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. 3d ago

    Episode 159: The ‘How’ and ‘Why’ of Rest in a Christian Writer’s Life with Angie Baughman

    This week I spoke with Angie Baughman about the importance of rest in the life of a Christian writer. We recorded the interview back in August, but as I edited it and got it ready to go live, I realized I need to practice what we were talking about! So there will be a wrap up episode next week, and then I’m going to take a longer break from producing new episodes until at least January. That will allow me to work on some other projects and practice what I preach! How about you? What role does rest play in your writing life and life in general? If you’ve ever wondered if you’ve worked hard enough to “earn” rest or if you “deserve” rest, then listen in to this conversation! Angie Baughman is a licensed pastor, Bible teacher, and founder of Steady On Ministries. She created the Step By Step Bible study method, a simple, transferable approach that helps women understand Scripture for themselves. Through her own journey of healing and studying God’s Word, Angie now teaches from a place of redemption, helping women grow in clarity and truth. Learn more at https://livesteadyon.com/ and download a free Step By Step Starter Kit to jumpstart your Bible study journey. Resources: Writers’ Bloc Winter Cohort Christian Writers’ 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 Disclaimer: I believe in and approach life (and writing) from a distinctly evangelical Christian perspective. 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 159: The ‘How’ and ‘Why’ of Rest in a Christian Writer’s Life with Angie Baughman

  2. Oct 27

    Episode 158: Fear of Vulnerability in Writing: How to Publish Your Work Without Feeling Exposed

    Writing is deeply personal, even when we’re not sharing our own story. Publishing a social media post, an article, or a book can leave us feeling exposed and unsafe, and sharing our personal stories can raise the stakes even higher. So how do we move forward? In this episode, we get honest about why sharing our writing is scary and look at practical, faith-rooted ways to face the fear instead of letting it keep us silent. In this episode, you’ll learn: * Why vague fears hold us captive and how naming exactly what we’re afraid of gives us something to work with * How to get honest, constructive feedback before you publish, and where to find the right people to give it * What it may mean if criticism feels soul-crushing, and how to bring that to Jesus * How to ease into sharing your personal stories, and why you don’t have to share everything * How to handle stories that involve other people, including why prayerful consideration and conversations with those affected come first * Why publishing gets easier the more you do it, and what it means to “do it scared” Key takeaway: Fear isn’t a lack of courage. It just means a little more courage is required to move forward. Reflection questions: * What, specifically, am I afraid of when I think about publishing my writing? * Who could give me honest, constructive feedback before I hit publish? * Where might I be looking to others’ opinions, rather than Christ, for my worth? Resources mentioned: * The Writers’ Bloc online writing community (a place to find feedback partners) * Last week’s episode on getting specific about getting specific about what holds us back Connect with me:Visit amylynnsimon.com for coaching, resources, and to subscribe to the Pen Points newsletter. 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 158: Fear of Vulnerability in Writing: How to Publish Your Work Without Feeling Exposed

  3. Oct 20

    Episode 157: Go Big or Go Home? Why Your Writing Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect to Serve God

    Episode summary Have you ever thought, “If I can’t write a bestseller with a major publisher, why bother?” Or held back your writing until it felt perfect? This week we’re tackling the “go big or go home” mindset, the belief that our writing only has value if it’s flawless and reaches a massive audience. We look at where this all-or-nothing thinking comes from, why it can be a way of protecting ourselves from failure, and what God actually values. We also talk about how perfectionism can quietly turn into disobedience, and why imperfect writing and imperfect motives can still serve others. In this episode, we talk about: * Where the “go big or go home” mindset comes from, including our expectations of what a writer is “supposed” to be * How this mindset can protect us from our own definition of failure * Why bigger is not necessarily better in God’s economy * The many ways we can use our gift of writing to serve others, with or without a book * How to “define your terms” so vague mindsets lose their hold on us * Why your writing will never be perfect this side of eternity, and what that means for publishing * Why our motives will never be perfectly pure, and why we can serve anyway Key takeaways * Writing doesn’t have to become a bestseller to be worthwhile. God values faithfulness and a heart that loves Him. * It’s not wrong to want to grow your audience, but you’re not a failure if you’re content to serve a smaller one. * Vague mindsets hold us captive. Defining them in detail helps us debunk them. * Keep growing in your craft, but don’t wait for perfection before you share your work. * Imperfect writing and imperfect motives can still serve the Body of Christ. Reflection questions * What level of success would make your time and effort feel worthwhile? Describe it exactly: which publisher, what size of audience, what measure of success? * What does “my writing must be perfect” actually mean to you? How would you know when you’ve reached it? * What does your “all or nothing” mindset sound like? Write it down, then debunk it with what is true. Mentioned in this episode * Episode 143: Interview with Sarah Steele, who serves her local community through writing, poetry, and songwriting Connect with Amy * Website: amylynnsimon.com * Newsletter: 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 157: Go Big or Go Home? Why Your Writing Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect to Serve God

  4. Oct 13

    Episode 156: Is Promoting Your Writing Prideful as Christian?

    Does promoting your writing make you prideful? Many Christian writers quietly believe it does, and that belief keeps good writing from reaching the people who need it. In this episode, we continue our look at faulty mindsets by defining what “promoting our work” actually means, comparing it to boasting, and asking whether we should simply pray and let God bring the readers. We also look at how clear titles and a focused message serve readers and help them find us. In this episode, we talk about * Defining our terms: promotion as placing our writing where readers can find it, not announcing how great our writing is * Why marketing is a way of serving our reader, not boasting * The “God should do the promotion” objection, and why He typically works through natural means * Lessons from raising ministry support with Cru, and how George Mueller’s situation differs from ours * The argument that Jesus never promoted His ministry, and how He still went where the people were * Why writing that solves a problem or meets a need is easier for readers to find and benefit from * Where personal stories and encouragement-focused writing fit Key takeaway Getting our writing into a place and format where our ideal reader can find it and benefit from it is another way we serve that reader, which is the reason we write for others in the first place. Reflect on this week What is your next step toward writing for a specific reader and placing that writing where they can find it? Resources mentioned * “Simple SEO for Christian Writers” course by Jana Carlson * Podcast Episode 44, interview with Jana Carlson on SEO Connect * Subscribe to Pen Points, our weekly email newsletter * Download the Christian Writers’ Mindset Makeover * Learn more about coaching and resources: amylynnsimon.com 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 156: Is Promoting Your Writing Prideful as Christian?

  5. Oct 6

    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

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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?
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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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