As a fellow Christian writer, I know how challenging it can be to stay disciplined and motivated throughout the writing journey. Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been crafting stories and devotionals for years, the path to finishing a book can feel long and overwhelming.

But what if there was a way to harness focused bursts of energy and accountability to propel your writing forward? That’s where writing challenges and sprints come in—powerful tools that have transformed my own writing life and can do the same for you.

I want to share with you my personal experience with writing challenges, how they’ve shaped my career as a Christian author, and why I’m so excited to invite you into a brand-new faith-based writing challenge launching this August 2025.

Together, we will explore how these focused sprints can supercharge your creativity, build daily discipline, and help you finish your book for God’s glory and the gospel good of your neighbor.

What Is a Writing Challenge and Why Does It Matter?

At its core, a writing challenge is a structured period—often a month—where you commit to writing a certain amount of words daily or weekly. These challenges provide a container of time with clear goals and deadlines, encouraging writers to show up consistently, push through doubts, and produce tangible results.

For Christian writers especially, these challenges are more than just productivity hacks. They become spiritual disciplines, opportunities to steward God-given creativity and share His truth through stories, devotionals, or resources that bless others. The accountability and momentum built in a writing challenge help us overcome the hurdles of procrastination and self-doubt, allowing the Holy Spirit to work through our words.

My Journey with Writing Challenges: From Novice to Published Author

Let me pull back the curtain on how writing challenges have impacted my own writing life. My first encounter was back in November 2012 with National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). At the time, I was pastoring a small church in West Michigan and had a vision to write a spiritual coming-of-age novel based loosely on my own faith journey. I had never written fiction before, but the challenge gave me the push I needed to start typing 1,600 words a day and fill that 50,000-word goal by the end of the month.

That first book, which became part of my Faith Reimagined trilogy, was a breakthrough. The daily word count target and the ticking clock forced me to show up and write, even when I didn’t feel inspired. While the story required more polishing after the challenge ended, that month was the spark that launched my fiction writing career.

In 2013, I tackled another NaNoWriMo challenge, this time writing the first book in my End Times Chronicles series—a sci-fi religious fiction saga that explores the tribulation through a cast of characters navigating faith, doubt, and survival. Again, the structure of the challenge helped me craft a complete novel within a month, building momentum that fueled the entire series.

By 2014, I used the challenge not just to start new stories, but to finish existing manuscripts. This flexibility is a key benefit of writing challenges—they can serve as launchpads for new projects or finish lines for works-in-progress.

More Challenges, More Growth

Since those early days, I’ve continued to harness the power of writing challenges. In 2015, I began the Order of Thaddeus series during NaNoWriMo, laying down the framework for a religious conspiracy thriller. Then, in 2017, I participated in the Great Novel Challenge, spearheaded by Dean Wesley Smith. This challenge pushed me to write three novels in three months—June, July, and August—culminating with the birth of my daughter Caroline and the delivery of my manuscript on the same day. That summer was a whirlwind, but the discipline and deadlines made finishing those books possible.

Perhaps the most transformative challenge was the 2020 “Short Story a Week” challenge during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. For 52 weeks straight, I wrote and submitted a new short story every Sunday. This intense sprint sharpened my storytelling craft and helped me build a rich story world in Mill Creek Junction, a fictional small town in Michigan. It also deepened my ability to create compelling characters and resolve conflicts within tight word counts, skills that serve any writer well.

Why Writing Challenges Work: Focus, Momentum, and Accountability

From my experience, writing challenges offer three crucial benefits that can supercharge your writing life:

• Focus and Direction: Having a daily or weekly word count goal gives you a clear target. You know exactly what you need to accomplish each day, which removes the paralysis that can come from staring at a blank page.
• Momentum and Confidence: Writing regularly builds momentum. Each day you meet your goal, your confidence grows and the story or project unfolds naturally. You learn to trust your creative voice and keep moving forward.
• Accountability and Community: Writing challenges often come with communities—whether online forums, social media groups, or private Facebook groups—where you can share progress, encourage others, and celebrate milestones together. This fellowship is invaluable for staying motivated and consistent.

In my upcoming Faith-Based Book Writing Month challenge this August 2025, I’m creating a supportive environment with a dedicated portal to log word counts and a Facebook group for encouragement and accountability. This challenge is designed not only for novelists like me but for all Christian writers—whether you’re crafting devotionals, Bible studies, or non-fiction books.

Overcoming Common Challenges: Fatigue, Burnout, and Grace

Writing challenges are powerful, but they’re not without their hurdles. Fatigue and burnout are real, especially during month-long or year-long sprints. Some days it’s harder to get into your chair and type the words. That’s why it’s important to give yourself grace.

If you fall behind, don’t panic. Missing a day or not hitting your exact word count goal doesn’t mean failure. The goal isn’t perfection or hitting a magic number—it’s faithfulness. Showing up consistently, even imperfectly, honors God and builds a lasting writing habit.

Remember, the writing challenge is a spiritual discipline as much as a creative one. It’s about stewarding your gifts, trusting God with the process, and offering your work for His glory and your neighbor’s good.

Tips to Crush Your Next Writing Challenge

To help you succeed in your next writing challenge, here are some practical tips I’ve learned along the way:

1. Set a Faith-Based Why: Before you start, ask yourself why God has placed this story or project on your heart. Your “why” will fuel your motivation when the going gets tough.
2. Create Dedicated Time and Space: Establish a writing routine by choosing a consistent time and place. For me, it’s the same chair and laptop, sometimes with a vinyl record or soundtrack to prime my brain. This habit signals to your mind that it’s time to write.
3. Plan Lightly, Then Discover: Do some basic outlining or brainstorming before the challenge, but leave room for discovery writing. Sometimes the best ideas and story twists emerge as you write.
4. Track Your Progress: Use tools to log your daily word count. Seeing your words add up is incredibly motivating and keeps you accountable.
5. Extend Grace Over Guilt: If you miss a day or fall behind, don’t give up. Pick up where you left off and keep moving forward.

Join Me in the Faith-Based Book Writing Month Challenge This August 2025

Inspired by my own journey and the recent closure of NaNoWriMo, I’m launching the Faith-Based Book Writing Month Challenge this August 2025. I want to create a movement among Christian creatives who desire to write books that glorify God and bless their neighbors.

This free 31-day challenge will help you write your book—whether fiction, non-fiction, or devotional—with daily word count goals, community support, and accountability tools. Alongside the challenge, I’m hosting a free live workshop called Faithfully Finished: Your Simple Plan to Fuel Writing Momentum That Works next Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. (with a replay available). This workshop will equip you with strategies to plan, start, and finish your book with confidence.

To learn more and sign up for the challenge and workshop, visit crossandpen.com/challenge. I’d love to have you join me and other Christian writers as we finish strong in 2025!

Final Thoughts: The Transformative Power of Writing Challenges

Writing challenges have been a cornerstone of my writing life, helping me start, write, and finish multiple books and stories over the years. These sorts of sprints provide focus, momentum, accountability, and a spiritual rhythm that keeps me faithful to the craft God has called me to.

Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced writer, I encourage you to embrace the power of focused sprints through writing challenges. They’re not about perfection or word counts—they’re about faithfulness, discipline, and the transformation that happens when you commit your creativity to God’s glory.

So grab your laptop, set your faith-based why, and join me this August for the Faith-Based Book Writing Month Challenge. Let’s write, publish, and share stories that make a difference—together.

Remember, you don’t have to walk this journey alone. If you need guidance or encouragement, reach out at crossandpen.com/contact. I’m here to support you in your unique vocation as a writer for Christ.

Now, go create for Christ!