The Roots of My Writing

I've been thinking a lot about what things are at the root of my writing. The things that have to be nurtured and tended so that my writing can flourish. Recently, I narrowed it down to two roots.

I think for me, the two roots of my writing (or really any of my passions) are my faith and my health. While that may sound broad, it covers both the spiritual and the physical.

So lately I've been giving more thought to how I can deepen my faith in Jesus and how I can better address my health.

Don't get me wrong. I'm still an active Christian and I don't have bad health per se. But I want to get better at intentionality in both of these areas this year.

As far as my faith goes, I'm reading more nonfiction books that are instructional in the faith. Elisabeth Elliot and C.S. Lewis, anyone? ;)

As I mentioned in my goals post last week, I'm also trying to read through the Bible chronologically and focus in on a morning routine.

While those may sound like little things, they've been casually on my to-do list for years and simply haven't happened. 2019's the year. And today's the day.

For my health, I don't have anything major on a diagnosable scale. But I think we all want to function at full capacity, and there are plenty of little things I'd like to conquer that will help me in that regard.

So in order to work on things like better digestion, less wrist pain, and fewer respiratory problems, I am paying for my own supplements.

While my family uses essential oils, eats fairly well, and is generally health-conscious and naturally-minded, paying for my own supplements instantly makes me 1000x more likely to take them daily.

And just since trying a new brand of natural products focused on gut health, I've seen improvement!

So even though none of these changes are huge, theure important and require consostency. I want to encourage you all to look at what root things fuel what you do every day. I think beliefs and health are big ones for everyone, but you may have another area you want to shore up.

Maybe give it some thought and see what you come up with.

My mom's always reminding me that now is the time to establish routines and good habits. Before I live on my own or have a family. Not tomorrow--today.

In that vein of things, I've started a second Instagram account for the faith and health aspects of my life. So I'd love to chat with you over there if you have any interest in getting more intentional with me!

If I were to pick a third important root, it's community. So thank you all very much for the community we have here together. :)

Do any roots you need to tend to immediately spring to mind? What passions do you want to be able to pursue more fully?

Nine Goals for 2019

Last week we looked at how I did on my 2018 goals. This week I'm sharing the goals I want to accomplish in this new year. And I'm probably going to need your help staying accountable! (Plus, there's a giveaway stuffed in here.)

Read the Bible differently

Is that vague enough for you? I'm bad about reading bits of the Bible and only out of my favorite NKJV copy I got when I was five. This year I want to shake it up. So I'm using a Bible Gateway plan on my phone to read through the ESV Bible chronologically in a year. It's been a while since I read through the Bible in a year, and I'm hoping that by approaching it differently, I'll have new takeaways.

Develop a morning routine

Starting with my Bible reading will be part of my morning routine. But I'm also hoping to get into the habit of reading a little of my current non-fiction read, making a to-do list for the day ... things like that. We'll see what works! (I already know that journaling doesn't work.) But it's been a while since I've had a true morning regimen that helped me get ready for my day. I work enough that this should get me out of bed earlier out of necessity.

Prioritize my editing

I've talked about this before. This year I want my editing business to be more than just a side job. (Let's face it--it will still be a side job.) But I want to prioritize it more instead of always fitting it in after 8 pm. I already have 16 manuscripts booked for the year and I tweaked my pricing some, so I think it will be inevitable that I prioritize this more. I've also joined Reveries Co. which you can find out more about at the end of this post. Maybe by next year I can phase out babysitting and go full time?? :D

Develop a street team

Work has already begun on this front! I'm calling the members of my street team Resonators, thanks to . I've already got a Facebook group going (where the real fun happens) and a Resonators-only newsletter underway that will be going out monthly. Be sure to sign up if you're interested!! It'll mostly be fangirling and you learning about what I'm doing first. In return, you get to be my go-to peeps for release hype.

Find an agent

Obviously, this one is a little optimistic since Behind the Act still needs a little editing before I query it more. BUT. I do intend to query it this year. And pitch it at the OCW conference in August. So wish me luck with all of that! Getting an agent (or better yet a contract!) is up there on my dream list! I'm really at peace whatever happens, though, because I really do think I'll get there eventually.

Publish Martin Crossroads

I will cry if this doesn't happen this year. This will happen! Probably not until fall. But I just finished the first draft on New Year's Eve, so I'm feeling much more optimistic about the progress ... even though it still needs a lot of rewrites. ;) It will be so nice to have this over with.

Get published elsewhere

Other than self-publication, I'd love to get published in a magazine or something ... Havok is somewhere I'll continue to submit to. (I got my first rejection--yay!) It'd just be nice to gather a few more accolades like this, especially as I try to get an agent. :)

Read 24 books for me

I have so many editing projects on the horizon, it's hard to even think about reading books besides those. But I'm determined to! While I'd ultimately like to read 30 books just for myself ... I think I'd better go for 24. Two a month should be doable and keep me reading. I've got a TBR a mile long this year so I honestly have no idea what I'll even end up getting to!

Pinpoint my health

One of the initiatives I've finally taken this year is to figure out what works for me, not just in my writing and morning routine, but also in my health. My wrist has bothered me for a while, but it's getting better thanks to supplements. So I've actually started a second Instagram account to chronicle my trying to figure out what can better help me overall as I try to pursue my writing and editing more this year!

More on that next week. ;)

Remember how I said I'd give you more Reveries Co info? Kellyn is hosting the blog tour right now on her blog. And we’re giving away 30+ books—a combination of ebooks and paperbacks, genres and subgenres—to one lucky winner! You can enter HERE.

What are some of your goals for 2019? Maybe we can help each other keep up. ;) Which one of my goals excites you the most??