By Darlene L. Turner @darlenelturner

Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:4 (NIV)

 Can’t you hear Elsa singing, “Let it go, let it go…”? Throughout my writing journey there were many times I found it hard to live those words let alone say them. I’d made the mistake and clung to the negative part of the roller coaster ride. So how does a writer get past it?

Let it go.

I know, not as easy as it sounds, right? I learned many things along my journey to publication. The biggest one was that a writer must have thick skin in order to move on and learn from every rejection, harsh critique, negative review. The words in Elsa’s song teach us how to do just that.

Distance makes everything small

Every rejection I received hurt…at first. The sting hit me but someone once told me that each one would only bring me closer to the “one.” They were right. After years of receiving rejections, I finally got that call from an agent offering a contract. Every pass on my manuscript only urged me onward to strengthen my writing. Learn more. Write more. Read more. Now that I look back—from a distance—I can see how I’ve grown. How small the hurt feels and how much stronger I’ve grown. Let it go.

Fears that controlled me can’t get to me

We need to release our fears. Give them over to God and not let them consume us. You know the fears I’m referring to, right? Fear of a bad review. Fear of getting another rejection, so perhaps we hold back in submitting to that favorite agent or publisher. Once we surrender those fears, they can’t get to us anymore (unless we allow it). Let them go and give them to God. Faith over fear is what I’ve been clinging to lately.

Past is in the past

In Explosive Christmas Showdown, Olive deals with past hurts and has a hard time letting them go. As writers, we do the same thing. A former harsh review can sometimes stick with us and spiral us into a bitterness that can be hard to come back from. Possibly stop us from writing again. However, God has called us to write. Therefore, we need to leave the past in the past and let it go.

See what I can do

Once we move past our rejections, criticisms, and bad reviews we can learn from each of them. Grow as a person and in our writing. Look at what we can do and pray for God to use our writing for His glory. After all, isn’t that what He called us to do? Look at us go!

The writing journey can bring many joys and heartaches, but I’ve learned on my path to give them over to God. I’m still discovering how to do that in my publishing journey. I’m thankful for each one as they’re growing me to be a better writer for His kingdom.

We have to remember . . .

Let it go.

Fellow writers, what do you find hard to put behind you?

Darlene L. Turner’s love of suspense began when she read her first Nancy Drew book. She’s turned that passion into her writing and believes readers will be captured by her plots, inspired by her strong characters, and moved by her inspirational message.

Darlene won the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense twice and an ACFW Genesis award. Her debut book, Border Breach, (Love Inspired Suspense) won the Word Award (Romance category) in Canada and was also a double winner at the Selah Awards, taking third place in the First Novel and Romantic Suspense categories. She’s represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. She has three books releasing in 2022: Safe House Exposed (Feb 22), Fatal Forensic Investigation (June 28), and Explosive Christmas Showdown(Oct 25).

Darlene met her husband Jeff at the turtle races in Ontario, Canada. She loves flavored coffee and plaid shirts. You can connect with Darlene at www.darlenelturner.com where there’s suspense beyond borders.