Join me as I chat with author Mary Grace Johnson about how she took a traumatic event from her childhood and turned it into a children’s book. She wasn’t originally planning on writing for kids, but over time, it became clear who she was writing for. Listen in to hear about that process.

Her book, And the Sun Came Up: A True Story of Grief and Hope, comes out this fall.

Mary Grace Johnson writes inspirational stories for those who have faced grief and loss at a young age, offering love, comfort, and hope. You can find her at https://marygracejohnsonauthor.com or on Instagram.

The Purposeful Pen is a weekly podcast for Christian writers designed to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. Each week you’ll hear practical tips and Biblical truth on topics such as improving your writing, honing your message, and managing your time. I always respond to listener emails and I’d love to hear from you! Amysimon@amylynnsimon.com

Disclaimer: I believe in and approach life (and writing) from a distinctly evangelical Christian perspective, but some of my guests may not. When I interview a guest on a specifically spiritual topic, I do my best to know in advance that I can support their theological stances on the topics that relate to our interview. When the topic is not particularly spiritual, our theological views may differ. My interviewing of guests and providing links to their work does not necessarily indicate a complete theological endorsement of all their written work.

This week, I deviated a bit from my theme of finding your reader and message to talk about a topic that affects us as writers in a broad way—the use of AI in our writing.

In this episode, I explain my three questions that I ask myself when considering the use of AI in my writing:

* Is my use of AI God-honoring?

* Is my use of AI causing my God-given creativity or other skills to atrophy from lack of use?

* Am I valuing expediency over the longer writing process in a way that short-changes the end result and my own participation in that process?

I also break them down and share some of the ways that I have decided not to use AI, some of the ways I currently do, and where I feel the area is a little grey.

I don’t claim to be an authority on this topic or have all the answers, but this episode gives you a peek into my own thought process as I consider different ways to use or not use this new technology.

(PS - I did not use AI to write these show notes!)

Resources mentioned:

Episode 105

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The Purposeful Pen is a weekly podcast for Christian writers designed to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. Each week you’ll hear practical tips and Biblical truth on topics such as improving your writing, honing your message, and managing your time. I always respond to listener emails and I’d love to hear from you! Amysimon@amylynnsimon.com

Sometimes we feel the pressure to include every aspect of all the things we’re passionate about in the core message of our writing. It just doesn’t fit, nor does it need to!

Covered in this episode:

* It’s OK NOT to talk about certain topics

* You may have more than one book in you

* The importance of being intentional about what personal details we share or don’t share

* What to do with smaller ideas that don’t fit into our main message

* Why having an intentional personal brand isn’t inauthentic or fake

Other episodes referenced:

Episode 40 - What is an author brand? with Cara Ray

Episode 66 - Branding and Business Planning for Creatives with Karla Colahan

The Purposeful Pen is a weekly podcast for Christian writers designed to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. Each week you’ll hear practical tips and Biblical truth on topics such as improving your writing, honing your message, and managing your time. I always respond to listener emails and I’d love to hear from you! Amysimon@amylynnsimon.com