The Purposeful Pen - Clarity for Christian Writers

Build a Writing Life with Eternal Impact
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Are you a Christian writer who is trying to figure out your next steps in communicating the message God has given you? Or maybe you love to write, but you aren't sure what exactly is the message you have to offer others or who needs to hear what you have to say. In this podcast for Christian writers, you'll hear a mix of practical help and Biblical truth to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. amylynnsimon.substack.com

  1. 1d ago

    Episode 155: Is It Up to Me or Up to God? Effort, Faith, and Marketing Your Writing

    Many faulty mindsets sit on top of an exaggeration or an oversimplification. This episode looks at one of them: the question of how much of our writing for God is our effort and how much is God’s work. We explore the image of co-creating with God, then apply it to the area where this mindset shows up most, which is marketing and promoting our writing. In this episode, you’ll learn: * Why neither extreme holds up: “all God, no effort” or “all me, no God” * What co-creating with God looks like: abiding, time in Scripture and prayer, then writing while asking for wisdom * Why the “let God promote my work” mindset is so common, including discomfort, uncertainty about how to market, pride concerns, and imposter syndrome * Why using promotion as a test of whether God values your work is problematic * How to see marketing as a way to serve your readers rather than something separate from your calling * What it looks like to approach marketing the way you approach writing: abiding, praying, working, and trusting God with the results Key takeaways * You don’t need a magic formula or a percentage split of effort and faith. Co-creating with God is the guiding picture. * If you want to write for others, getting your writing in front of them is an integral part of the process. * God typically works through normal, natural processes. We do the work and He blesses those efforts, or doesn’t. * Marketing is a way to help readers find what you’re offering them, and it’s part of glorifying God and building up the Body of Christ. * Secular marketing methods have plenty to teach us, but they should be followed prayerfully. * Uncomfortable doesn’t mean wrong. It just means uncomfortable. Resources: Sign up for Pen Points, a weekly email to encourage you in your writing. Download the Christian Writer’s Mindset Makeover. The Purposeful Pen is a weekly podcast for Christian writers designed to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. Each week you’ll hear practical tips and Biblical truth on topics such as improving your writing, honing your message, and managing your time. I always respond to listener emails and I’d love to hear from you! Amysimon@amylynnsimon.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amylynnsimon.substack.com

    Episode 155: Is It Up to Me or Up to God? Effort, Faith, and Marketing Your Writing

  2. Sep 29

    Episode 154: From Navy Pilot to Published Author with Ryan Pote

    Ryan Pote was an injured Navy pilot trying to heal from trauma and rebuild his life. His counselor suggested that he journal, but doing so in the first person felt too vulnerable. Instead, he fictionalized his experiences as a way to process his trauma. In this interview, you’ll hear how God used his journaling to bring healing as well as lead him to a personal relationship with Jesus. Those journals also unearthed a love of writing fiction and paved the way for his current career writing thriller novels embedded with biblical truth. More about Ryan Ryan is a twelve-year veteran Navy helicopter pilot and mission commander who was part of a joint interagency special operations task force (JIATF). He did three deployments during Operation MARTILLO countering narcotics smuggling throughout Central and South America.Ryan then served as a search and rescue pilot for the US Navy Experimental Test Wing and NASA. After getting out of the Navy, he was a federal investigator for six years on prototype aircraft development programs. He currently works for the Navy’s Unmanned Aerial Systems Test and Evaluation Squadron as the safety department head.Before the Navy, he lived and worked in Hawaii as a PADI SCUBA Instructor and lab tech researching algal-biofuels for Shell Oil. Ryan’s been the director of an oil company, a bartender, and even a live musician. He attended college at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and earned a master’s degree in US History and Teaching from Ashland University. Books: Blood and Treasure (Berkley 2025), The Ghost City (Berkley 2026), CLIVE CUSSLER The Serpent's Eye (Putnam April 2027). Various other projects in print and Hollywood protected by NDA. Find him at https://www.ryanpote.com and @ryanpotebooks (IG, FB, X, Goodreads, Youtube) The Purposeful Pen is a weekly podcast for Christian writers designed to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. Each week you’ll hear practical tips and Biblical truth on topics such as improving your writing, honing your message, and managing your time. I always respond to listener emails and I’d love to hear from you! Amysimon@amylynnsimon.com Disclaimer: I believe in and approach life (and writing) from a distinctly evangelical Christian perspective, but some of my guests may not. When I interview a guest on a specifically spiritual topic, I do my best to know in advance that I can support their theological stances on the topics that relate to our interview. When the topic is not particularly spiritual, our theological views may differ. My interviewing of guests and providing links to their work does not necessarily indicate a complete theological endorsement of all their written work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amylynnsimon.substack.com

    Episode 154: From Navy Pilot to Published Author with Ryan Pote

  3. Sep 22

    Episode 153: The Truth About Calling: Faulty Mindsets Christian Writers Believe

    What does it actually mean to be “called” to write? Do you need that calling to keep going? This week we’re digging into what Scripture says about calling, how to recognize it in your own season of life, and the faulty mindsets that can quietly distort it. In this episode, we cover: * What the Bible primarily means by “calling” (hint: it’s not what you think) * The internal and external elements of recognizing a specific calling, drawing on Jared Wilson’s The Storied Life * Three faulty mindsets that turn a calling into pressure instead of purpose * Why your calling doesn’t have to look like a burning bush — or a book Reflection questions: * Have you sensed both the internal and external parts of a calling to write? * Which faulty mindset tends to pull at you the strongest? Continue the conversation in the comments! You can download the “Christian Writers’ Mindset Makeover” here. The Purposeful Pen is a weekly podcast for Christian writers designed to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. Each week you’ll hear practical tips and Biblical truth on topics such as improving your writing, honing your message, and managing your time. I always respond to listener emails and I’d love to hear from you! Amysimon@amylynnsimon.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amylynnsimon.substack.com

    Episode 153: The Truth About Calling: Faulty Mindsets Christian Writers Believe

  4. Sep 15

    Episode 152: Is it Worth Investing in Your Writing?

    This week we’re tackling a mindset that keeps so many writers stuck: the belief that we aren’t worth investing in. If you’ve ever hesitated to spend money on a writing course, a community membership, or a coach because you weren’t sure you were “serious enough” to justify it, this episode is for you. I share my own story of wrestling with this during Covid, when I felt God nudging me away from writing assorted magazine articles and toward building something of my own: a website, a focused message, an audience I could actually serve. I found an online writing community that felt like exactly what I needed, but it came with a monthly cost, and I froze. Was it worth it? Did I even believe my writing was worth it? Spoiler: investing in that community changed everything. And I think a lot of us need permission to ask the same question about our own writing. What We Cover * The empty-nest season many of my coaching clients are in, and why “what’s next” can feel disorienting after years of pouring into other people * The difference between spending money and investing wisely: courses you finish but never apply, memberships you never fully engage with * Practical ways to invest in your growth as a writer: a paid community like the Writers’ Bloc, a writer’s conference, or working with a coach * Why it’s worth journaling through where this mindset came from in the first place (a practice we talked about back in episode 150) * What it means to be a good steward of the gift of writing, not just a good steward of your money Scripture We Return To Proverbs has plenty to say about the cost of gaining wisdom. But the passage I keep coming back to is the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. Each servant was entrusted with something and asked to invest it, not bury it. If writing is a gift we’ve received, we’re called to invest in it so it can grow and become a blessing to others. Sometimes that means spending money. Sometimes it means spending time. Either way, it’s an act of stewardship, not indulgence. If this episode stirred something up for you, I’d love to help you take the next step. Book a free discovery call and let’s talk about where you’re stuck and what investing in your writing could look like for you. And if you’re not ready for a call yet, join us for Pen Points, our weekly email where we dig into mindset, craft, and calling together. The Purposeful Pen is a weekly podcast for Christian writers designed to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. Each week you’ll hear practical tips and Biblical truth on topics such as improving your writing, honing your message, and managing your time. I always respond to listener emails and I’d love to hear from you! Amysimon@amylynnsimon.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amylynnsimon.substack.com

    Episode 152: Is it Worth Investing in Your Writing?

  5. Sep 8

    Episode 151: Imposter Syndrome for Christian Writers: Why You’re Not a Fraud

    Who am I to have anything of value to offer? If that question has ever stopped you before you started writing, this episode is for you. We’re unpacking imposter syndrome from three angles: two identity issues and one skill issue. The writer you think you’re supposed to be. We often carry a picture in our heads of what a “real” writer looks like: confident, experienced, never stuck. But that picture is usually a myth. Even successful authors write from kitchen tables and bleacher seats, wrestling with the same doubts we do. The spiritual worthiness question. This one runs deeper. We wonder if we’ve “arrived” enough to have something worth saying. Jesus tells us the truth in John 15:5: apart from Him we can do nothing. But that’s not the whole verse. When we abide in Him, we bear much fruit. Our worth to write was never about our own sufficiency. The skill question. Sometimes we’re just not there yet, and that’s okay. Skill grows through writing and through community. We talk about how a space like Writers’ Bloc’s premium membership offers a safe place to get real feedback and grow. A question for you: Which of these three angles hits closest to home? What’s one step you can take this week to lean into what’s actually true? Share in the comments! Resources mentioned:Writers’ Bloc premium membership: www.mywritersbloc.com The Christian Writers’ Mindset Makeover: www.amylynnsimon.com/makeover The Purposeful Pen is a weekly podcast for Christian writers designed to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. Each week you’ll hear practical tips and Biblical truth on topics such as improving your writing, honing your message, and managing your time. I always respond to listener emails and I’d love to hear from you! Amysimon@amylynnsimon.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amylynnsimon.substack.com

    Episode 151: Imposter Syndrome for Christian Writers: Why You’re Not a Fraud

  6. Sep 1

    Episode 150: Faulty Mindsets That Block Christian Writers: A New Season on Writing as Spiritual Formation

    This season, we’re digging into the faulty mindsets and spiritual struggles that surface when we write for others. Writing has a way of pushing our fears and insecurities into the light, and that’s not a bad thing. It’s one of the ways God grows us. In this episode, we talk about: * Why spiritual growth is really about renewing our minds (Romans 12:2) * How writing for publication exposes the lies we believe about ourselves and about God * A simple three-step process for working through any faulty mindset: reveal, investigate, replace * A preview of the mindsets we’ll tackle this season, including “Who am I to have anything of value to offer?” and “It’s prideful of me to promote my work” * Two upcoming interviews: Angie Baughman on rest and seeking God in our writing, and author Ryan Pote on his journey from atheist Navy helicopter pilot to Christian thriller novelist Mentioned in this episode:Download the free Christian Writers’ Mindset Makeover at amylynnsimon.com/makeover. It walks through several of these mindsets, shows you the kernel of truth that keeps you hooked, and gives you Scripture to counter the lie. Sign up for Pen Points, a weekly email that accompanies each episode, giving you a question to consider and some possible next steps. Note: The journaling practice I talk about is not meant to be a quick fix or a substitute for biblical counseling, especially if the “investigate” step involves past trauma. I am not a counselor. Serious issues of your past should be addressed with a godly professional. The Purposeful Pen is a weekly podcast for Christian writers designed to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. Each week you’ll hear practical tips and Biblical truth on topics such as improving your writing, honing your message, and managing your time. I always respond to listener emails and I’d love to hear from you! Amysimon@amylynnsimon.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amylynnsimon.substack.com

    Episode 150: Faulty Mindsets That Block Christian Writers: A New Season on Writing as Spiritual Formation

  7. Jul 28

    Episode 149: What's Next After a Book Proposal?

    This is the last episode of this season until the podcast starts up again in September. In this episode, I recap what we talked about regarding what to do before starting to write your nonfiction book. I also talk about what happens AFTER you finish your book proposal: * Options for editing and evaluation of your proposal * How writing conferences can fast-track your proposal through the submission process * Additional resources to help you make progress If you have ideas for future episodes or season themes, email me at amysimon@amylynnsimon.com. I will still be taking coaching clients in August. Book a free discovery call here. Sign up for Pen Points, the weekly email that accompanies the podcast here. That email will also pause for the month of August but you can still sign up any time. You can find additional free writing resources on my website here. I’ll see you back in September when we’ll dive into common unbiblical mindsets we typically struggle with as writers and how to counter them with truth from God’s Word. See you then! The Purposeful Pen is a weekly podcast for Christian writers designed to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. Each week you’ll hear practical tips and Biblical truth on topics such as improving your writing, honing your message, and managing your time. I always respond to listener emails and I’d love to hear from you! Amysimon@amylynnsimon.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amylynnsimon.substack.com

    Episode 149: What's Next After a Book Proposal?

  8. Jul 21

    Episode 148: Writing a Children's Book Together with the Bryant Family

    Writing a book is a huge endeavor, as we’ve discussed this season. But what would it look like to write a book as a family? The Bryant family has done just that! This homeschooling family of 5 decided to turn a dream into reality and write and publish a children’s book together. In this interview with Bobby and his three kids, BJ, Ava, and Joseph, we talk about where their idea for the book came from and what the writing and publishing process looked like. You’ll hear about the lessons they learned and be encouraged by the close bond this family has together. You can find their book, “Trusting Timothy: a Story about Cheating” here. About the Bryant family: The Bryants are a Christian homeschooling family, who deeply believe in the power of God's Word and the importance of growing into the best version of yourself. Their debut children's book, "Trusting Timothy: A Story about Cheating", not only delivers a powerful message, but also serves as a testament to the creative freedom and flexibility that homeschooling provides. They are deeply driven by the desire to instill in today's youth principles of excellence and to remind them that with God, all things are possible. You can find them on their website and on Instagram. Additional resources mentioned in the episode: Stuck to Steady Pen Points The Purposeful Pen is a weekly podcast for Christian writers designed to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. Each week you’ll hear practical tips and Biblical truth on topics such as improving your writing, honing your message, and managing your time. I always respond to listener emails and I’d love to hear from you! Amysimon@amylynnsimon.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amylynnsimon.substack.com

    Episode 148: Writing a Children's Book Together with the Bryant Family
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Are you a Christian writer who is trying to figure out your next steps in communicating the message God has given you? Or maybe you love to write, but you aren't sure what exactly is the message you have to offer others or who needs to hear what you have to say. In this podcast for Christian writers, you'll hear a mix of practical help and Biblical truth to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. amylynnsimon.substack.com

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