Most writing advice assumes you have a healthy body and a full tank of energy. But what if you don't? What if chronic pain, fatigue, brain fog, or an autoimmune disease makes every paragraph a fight?

Some authors have a bad week or a bad month, but others deal with conditions unlikely to ever go away.

So how do you write with a chronic health challenge?

In this week’s episode, you’ll hear from Glenna Marshall, who has published six books and many articles, most of them while living with a painful and rare autoimmune disease. Her new book, Praying in Pain, is the resource she wished someone had handed her when the pain first started 16 years ago.

You’ll discover

• Scheduling tips that can help you get the most out of your good days.
• Tools that can help you work when you can barely walk.
• Encouragement for your soul for the very hard days
• What to do when you can’t do anything

Whether you live with chronic illness yourself or you want to understand a fellow writer who does, this episode will change the way you think about productivity, calling, and what faithfulness looks like when every word costs more than it should.

Blog Link: https://www.christianpublishingshow.com/how-to-keep-writing-when-your-body-wont-cooperate/

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How long have you been working on your novel? Has it been years? How do you know when it’s finished?

Have you considered why you might not have finished it yet?

What if you could finish a book in two months? Would it be a better book than the one you’ve spent years writing? Or would it be worse?

In this week’s episode, you’ll hear from Colleen Mitchell, a writing coach and host of the Novel Writing Podcast, who spent years running a 60-Day Novel Writing Challenge that's taken writers of every skill level from blank page to finished draft.

You’ll learn:

• When rewriting might be keeping you from finishing
• How to propel yourself through the “messy middle”
• Whether you should write faster (or not)
• Where you can find free guidance and a system for finishing your book

Whether you're sitting on a half-finished manuscript or an idea that's been in your head for years, listen in or read the blog version to find a practical roadmap to get it done.

Blog Link: https://www.christianpublishingshow.com/how-to-write-a-novel-in-60-days-with-colleen-mitchell/

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Have you ever finished a book you loved, handed it to a friend, and heard back, "It was fine"?

That disconnect has nothing to do with the quality of the writing. It has everything to do with a principle C.S. Lewis understood well enough to write classics that have endured for decades.

In this week's episode, I sat down with bestselling novelist Angela Hunt to break down the four ancient loves that drive all fiction, and how mastering them can help you produce a bestseller and a classic.

You’ll learn

• The type of love almost every genre needs more of, and why the most violent stories need it most.
• How the loneliness epidemic is creating a massive hunger in readers, and which type of love lonely readers are yearning for.
• The type of love that makes for a classic but is hardest to write and easiest to botch. Get it wrong and your climax feels cheesy. Get it right and readers won't shut up about your book.

We also explore the dark side of each love and how to use that tension to propel your plot forward.

If the stakes in your story aren’t working or you’re sick of cheap, salacious storylines, listen in or read the blog version to learn how to incorporate these four types of love into your story. This one might change how you outline your next book or build your characters.

Blog link: https://www.authormedia.com/the-four-loves-that-drive-fiction/

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About a year ago I launched a new podcast and YouTube show called Author Update. It is primarily a news show but recently we covered a news story I wanted to share with you here on the Christian Publishing Show.

Pope Leo XIV recently published an encyclical titled MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS. It the the best theological breakdown I’ve seen on AI, and that means a lot coming from me because I’m not Catholic. I’m not aware of any authoritative stances on AI from either the Orthodox or Protestant churches, which means, if and when those do come out, they will be responding to and echoing the Pope’s Encyclical.

If you have ever been curious about how, when, and why Christians can use AI I think you will find this breakdown helpful. But I want to share one other news story first that will help give some context. This story is about the Anti AI Butalrian Jihad that my cohost Jonathan Surger and I break down.

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Steve Laube and Thomas Umstattd, Jr. answer questions from authors about publishing and discuss Steve's new book for writers called Sacred Margins.

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A kid in my fifth-grade Sunday school class recently asked, "What's social media?"

She had no idea. And she wasn't the only one.

Gen Alpha grew up with less screen time, more parental guardrails, and completely different expectations for the stories they want to read. That means, middle-grade books are going through a shift right now, and the rest of publishing will feel it soon.

On this week's episode of the Christian Publishing Show, you’ll hear from award-winning middle grade author J.J. Johnson, who shares how to write books that reluctant readers actually want to pick up.

You'll learn:

• What word count and chapter length are best for this new generation of readers.
• Which protagonists are resonating with them (Hint: think Minecraft, not Diary of a Wimpy Kid.)
• How to title and write books that interest kids (and are willingly purchased by their parents!)

If you want to write for middle-grade readers, who will soon become YA and adult readers, you need to know how they are different from previous generations of readers. Listen in or read the blog version to get the inside scoop.

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To say yes to something good, you often have to say no to other things. In the past, we’ve discussed that sometimes quitting writing is the right move for your career and life.

But what about when you know you can't quit?

What do you do when you feel called to write but the work is hard, success is nowhere in sight, and you're dragging your feet? What if you need the income from writing to feed your family?

In this episode of the Christian Publishing Show, Brian Hicks joins me to talk about how writers can keep going. Brian has spent decades studying what separates people who push through from people who give up.

You’ll learn:

• The ultimate motivation hack for Christian writers that has nothing to do with bestseller lists or sales
• The daily choice that will change your writing life
• The best (and worst) way to start your writing career

Listen in or read the blog version to find out how you can keep writing when you're broke, rejected, and exhausted.

Blog Link: https://www.christianpublishingshow.com/how-to-stay-motivated-when-writing-gets-hard/

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Have you ever watched a medical show and thought, “Is that how CPR really works”?

Your readers are thinking the same thing about your book.

In the Google era, writing sloppy medical details was risky for your writing career. In the AI era, they’re deadly to your credibility and career. Readers now carry little AI tools in their pockets that can pass medical exams. If your character survives a car crash and goes boxing in the next chapter, someone will notice.

In this month’s episode, I interview physician and award-winning novelist Ronda Wells of NovelMalpractice.com about how to write medically accurate fiction, even if you have zero medical background.

You’ll learn

• How concussions and amnesia can be related (but aren’t always!)
• How to use medical events (and their consequences) to increase tension in your story
• Why the “sip and die” trope rarely makes sense
• How historical context changes everything from treatments to fatality

Medical accuracy does not kill drama. It intensifies it.

If you want deeper tension, stronger verisimilitude, and stories that honor your readers’ trust, listen in or read the blog version.

Blog Link: https://www.christianpublishingshow.com/how-to-keep-bad-medicine-from-killing-your-novels-credibility/

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