021 | Available and Faithful: GospelWise Author for Your Writing Challenge

What if October became the month you finally started, continued, or finished the book Christ has placed on your heart?

In this episode of Christian Author 2.0, Jeremy introduces Faith-Based Book Writing Month, or “FableRiMo,” a 31-day writing challenge inspired by NaNoWriMo. The goal is simple: set aside the month to wield the pen for God’s glory and the gospel good of your neighbor.

The challenge is free, and participants can use a dashboard to set goals, log word counts, and track progress throughout the month.

🗝️ 5 keys you’ll learn

1. Availability and faithfulness come first You don’t need to have everything figured out before you begin. Jeremy encourages writers to show up, make themselves available to Christ’s call, and remain faithful with the time, talents, and writing project they’ve been given.
2. A writing challenge can help you begin Jeremy shares how his first month-long writing challenge helped him finally begin a story that had been stirring within him for months, and even years. These challenges can help you start a book, keep going, or bring a project to the finish line.
3. Progress matters more than perfection Life will interrupt your writing plans. You might get sick, face a family emergency, deal with work, or run into an unexpected flat tire. Missing a daily word count doesn’t mean the project is lost. The point is progress on the book, not perfection in the process.
4. Your word count serves the book The word count is a benchmark to keep you accountable, not the ultimate purpose of the challenge. What matters is the book that eventually reaches the reader who needs its story, insights, encouragement, or perspective.
5. Choose grace over guilt Jeremy offers a phrase worth carrying through every high and low of the month: “Grace over guilt.” Your identity isn’t wrapped up in hitting a word count. Show up, do the work, and give yourself grace when life doesn’t go according to plan.

✨ A fun fact from the episode

Before creating this challenge, Jeremy had already taken on several ambitious writing projects. He wrote three novels in one summer and completed 52 short stories over the course of a year, including a short story each week during the pandemic.

👉 The takeaway

This month is an invitation to bring your “loaves and fishes,” the story or resource you have, and trust Christ to use it for his glory and the gospel good of your reading neighbor [00:19:53](/timestamps/1193].

You don’t have to begin perfectly. You just have to show up.

Listen to the full episode, then visit faibowrimo.com to join the free Faith-Based Book Writing Month challenge. You’ll find a project dashboard, writing community, daily encouragement, scripture, prompts, and additional support to help you move from intention to action.

Hey, creative Christian, Jeremy Bauma here, and welcome to Christian Author 2.0, the podcast for modern stewards of the written word with insights for your GospelWise author journey. For 2 decades, I've watched authors struggle with their creative calling. That's why I built the GospelWise author ecosystem, to provide the practical training and high-tech tools you need to thrive. From deep dive insights to specialized apps and personalized coaching, I'm here to help you turn your manuscript into a movement. So stop guessing and start growing your reach with excellence. Let's dive into today's episode and master the path together. Hey, Creative Christian, Jeremy here with the Gospel-Wise Author Podcast and a very special one indeed, because today is October 1st and day 1 of a little project I've called Faith-Based Book Writing Month, or FaiboWrimo, as I like to say around here at Cross and Pen, a direct inspiration from NaNoWriMo, which unfortunately shut down and had been this long-serving National Novel Writing Month challenge during the month of November, which I had participated in for several years, but also had wanted to sort of have a faith-infused, gospel-centered challenge specifically for GospelWise authors like you to set aside a month to wield the pen for the sake of the cross, for God's glory and the gospel good of our neighbors. And so I sort of dreamed up what I have called FaiboWrimo, a faith-based book writing month that would be very similar with a similar word count goal, 50,000 words in a month, but adding a day to make a 31-day challenge.

And so the last, actually, week I've been getting the word out to creative Christians and inviting them to participate. And mind-blowingly to me, Christians raised their hands to say, I want to join in. I want to set aside the month of October to write the passion project that Christ has put on my heart. And so we are starting today, and it is the last day that I'm leaving the doors open for people to join in. I want this to be a concentrated month for, again, GospelWise authors like you to start a book, to continue writing a book, or to finish a book that they started. And Today we start, day 1, and the doors are going to close at the end of the day. And I thought that I would offer this episode as a brief window for you to sign up and join in the fun. It's totally free, doesn't require any sort of payment.

All you need to do is drop in your email address to sign up and get started on your own Faith-Based Book Writing Month challenge. So to inspire you and hopefully incite you to join in the Challenge Crazy, I have included the Day Zero inspirational video that I am creating every day for people who have signed up to receive extra support to boost their momentum through daily video recaps and encouraging devotionals. This I recorded yesterday, Day Zero, for that group of people. So take a listen, I would encourage you, if you are at all interested, to maybe even take a pause before listening, head on over to faibowrimo.com. That's faibowrimo.com to sign up and get in the doors before they close. There is a dashboard web app that gives you a sort of project portal to set your goals, log your word count, and track your progress to keep you on track and get you across the finish line on day 31. There's also a Facebook community, as I mentioned, where a number of us are gathering to receive encouragement from one another. But also, I'm posting daily scripture and prompts to encourage your adventure this month while also offering those daily email devotionals and videos along with weekly check-in calls and even one-on-one coaching if you'd like to add on to this free challenge program.

Again, this is totally free. You don't have to pay me a dime, but if you'd like that extra support, I'm here for you and would be honored to walk with you through this month. All right, without further ado, here is that episode with a bit of advice and hopefully some inspiration for tackling your own writing challenge. Especially if you decide to sign up with us this month. Hey there, Creative Christian! Jeremy here, welcoming you with a big hearty welcome, okay, to day 0 of our Faith-Based Book Writing Month Challenge. And really what I'd like to frame as an adventure where we are joining in Christ's mission to wield the pen for the sake of the cross, bringing glory to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit with the intention of also blessing our reading neighbor with our gospel-infused book projects, the thing that we have set out to write this coming month. And it all begins here, day zero, day before, getting in the mindset, preparing the heart, and really offering ourselves and this month. To Christ's Spirit, to do as he would do with our time and our talents and this treasure, whether it's a story treasure or a resource treasure, this thing that the Lord has put in our heart that we have dedicated this upcoming month to for the sake of, again, bringing glory to God and for the gospel good of our neighbor.

And I just wanted to kind of set the stage here on day zero to again welcome you to this month ahead and also let you know that I understand where you might be at here at the front end, staring down the barrel of the next 31 days beginning tomorrow with day 1. Because I still remember 13 years ago or so, that first, uh, NaNoWriMo challenge, which is where FableRiMo was sort of inspired by. The National Novel Writing Month, which was held in November. Unfortunately, it since has closed down this past April. But I remember having this desire, this, this impulse within me that sort of was stirring for a while to write a story that was in many ways a novelization of my own spiritual journey. And I thought placing my, my own story within a story. Putting a character in a setting with a problem, navigating the same sort of spiritual questions and desires and, and, uh, angst that I was feeling as a 20-something, 20-some years ago now, using all that from my own past, my own story, and infusing that within a fictional character to walk the same sort of path that I walked. I had this story stirring within me for months and really even a year or two leading up to that moment, that day zero.

13 years ago when I set out to finally put fingers to keyboard, pen to paper, and write my story. And it was this kind of challenge, a month-long dedicated space to writing for the sake of, again, God's glory and the gospel good of my neighbor. It was this kind of exact challenge that you are about to embark on that was so crucial to helping me Start this story. And since then, I have used these kinds of challenges to not only start stories, but also continue writing and also finish stories. So no matter where you're at with your book, your writing project, whether it's a story, novel, a resource, devotional, Bible study, however that looks, however long it is or big it is, you can start it, you can continue it, and you can also use this time to finish it. And it was such a delightful experience, anxiety-ridden experience, sort of like a roller coaster where you're both thrilled and scared, holding on for dear life, having zero clue what to expect. That was me when I came to that day one tomorrow. I had never written a story in my life.

I'd been studying, had been outlining and preparing. But when I came to that day one, I had no clue. And I was excited. Again, there was joy, there was excitement, but there was also nerves. And there was like, what on earth am I doing? So if that's you, I've been there. I understand that. And it's okay. It's totally normal.

And what I'd like you to realize at the front end, day 1, right at the starting line before the gun goes off tomorrow, is that all that matters for the next month Is that you have decided to show up for this coming month. All right. You have made yourself available to Christ's call on your life. This very unique calling, which I believe is absolutely true, that you've been called to create, you've been gifted to create, and you have all the permission you need to create this coming month or the months afterwards. And so you have Raised your hand to Christ's call and you have made yourself available. You've showed up, you're at this video, you're at the starting line, and you seek to be faithful. That's all you need. Okay? When it comes right down to it, on day zero, looking ahead, all you need to be for Christ to use you this coming month, to use your story or resource, all you need is to be available and faithful.

That was probably the best advice I've been given from my own ministry experience. I was a pastor, I've been a missionary, and 20 years ago when I entered into the mission field, my mentor said, Jeremy, all that Christ desires from you is to be available and faithful. And that is the same for you as well. All Christ desires of you is to be available and faithful this coming month. And it all begins tomorrow, day 1. But in many ways, that starts right now with day 0. Taking the time to set yourself up, plan a bit, rearrange your schedule, outline your schedule, and use the resources that you've been given by entering into this challenge. The dashboard for your project, setting your goals in order to keep track of your word count and see your progress.

All of that begins now, right here, making the choice, the decision to be available and faithful. The fact that you are here is proof positive that you have made yourself available to Christ this coming month and also have this impulse An intention to be faithful with the time you've been given and the talents you've been given and this treasure, the story, the resource, the book project that Christ has entrusted to you. So if you think about this coming month, the 31 days before you, sit with what Christ desires from you this coming month, to be available and faithful. That's where it begins. And a couple of other things that I wanted to share that I've learned by way of a sort of inspiration mindset coming into this coming month to get you ready, to get you prepared. Because as I mentioned, I have entered into these sorts of challenges quite a few times over the past decade, really. 13 years ago is when I began the, the sort of month-long challenge with National Novel Writing Month, and I think I've done it, uh, 4 or 5 more times. But I've also entered into summer challenges where I've written 3 novels in the span of a summer, and a short story challenge where I wrote 52 short stories over the course of a year, and during the pandemic of all things, a short story a week.

And so I've sort of not mastered the art of challenges by any means, because actually 2 months ago in August when I had a beta version of FableRhymo, I crashed and burned. I did not succeed like I thought that it would because life got in the way. But, you know, even when I've triumphed and succeeded and, and made the goal, got the prize at the end because I fulfilled, you know, the 50,000-word requirement in the span of a month, and also when I failed and didn't meet my expectations of the goals I set, 2 big things I've learned that I hope will help you aside from this wisdom that all Christ desires from you in life, but especially in this challenge, is to be available and faithful. 2 more things for you to get you started, to get your mindset and ready at the starting line to begin. First of all, what matters is progress, not perfection. You have set goals. You have an idea about how many words you want to write each day, how many you want to write at the end of this challenge and what your hopes are for your book project. Okay.

But I'll tell you, life's going to get in the way. You're going to catch a cold and be down for the count. Your kids are going to need you to pick them up from school because they're down for the count after throwing up after lunch or whatever. And it's going to interrupt your writing time that you've set aside, or you're going to get a flat tire or something from work is going to consume your attention. Something else is going to happen and it's going to be okay. I'm going to tell you right now, it's going to be okay if you don't meet the word count for that day or even at the end of the challenge, because perfection isn't the goal. It's progress on this writing project that you've set out to accomplish. Again, not for self-glory or even a word count goal, but instead for God's glory and the gospel good of your neighbor.

And that's one of the things I've taken away. Not only is perfection not the point, progress is the point because it's not about the word count. It's about the book written at the end or at some point because there's a reader on the other side who needs your delightful escape from your thrilling entertainment because you've written this novel or story, or they need your insights and your inspiration from the resource you've written. For this Bible study or devotional or whatever else you have set out to write. There's a reader who needs your perspective, experiences, and your insights that you are bringing to the table when you come to the keyboard. And that's why progress on this project is what's important. Now, the word count— you're not writing for a word count, even though that's a benchmark To keep you accountable and to help you stay on point and make progress. But being perfect in the process isn't the point.

Progress is okay. And alongside that, the final point that I hope encourages you and also reminds you, and I hope you come back to as you have highs and lows over the course of the next 31 days. Perfection isn't the point, progress is. And grace over guilt is the prevailing word of this whole shootin' match, as one of my writing mentors would say. Grace over guilt, which gets back to the fact that things are going to happen, things are going to come up, you're going to struggle to write one day or be soaring the next day. Life is going to get in the way or whatever happens down the path from day 1 to day 31. It's all grace all the way. Okay? Don't feel guilty if you can't measure up to the goal that you set.

Shoot for it. Be faithful. Going back to the original encouragement, you have made yourself available and now we're called to be faithful in the process. Over the course of these 31 days, showing up, doing the hard work for the sake of God's glory and the gospel good of your neighbor. But at the end of the day, your identity is not wrapped up in hitting a word count or the end goal that you set out for yourself. The point is, again, the reader and giving yourself grace along the way. That's my encouragement. On day 0, at the starting line, as you enter into this What I would say is a very somewhat sacred experience.

When you think about the way that the Holy Scriptures speak about days and even months, the sort of the High Holy Months and the High Holy Days of the Israelites. And if you take that forward into the church, we have these moments that we set aside, the Lenten season, 40 days leading up to Easter. Holy Week to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. During that period, we set it aside as a sacred moment to reflect, to celebrate, and to discipline ourselves for the sake of remembering but also celebrating the work of Christ. And I think there can be those moments in our everyday life as well that we set aside as sacred moments. Lifting them up to Christ to use for his glory and for his purpose in the interest of drawing people closer to the heart of God and inspiring, inciting people in their journey with Christ. And this is what this is meant to be. A month set aside with intention, being available and being faithful To finish or start and continue and finish the book that we have been called to write.

So this day zero, brother, sister, kudos and a big thumbs up, 2 thumbs up for stepping out, raising your hand and opening yourself up in availability to the calling that Christ has placed in your life. And I pray For blessing upon your coming month, that you not only would be faithful to this moment, but that you would seek the Lord with all of your heart. Lean not on your own understanding, but submit your writing ways to him, because he will be faithful to take this loaf of bread. These sort of fishes going— thinking about this episode in the life of Christ when this little boy brought the loaves and the fish to Jesus to take and use to feed the people. That's what we're bringing. All we're bringing is our loaves and fishes. And it's Jesus who then takes what we bring and what we offer and does with it what he will for his glory and for the gospel good of your reading neighbor. So welcome again.

Look forward to the month ahead. And blessings upon your journey and also your very important writing project. That's a wrap for today, but the real work happens inside the GospelWise Author Fellowship, a totally free membership filled with actionable advice and practical insights. For the deep dive articles, tools, and coaching you need to thrive, go to gospelwiseauthor.com/join. Everything we discussed today and the resources to help you implement it is live in the hub right now. So join the fellowship, grab tools and training, and let's build a lasting GospelWise Author legacy with lasting impact. That's gospelwiseauthor.com/join. See you next time on Christian Author 2.0 Insights.