by Beth K. Vogt, @bethvogt
There are times when we need to get back to fundamentals as writers.
This is one of those times.
The coronavirus pandemic has unsettled life in general, and the writing world in specific. We’re unsure what the publishing industry will look like when the COVID-19 dust settles. Most of the news articles and social media posts are not promising at best. Dire, at their worst.
This is a good time to regroup while we wait for the announcement that we no longer have to shelter at home and wear masks when we got outside. As writers, it’s a good time to go back to the basics. I’d like to suggest we do two things:
- Don’t Quit. “Anxiety weighs the heart down …” (Proverbs 12:25) We are all bearing up under the stress of the pandemic. Illness. Job loss. Separation. Added responsibilities, such as homeschooling our children. But we also continue to carry our normal worries. Real life doesn’t stop for a worldwide health crisis, even if aren’t allowed to do normal things like go to the movies or walk to the playground with our toddlers or go out to the coffee shop to write. Some of us have upcoming book releases or deadlines. When we hear ominous predictions about the future of publishing or get frustrating news from our publisher, we are tempted to quit. Don’t. “Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” Pelé (1940-), Brazilian retired footballer
- Pray.“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” (Proverbs 16:9) During times of unexpected change, we tend to start making plans. We want to figure out ways to manage the change. To control what’s happening – the present circumstances, as well as the unknown future. Years ago, when I was involved in women’s ministry, we always said, “Pray first, then plan. And when necessary, pray more.” Wondering what you should do? Remember God is not a God of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33), and reacting can sometimes be overreacting. Pause. Pray. And seek wise counsel. Sometimes the best thing to do is to do nothing – at least for a time. Pray. Gather information. Pray. Evaluate your resources. Pray. Discern if your path is straight ahead or if God is leading you in a new direction. “Possibility lies in praying.” Lailah Gifty Akita, writer & founder of the Smart Youth Volunteers Foundation
How can you choose what is right for you when your decision will break the heart of someone you love? Having abandoned her childhood dream years ago, Johanna Thatcher knows what she wants from life. Discovering that her fiancé was cheating on her only convinces Johanna it’s best to maintain control and protect her heart.
Despite years of distance and friction, Johanna and her sisters, Jillian and Payton, have moved from a truce toward a fragile friendship. But then Johanna reveals she has the one thing Jillian wants most and may never have—and Johanna doesn’t want it. As Johanna wrestles with a choice that will change her life and her relationships with her sisters forever, the cracks in Jillian’s marriage and faith deepen. Through it all, the Thatcher sisters must decide once and for all what it means to be family.
Beth K. Vogt is a non-fiction author and editor who said she’d never write fiction. She’s the wife of an Air Force family physician (now in solo practice) who said she’d never marry a doctor—or anyone in the military. She’s a mom of four who said she’d never have kids. Now Beth believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” The Best We’ve Been, the final book in Beth’s Thatcher Sisters Series with Tyndale House Publishers, releases May 2020. Other books in the series include Things I Never Told You, which one the 2019 AWSA Award for Contemporary Novel of the Year, and Moments We Forget.
Beth is a 2016 Christy Award winner, a 2016 ACFW Carol Award winner, and a 2015 RITA® finalist. Her 2014 novel, Somebody Like You, was one of Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Books of 2014. A November Bride was part of the Year of Wedding Series by Zondervan. Having authored nine contemporary romance novels or novellas, Beth believes there’s more to happily-ever-after than the fairy tales tell us.
An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Learn How to Write a Novel and The Write Conversation and also enjoys speaking to writers group and mentoring other writers. She lives in Colorado with her husband Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people. Connect with Beth at bethvogt.com.