Do you ever wonder, “Who am I to write? What do I have to offer?” If so, you’re not alone. Nearly every writer—new or seasoned—faces imposter syndrome at some point. But as Christian writers, our struggle with doubt is often tied to something deeper: our understanding of our identity in Christ.

In this episode of The Purposeful Pen, we dig into the lie of imposter syndrome and uncover the whole truth that we find in Scripture. Yes, apart from Christ, we have nothing to offer. But in Christ, we are chosen, gifted, and empowered to bear fruit through our words.

You’ll discover:

* The “grain of truth” that makes imposter syndrome so believable.

* How half-truths can twist our thinking into complete untruths.

* The biblical foundation for finding confidence as a writer.

* Practical steps to bring hidden lies to light

If you’ve ever felt unworthy of the call to write, this episode will remind you that your words—rooted in Christ—are a gift of grace to others.

To uncover other faulty mindsets you may be struggling with and replace them with truth from God’s Word, download The Christian Writer’s Mindset Makeover.

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

What are the keys to creating a sustainable writing life? It will be a little different for each writer, but Jenny Marcelene shares some of the elements of her own diverse writing experience. In this episode, we talk about things such as finding variety in our writing, taking a Sabbath, and the importance of prayer and our time with God.

Jenny Marcelene lived cross-culturally for six years. She loves exploring new cultures and encouraging families to treasure Jesus above all else. Her debut children's chapter book series will be released September 30, 2025. Once upon a time she worked as a Kids' Ministry Coordinator for her local church—which catapulted her into writing for young readers. When she’s not chipping away at a fiction book, she writes and edits non-fiction articles.

You can pre-order her book, The Dreamer, here.

You can also find her online at: www.jennymarcelene.com and 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.

“All or nothing” thinking sets a very high bar and then tells us that anything short of reaching that bar is meaningless. Go big or go home. This faulty mindset leaves us feeling discouraged and overwhelmed, and leads us to give up when we don’t need to.

In this episode, I dive deeper into what is behind this thinking, how it affects our writing, and how we can escape it.

If you struggle with other faulty mindsets, such as perfectionism, imposter syndrome, or the idea that promoting our work is prideful, download my free resource, “The Christian Writer’s Mindset Makeover”. You’ll learn what the kernel of truth is in each mindset, how we either exaggerate it or take it to an illogical conclusion, and Bible verses and journaling prompts to correct those mindsets. Download it at www.amylynnsimon.com/makeover.

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

In this episode, I talk with author Elise Tegegne about how spiritual disciplines not only help us grow in our walk with Jesus, but they also benefit us as writers. Elise explains some of the disciplines she has found helpful and sometimes challenging. You’ll come away with practical ways to refresh your walk with God and your writing!

Mama, editor, and writer Elise Tegegne has published articles at Risen Motherhood, Christian Parenting, and (in)courage, among others. Her first book In Praise of Houseflies: Meditations on the Gifts in Everyday Quandaries is now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Calla Press, In addition to serving as the Director of Communications for missions organization Synergie Francophone, she also writes a monthly blog, which inspires readers to cultivate eyes for the divine in their own daily difficulties. After teaching at a mission school for four years in Ethiopia, she now lives stateside with her husband and energetic four-year-old. Read more of her words at elisetegegne.com or reach out on Instagram @elisetegegne.

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.

Welcome to the fall 2025 season of the podcast! From now through Thanksgiving, we’ll be covering the topic of rhythms and routines surrounding our writing.

In this episode, I share some personal life updates, and I also ask for your input.

* In this world of AI, what types of writing help from an actual, knowledgeable human would you find helpful?

* What types of formats do you like to get that help—online courses? Articles? Coaching sessions? A live group webinar?

Drop your response in the comments or send me an email!

Also, we look at how writing can be a spiritual discipline in itself. The things we learn through writing, if we don’t give up, are part of our broader sanctification journey as followers of Jesus.

I’ve created a new resource called The Christian Writer’s Mindset Makeover to help you identify faulty mindsets surrounding your writing and replace them with truth from God’s Word. You can download that for free at www.amylynnsimon.com/makeover.

As always, if you benefit from the podcast, please tell someone about it!

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

This is the last episode of the summer 2025 season, talking about how to refine our reader and message.

In this brief episode, I give you a basic round-up of the episodes and topics from this season. I’ll be off for the month of August, but new episodes will launch starting September 2.

If you’d like to dive deeper into uncovering your ideal reader and message, you can purchase my 30-page digital workbook, A Path to Purposeful Writing. Between now and September 2, you can use the code podcast20 to get 20% off. You can find the workbook here.

The theme for September-November 2025 will be rhythms and routines. We’ll look at creating a sustainable writing routine, how spiritual disciplines play a role in our writing, and the overlap between writing and spiritual formation.

My weekly Pen Points email will still go out during August. If you haven’t signed up yet, you can do so here.

Happy listening, and I’ll see you again in September!

In this episode, I talk with author Jac Filer about the writing of his newly-released memoir, The Widower and the Washer.

Listen in as we talk about how this memoir came about and how Jac decided on the reader and central message for the book. We also talk about some of the challenges in writing a memoir, the importance of both a writing community and a spiritual community, and knowing when it’s OK to go against the grain of typical writing advice.

Jac took up writing as a second career in 2020. He built his skills through freelance work, mostly writing devotionals and articles for Christian websites and media, using skills and knowledge he had gained from serving as a small group leader and lay preacher. Since then, he’s centered his writing on his own projects, which include an Advent devotional, a novel, and a newly-released memoir.

Places to find Jac:

* Website

* Instagram

* Facebook

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.

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

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.