Writing with grace

Write Your Story, Change Your Life

September 20, 2016 by Ann Leave a Comment

I started writing my story years ago; long before I was anywhere near a book contract or a marketing team, I felt that the Lord was inviting me into a process of writing my story down and–in the process–meeting him in the middle of it. I’m not sure I’ve done anything more powerful in my personal spiritual journey than write my memoir.

Memoir is the genre that I love the most, because it’s the genre that allows us–even gently forces us–to re-examine the lives that we have been living as we write them down on the page. A good memoir isn’t autobiography, and it isn’t a personal journal. It’s the true story of our lives written in such a way that others can understand, access, and be changed by it.

I’m not sure there’s a more dynamic form of the written word.

Our God is the God of story, and he loves making himself known through our stories; it’s how he’s wired us. We start loving stories as children, and we inherently know when a story has a satisfying or unacceptable ending, because we were made to long for resolution, peace, and hope.

Our God is the God of story, and he loves making himself known through our stories. Share on X

If you’ve always wanted to write your story, or if you’ve been wondering how you can tell your story in a meaningful way, I’m going to suggest that writing your memoir might be one of the most powerful things you can do in your personal journey with Jesus. Down the road, might your story impact hundreds or thousands of people? I hope so! But in these days and months, writing your story will transform you most of all. I know that it has transformed me; I got to see Jesus at work all over again as I’ve written my memoir over the past years.

I just opened registration for the Writing with Grace Memoir course that I’ll be teaching this fall. To say that I’m thrilled about this class is an understatement; I’m practically jumping out of my chair!

Registration is open for Writing with Grace: Memoir! www.writingwithgrace.com #amwriting Share on X

I’d love for you to join me over at Writing with Grace–you can even see the new video that we created just for this course.

If you’ve been aching to write your story, this is your time. I can’t wait to see you there!

Don’t Write to Get Published

August 5, 2016 by Ann 2 Comments

I have a deep respect for The Gospel Coalition and the work that they are doing online and in the “real” world as an organization that unabashedly proclaims the truth of the Bible. I was able to attend The Gospel Coalition Women’s Conference in June, and just this week I had the opportunity to write for their blog. It was an honor to write for TGC about one of my favorite topics! You can link to the full article here.

And, if you’re a fellow writer, make sure to read all the way to the end of the article at TGC, where I offer a discount code for my Writing with Grace course–registration is open until the 17th of August (and don’t forget to check out the site and the brand-new video I released)!

Here’s the start of the article for The Gospel Coalition:

For those of us who love words, we’re drawn to the clack of the keyboard and the parsing of meaning on the page. We feel alive as we wrangle words into sentences; some of us even feel closer to God as we work out our faith by writing about it. Time spent writing feels important, even holy.

For those of us who love words, we’re drawn to the clack of the keyboard. We feel alive as we wrangle words into sentences. #amwriting Share on X

But for many of us, running parallel with our love of writing is the desire to get published. This desire can be fueled by the culture at large, which says our writing only matters if our readership is huge and our byline well known. Publication is commonly assumed to be the goal of the writing life, and seeing our words in print the truest form of validation for our work.

As an author and teacher of writing, I often have conversations with other writers fixated on publication. They’re desperate to see their work published somewhere. They want to know how to start a writing career, or how to get the inside scoop on writing for a top magazine.

In response to their questions, I have to ask: Do you want to be published? Or do you want to write?

Do you want to be published? Or do you want to write? Share on X

These aren’t the same question, although many of us confuse one for the other. For as much as writing is tethered to publishing, getting published doesn’t make a writer. Writing makes a writer.

Read the rest of the article over at The Gospel Coalition, and don’t miss out on open registration for Writing with Grace!

Filed Under: God, Guest Post, Writing Tagged With: am writing, amwriting, Christian writing, I want to be a Christian writer, I want to be a writer, I want to get published, The Gospel Coalition, Writing, writing class, writing for the Gospel Coalition, Writing with grace

Five Ways to Keep Jesus Central this Holiday Season

December 8, 2015 by Ann 1 Comment

Life doesn’t stop in any season, especially during the busy Christmas season full of t0-do lists, parties, shopping, and, (hopefully!) worship opportunities. So how can we still try to focus our hearts in a deeper way on the presence of God in our lives, especially during Advent? How can we attend to how he is moving and how we are (or are not) responding to his love?

Here are some simple steps that I’ve found are helpful to stay close to Jesus in the busy days of Advent:

1. Start with Scripture. It sounds simple, but it can also be very hard to read the Word regularly. I have found, for me, that when I start my day in the Bible, my heart and mind are better prepared to respond to God’s presence throughout the rest of the day. Aligning my mind and heart with his Word in the morning is like tying up my shoelaces before going out the door—it’s much easier to keep from slipping as I walk through the day. If this isn’t a normal part of your life, that’s ok! Start by reading just a few verses at a time, and ask God to speak to your heart with his truth.

2. Pray as you go. It is important to have regular time set aside to pray, but as in any relationship, ongoing communication is important. I often pray in shorter bursts while I’m driving, or while I’m walking across campus to my classroom, or while I’m picking up toys in the house. I had a professor in college who prayed for a particular person each time he turned on a light switch, and I love that idea of partnering normal, daily actions with intentional prayer. Prayer doesn’t need to be fancy or long—just honest communication with God.

3. Pause when you feel overwhelmed. This is an important one for me. There are often multiple times every day where I can feel overwhelmed, anxious, or concerned—usually about things that are outside of my control. If I take time to pause and turn to God when these moments come, rather than letting fear or anxiety overtake me, I find that he has never left my side, and He is always offering me his peace, which is bigger than any fear (Phil. 4:6-7). The time it takes me to pause and pray is always shorter than the time it takes me to be worried about something for another five minutes—or five days!

4. Listen to Truth. In our home and in our cars, Michael and I play music that reminds us of God’s presence in our lives. Music seeps into my mind more easily (and mindlessly) than most things, so if I find myself humming a tune unintentionally, it helps my soul if it’s a song that reminds me of who God is and how he loves me. If you don’t love listening to music, find a radio station or audio book that declares the truth of who God is and listen to it in your car or while you’re working out.

5. Place reminders of God’s love and presence in your home. I am a visual learner, and it helps my heart when I have visual reminders of God’s heart in my house, my office, and even in my car! You can go the fancy route and buy (or paint) a representation of a Scripture and hang it up in your kitchen or bedroom, or you can write a favorite verse on a sticky note and put it by the radio dial in your car. Choose a Scripture verse that is meaningful to you and let it remind you of God’s particular love for you and attention to your life.

How do you keep your heart close to Christ during Advent? I’d love for you to share your insights!

This post is a holiday version of a previously published blog post on my site.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Ann Swindell, Christmas, faith, Focusing on Jesus, God, how do I stay close to Jesus, how do I stay close to Jesus during Advent, I feel anxious, I feel overwhelmed, Jesus, Keeping Christ in Christmas, my soul is tired, Praying as you go, Scripture on my walls, spiritual practices for Advent, Writing with grace

Writing with Grace: One Day Left!

December 1, 2015 by Ann 1 Comment

If you’ve been thinking about signing up for Writing with Grace, now’s the time!

Registration for the Writing with Grace course is only open for one more day. Just one! Take a moment and consider about how your life–and the lives of those around you–could be impacted if you invested in your writing.

If you’re struggling in your calling as a writer, it might be because you haven’t given yourself time to grow as a writer. It becomes too easy for us to push our dreams and callings into the margin of our lives, telling ourselves that “the timing isn’t right” or that “we can’t spend too much on ourselves.” We will willingly pour our time, resources, and energy into others–and that’s a good thing.

But it’s also a good thing to invest in your gifts and in your calling.

Writing is a gift that the Lord has given to you so that you can impact others in His name–with his love and his truth. It’s not selfish or self-seeking to pour time and resources into your calling as a writer. I truly believe that when our hearts are centered on Christ, writing with and for Him is a deeply important Kingdom assignment.

This is why I care so much about this course, and why I believe in it so deeply–because I know that when we grow as writers who are focused on Jesus, it will impact the world with the love of Christ. That’s worth investing in.

Join me and head over to Writing with Grace to read about the course schedule–and imagine how you might grow as a writer this winter.

Photo by Ann White Photography

You can watch the classes live, re-watch them late at night or during nap times, and hear from editors at (in)courage, RELEVANT, and Darling Magazine.

We’re going to have a wonderful, powerful time together this January through February. It’s worth it to invest in your calling as a writer–because your words and your story matter in the Kingdom.

Head over to www.writingwithgrace.com and secure your spot for class.

There’s only one day left to sign up, so don’t put this off!

I can’t wait to see you there.

[If you know of a friend or family member who might be interested in Writing with Grace, pass it along today and don’t let them miss out on this course. Or, give the class as a gift–and make someone’s Christmas that much richer!]

Filed Under: God, Life, Writing Tagged With: Ann Swindell, Christian writing, faith, how do I write as a Christian, online writing class, writing class, writing for Jesus, Writing with grace

Writing with Grace Registration is Live Today!

November 17, 2015 by Ann 1 Comment

Photo by Ann White Photography

I’ve mentioned it here before, but I’ll be teaching a six-week writing course this January through February, and I couldn’t be more excited! I’ve been teaching writing and creative writing on the college level for years, and now I’m teaching this material in a power-packed course online, live, in a webinar format.

I’m also thrilled to have three editors joining this course to talk with students about the publishing world from the inside out. If you want to grow as a writer, if you want to strengthen your writing voice and sharpen your writing ability–this course is for you!

Registration is live now–but only for two weeks! Head over to the Writing with Grace Course website to read all about the six-week schedule, the editors who will be joining us, and details about what you can expect.

I believe in the power of words to transform the world, because Jesus is the Living Word, and we can learn to harness the beauty and strength of words to point others–and our own souls–to Him. If that sounds life-giving to you, join me over at www.writingwithgrace.com!