14 Axioms Of Highly Productive Writers
By Robert (Bob) W. Jones

In a previous post I encouraged pastors to leverage their ministry by choosing to write. I hope that was the nudge you needed to nurture a new beginning.

You decided to write.

Congratulations!

Double congrats if you started to write.

Where do you go from here? Where can you find the motivation to keep writing? What are some of the effective practices of great writers?

When I was a younger pastor I wanted to be like Max Lucado when I grew up. He has a preacher’s heart and a poet’s pen. He’s a pastor who has leveraged his ministry with a prolific writing career. How does he do it?

I heard Max talk about a surprising secret to his success. Prominently positioned in the space he uses for writing is a framed quote,

“You wanna write? Put your butt in that chair and keep it there a long, long time.”

I sat with the editor of Testimony magazine recently. Stephen Kennedy is a pastor/poet and one of the most influential writers in my life. In answer to my question about how to start the writing process he said, “Start writing. Put your thoughts down on paper and you will find that the act of writing brings clarity to your thinking. Writing will take you where your heart wants to go.”

Seth Godin, author of Purple Cow, Linchpin, and Icarus, says, “The goal in non-fiction is to share a truth, or at least a truth as the writer sees it. To not just share it, but to spread it and to cause change to happen. You can do that in at least three ways: with research (your own or reporting on others), by building and describing conceptual structures, or with stories that resonate.”

14 Axioms Of Highly Productive Writers

1. With disciplined writing time, you’ll grow to appreciate your work.

2. Make a date night with your notebook. If you sit long enough, you’ll find something to write about.

3. Writers write. And write. And write some more.

4. When you cannot think: write.
When you cannot sleep: write.
When you cannot speak: write.
When you cannot write: read.

7. Don’t worry. You’ll figure it out. You always do. Just keep writing.

8. Write more.

9. Write even more.

10. Write even more than that.

11. Write when you don’t want to.

12. Write when you don’t have something to say.

13. Write everyday.

14. Keep writing.

Writers write. That’s what we do. We write, write, write. We’re supposed to make time for writing because the more we practice, the better we become.

As I was finishing this post a notification popped up on my screen. “Positive Writer.” Bryan Hutchinson blogs at “Positive Writer.” He’s the author of "_The Audacity to be a Writer: 50 Inspiring Articles on Writing that Could Change Your Life._ ":https://www.amazon.com/Audacity-Writer-Inspiring-Articles-Writing-ebook/dp/B00UNU57QE?ie=UTF8&ref=cm_sw_r_pi_awdm_OCOjvb094QKW5 You can purchase it for your kindle for only $3.96

It may the best $3.96 you ever invest in yourself—it was for me.

Write that down.

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About this Contributor:

Robert (Bob) W. Jones is a recovering perfectionist, who collects Coca-Cola memorabilia and drinks Iced Tea. His office walls are adorned with his sons’ framed football jerseys, and his library shelves, with soul food. He has served as a pastor for 36 years and has enjoyed the past 26 years in leadership at North Pointe Community Church in Edmonton, Alberta.