Nine Steps from Fear to Freedom

By Debby Giusti

My first book was released in 2007, the year this blog went live. Nine years later, I came up with nine steps that took me from the fear I felt as a new author to freedom. I wanted to share them with you today.

Pray. In my opinion, everything should begin with prayer. We were a military family and moved every two to three years. Each time we changed locations, I prayed for the Lord to direct my steps to what he wanted for my life.

Make a decision to write. I had published a few articles when my children were young, but as they grew, I set aside my love for writing and volunteered heavily in their schools, in our church and within the military community in which we lived. All the while, the Lord gently reminded me about my heart’s desire to write. When we moved to Georgia, I realized I was running out of time and needed to try my hand at writing again. 

Ignore the negatives. Early on, I purchased Julia Cameron’s book, THE ARTIST’S WAY. Cameron talks about the negative voice that lives within each of us. It’s the discourager who rears its ugly head all too frequently with caustic rhetoric, such as “Who do you think you are? You will never be a writer,” or “You’re stupid to expend so much energy on something in which you will never succeed,” or even, “Get real. You’re too dumb to write.”

I controlled the negative voice by following Cameron’s advice. She says to turn each negative into a positive and write it five time. When Mr. Negative whispers, “Who are you trying to fool? You’re not a writer,” I countered by writing and rewriting “I am a writer. I am a writer. I am a writer.”

Fiction mirrors life. The characters in our stories have baggage and so do most of us. Screenwriting consultant Michael Hauge, in his book, WRITING SCREENPLAYS THAT SELL, encourages writers to explore past wounds that shape the way their characters act. Characters must overcome or heal their brokenness before they can live fully in the present.      

My father was an excellent technical writer, and in my youth, he always corrected my creative attempts, perhaps a bit overzealously. Growing into adulthood, I never felt my writing measured up to his standards. Realizing that even my dad would have struggled to create a full-length work of fiction freed me to move forward on my writing journey.

Put God in control.  Soon after receiving “The Call,” I penned “The Writer’s Prayer.” The Lord provided the words, and I was merely the scribe. As many of you know, I give the prayer away at conferences and in mailings, and so many authors have told me how meaningful the prayer has been in their own lives. “The Writer’s Prayer” sits next to my computer and always helps me focus as I start to write. It also reminds me that the Lord is in charge of my career. 

We’re not alone. While working on an especially tight deadline in the wee hours of the night, I was overcome with fear that creating the next story depended totally on me. Thankfully, I was able to power through that fear and complete the manuscript on time. The truth is that authors have the support and expertise of their editors, copy editors and marketing and art departments. That entire team is working together to make the story the best it can be. 

It’s common knowledge that writing is a solitary profession. Whether published or pre-pubbed, writers need to surround themselves with writing friends, critique partners and blog communities, like Seekerville, for support, affirmation and encouragement. 

Analyze the process. Once we have a few books under our belts, we might see a pattern in the way we write. By understanding our process, we can take comfort, knowing we have faced doubts before and have gone on to accomplish our goals. My husband and children remind me that with each book I go through the this-is-the-worst-thing-I’ve-ever-written phase, the this-story-will-never-work phase, the I-should-just give-up phase, and how-can-I-call-myself-a-writer phase. Eventually, the story is completed, submitted and, with the help of my wonderful editor, reaches publication.

No ticking time bombs. Our stories have ticking time bombs, but that’s not what we need in life. Instead, we need to set achievable goals and give ourselves adequate time to complete our projects, to learn new craft techniques and to write our books or get our stories ready for submission. As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither was a writing career.

God’s timing is always perfect. Some years ago, I meditated on the idea of God’s perfect time and realized He always provided the wherewithal for me to write my stories and make my deadlines. That realization brought a sense of security. Now even when I’m short on time or when I’ve overextended my schedule, I trust that the Lord will provide enough time—His perfect time—for me to complete the work. 

What steps have you taken to overcome fear and achieve your goals? 

Wishing you abundant blessings!

Happy writing!

Debby Giusti

www.DebbyGiusti.com

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A deadly explosion.
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After an explosion rocks Becca Klein’s bakery and kills one of her customers, she teams up with the victim’s son to find justice. Though estranged from his father, Englischer Luke Snyder is compelled to help the Amish woman uncover why his father died. But ruthless killers believe Luke’s father gave Becca something they want, and they’ll stop at nothing to get it. Can Luke keep Becca safe until they discover the truth?

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