What Does It Feel Like to Be a Writer: With Amy Carroll
We’re finishing our “What Does It Feel Like to Be a Writer” series with our own Amy Carroll.
What did it feel like to be a writer when you first began writing?
I’ve always described myself as a reluctant writer. In a communicators’ world where there are speakers who write and writers who speak, I’m most definitely a speaker who writes. Speaking is my comfort zone, whereas writing is much more challenging for me. Still, since I was a child, I’ve always had people who encouraged me and told me that I have a gift. That encouragement has kept me going!
My writing really developed over the first ten years I wrote devotions for Proverbs 31 Ministries’ “Encouragement for Today.” At first, it was difficult to get used to the editing process, because my formerly perfectionistic-self processed edits as failures. Over time, I began to embrace it as a way to hone the craft of writing.
Even though writing has been laborious for me, it’s a constructive way to slow down my do-er personality in order to process and think. I have a deep love for the refining work that writing does in the depths of my soul.
How have your feelings or thoughts evolved over time?
For over 15 years, I’ve written devotions regularly, and now I’m also the author of Breaking Up with Perfect and the co-author of Exhale, written with Cheri Gregory. Here’s my list of the top five things I’ve learned as I’ve committed to writing:
- When God lays a message on my heart, He’s irresistible. Because I’m willing to follow Him any where He goes in order to proclaim the messages He’s given me, I write. It’s one more way to convey His message, and it’s been an adventure!
- I’m better as a person when I’m writing. My process for each devotion and every chapter is to start with the study of a focal passage of Scripture. Studying keeps me close to Jesus, and writing is the by-product.
- I’m growing as I write because I have to live my message. There’s nothing like the accountability of your words in print!
- Even though writing is difficult for me, I love the connection it gives me to others. With all the ways for our readers to connect with us these days– blog comments, social media, email– the joy of hearing what influenced them in our writing is a source of great joy.
- The community of Christian writers is second-to-none. I love the relationships that have sprung from this realm of my life. There is so much support and love.
Although I still consider myself a reluctant writer, I’ve grown into a tremendously thankful writer too!
Which of Amy’s answers resonated with you? We’d love to hear!
If you’ve been wondering what it would be like to work with Amy as a coach, here’s that her client, Elisha Kearns, had to say in a thank you note:
Hi Amy!
It’s been a few weeks since our last phone call and I just wanted to send you a quick email saying THANK YOU!
Thank you for helping me build the confidence I needed.
Thank you for pushing me when I wanted to quit.
Thank you for steering me in the right direction when I would start to veer off.
Thank you for being such a JOY to talk to at 9am!
Thank you for putting up with me during my meltdowns 🙂
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
Without you and your amazing talent and coaching, I wouldn’t have been able to do as well as I did with this assignment!
I FOR SURE plan on using you in the future!
~Elisha Kearns