMills on @BRMCWC[/tweet_box]

We are God-dependent.

 “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13 ESV).

1. We begin each day surrendering to God any solo endeavors and invite Him to guide our words, ideas, and actions.

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33 ESV).

2. We confess our need for Him not only in our writing life, but also in our personal lives.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV).

3. God’s Word is the only self-help manual we will ever need.

^“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3:16 ESV).

4. God calls us to rest. He established a rhythm of life for work and rest.

“Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat” (Mark 6:31 ESV).

5. God is our identity, not the size of our name on a book cover.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10 ESV)

6. God isn’t concerned about how many books we sell. Follow God in obedience, not chasing bestseller lists.

^“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (2 Peter 2:9 ESV).

7. God calls us to prayer. His delight is when we reach out to Him. Only by choosing intimacy with Him, can we be God’s writers. We don’t need a special worldly strategy when God is in control. We write for an audience of one.

“Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands” (Psalm 90:17 ESV).

What God’s Way strategy keeps you rooted in God’s purpose for your writing