Create Writing Rhythms Focused on Rest and Renewal
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
I was originally going to write a different post. One titled “What to Do When You Feel Invisible Online,” but it didn’t sit right with me. I realized that, again, I was trying to fit a “marketing mold” instead of remaining true to the work I believe God has called me to do. And that is to help other Christian authors live a simple life that pleases the Lord and to teach sustainable social media.
You don’t have to follow trends. You don’t need to try to replicate videos. You don’t have to rush to produce content, just to get something posted before it becomes overused.
Instead, focus on the work the Lord has blessed you with. A large aspect of sustainable social media is to create writing deadlines that are built around your own rest and renewal. Too often, authors (myself, included) fall victim to rapid releasing books.
Christian author, I want to encourage you to take the slow path instead.
Identify Your Rhythms
No schedule looks the same, and that’s okay! The goal is to figure out what works best for you.
When are you naturally energized? Maybe you’re a night owl. Maybe you’re a morning songbird. Maybe you’re an “I need coffee and I’m okay” person. Where do you have natural quiet moments in your week? A 30-minute lunch break, a commute to work, while the kids are napping.
What days are you busiest? When are the days when you feel most overwhelmed? Is there any space in your schedule to readjust? Figure out what your typical week looks like, and then what your ideal week looks like.
Then, try to find one hour in your schedule that you can dedicate to working on your story. Too often, it’s easy to feel that if you don’t touch your story every day that you’re not a “real writer,” but Christian author, I assure you, that’s not true.
Slow and steady still winds the race.
Practice Seasons of Renewal
Then zoom out some. Think about what your typical year looks like. Do you travel a lot during the holidays? During the summer? What is your favorite season? Why? What do you look forward to? When are the natural breaks for your seasons of renewal?
No matter what schooling looked like for you, there are natural breaks to every school year: summer vacation, fall break, winter break, spring break, and then those random days peppered throughout. The traditional job, however, doesn’t have those natural breaks built in, causing us to forget how important rest and renewal are.
I love all things summer. I love the sunshine, I love being outside, I love eating ice cream, and the late nights watching fireflies. I really love all things summer.
Being outside in the sun energizes me. It gets my creative juices flowing and I’m able to tackle mental hurdles with more proficiency than I can in other times of the year.
In addition, I hate winter. The cold, dreary days truly cause me to battle seasonal depression. I hate going outside because everything is cold and wet . . . and ugly.
The cold causes my energy levels to drop, but my creativity to increase. Simply put: I want to make things. I love to knit and crochet in the cold months. I love to bake and host others. But most importantly, I love to craft stories.
During the spring and summer, when the sun is shining and I want to be outside, I focus more on building my business and less on my writing.
Slow, but Not Stalled
Giving less attention to writing projects does not mean giving up on them. It means that my momentum has slowed, not stalled.
I talk about dictation a lot, and that’s because I truly believe in the power of it.
In April, I learned about using dictation to write my fiction by listening to The Confident Fiction Author Podcast by Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer. I then went through her Diction Bootcamp for Authors course and then her Fictator-in-Training course, and they completely changed my writing processes. Without dictation, I’m confident that my writing would be stalled, not just slowed down.
During the warm seasons–in my seasons of renewal–I continue to write using Sarah’s 5-Minute Fictation methods, meaning that five days a week, I touch my stories for five minutes. It’s slow progress, but it’s still progress.
Remember to Pace Yourself
At the beginning of this year, 2025, I had the plan to release two novels in 2026. It felt like a lofty, but (possibly) achievable goal.
And then I noticed the quality of my writing was dropping because of the mental stress that I was putting on myself.
And then, I reminded myself that goals are just that: goals. And goals are not deadlines. And I would much rather work slowly and work well, than rush to publish books.
Christian author, do not miss this: everything we do should be done for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Instead, in 2026, I’m going to focus on stacking up my projects so that I can slowly work on them, with the intention to publish two books in 2027.
So, whether you’re in a season of renewal or not, work for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Create because you’ve been created to create–you’ve been created in the image of God, the Author and Creator of all things (Genesis 1:27).
Hey there, fellow Christian author! I’m Anna Barroso. I’m a Christian, wife, mother, homemaker, author, and Author Brand Consultant. I help Christian authors have the tools they need to create and maintain their unique branding and sustainable social media. Click here to view my work. To learn more about the stories I write, click here.
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And if you want to learn more about dictation, Sarah’s having a free Masterclass called “How to Dictate Your Novel” coming August 4-11.