Take Time to Spur One Another On

by Stephanie Cardel @stephaniecardel

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10: 24-25, NIV).

I didn’t become a Christian until I was married with two kids. It was a difficult transition for my friendships. Most of my best friends were not believers. They were great people who “believed in God,” but they had no personal relationship with Christ. They didn’t understand my sudden desire to be in the Word, to go to church, and to talk about the Gospel. Time after time, they blew me off. That was hard. But I made new friends—friends who were also sisters, friends who have continually, faithfully offered godly advice and encouragement, mentored me, kept me engaged in Bible study, and prayed for me and with me in life’s ups and downs.

The Bible has much to say about the importance of true friends and even more about not being involved with false friends. In my YA novel, This Isn’t Shakespeare, the main character turns to her best friend for advice, and the resulting conversation leaves Maddy questioning her resolve to wait for marriage for intimacy. Even Christian best friends don’t always have good advice. I hit on this exact topic in my youth devotional, Whatever is True, which I wrote as a companion to the novel because it digs deeper into the many hard topics in the book. In the week titled, “The Truth About Purity,” one devotional focuses on the importance of having not just godly friendships to hold them accountable but also mentors to advise them. 

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls but has no one to help them up” (Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10, NIV). 

For that reason, I try to attend, even if it’s only by Zoom, the ACFW workshops when I can. I recently attended my local ACFW chapter meeting in person. (Some attended through Zoom.) I hadn’t been able to find the time to attend this particular group meeting in several months, but this time I was the guest speaker, so I had to be there. Even though I went to encourage others, it was a great encouragement to me. 

It’s important for writers to be intentional about making time for fellowship with writer friends. If they’re Christians too, all the better. Sharing experiences about our journeys to publication, sharing writing tips, critiquing each other’s work, definitely spurs us on. Getting published is a slow and sometimes discouraging road. Maybe a bit like our sanctification process, that “long obedience in the same direction.” 

As with our Christian walk, it’s important to have writing friends further along in the publishing journey to mentor us and critique our writing. Feedback from beta readers who are family and friends can be helpful when it comes to plot, but someone giving you writing advice who doesn’t know much about writing may not be helpful. That’s why attending conferences and writing groups is so important to learn craft.

As an author, literary agent, and freelance editor who may be further along on this journey than some of you, I want to take my own advice and share with you what I believe are the two most important revision tips. Focusing on these two things will push your manuscript to the front of the line when querying. Most of us know the basics when revising: avoid adverbs, show don’t tell, avoid filter words. All very important. But the two things your story needs to be unputdownable are: 

1. Tension
2. Deep POV (Point of View)

A writer’s most important job is to engage the reader. You can’t do that without tension and a deep POV. From the first paragraph, you want the reader to be asking questions that make them keep reading to find the answers, and you want them to be deeply invested in your main character’s goal. If nothing is being risked on page one, readers might not care enough to stay. Once you get them to stay, you need to keep them turning pages with tension.

You also want the voice to be compelling. The number one reason an editor or agent rejects is: “didn’t connect with the voice.” That’s code for “this doesn’t have deep POV.” The author is so busy establishing the scene, they distance the reader with filter words instead of rooting the reader in the main character and their problem—the problem isn’t necessarily what the reader cares about—how the main character reacts to the problem is what hooks them.

As I say in my devotional book, stronger together is part of a purity mindset. But God doesn’t call us to community only so we can be held accountable. It’s also so we can bear fruit for His glory. Christian authors may or may not write “Christian” books, but we all seek to glorify God with the gifts He has given us. One of the ways we do that is to “spur one another on.” So, go to those workshops, conferences, meet-ups, and write-ins whenever you can. Join critique groups or find a critique partner. Read blogs like this one, sign up for newsletters, and comment on posts. Even if you’re not looking for help right now, the help you give someone else could be how you glorify God with your gifts in this season.

Stephanie Cardel writes hope-filled stories with flawed characters who find redemption. She is the founder of Lighthouse Literary Agency. When she’s not agenting, writing or editing, she’s usually reading or playing with her grandchildren. Her debut novel, This Isn’t Shakespeare, has been named a finalist in the Carol Awards.