Pastor John, you're coming off a six-week writing leave, and last time you talked to us about what you have learned about the writing process, especially at the conceptual and research levels in the early stages of the process. Now talk to us about writing itself. How does this work for you, and what lessons can you share with us writers from this recent six-week writing leave?

Right, so I've got 15 things that I learned, and seven of them last time, and we didn't even get to the point of writing yet, but dealt with that really frustrating stage, for me anyway, of doodling and trying to conceptualize and trying to organize, and it is a very frustrating time.

What gets the breakthrough for me, and it did this time, it has every time, is number eight, start writing. I said last time, pick one subtopic in the big topic of your book, and put down some general ideas underneath it that you might tackle, and now I'm saying, start writing on that subtopic.

Under God and His guiding work by the Spirit, the actual process of writing is the most important guide to how you're going to conceive your book. I know that sounds backwards to people. They think, "God, I can say first." The actual process of writing is the most important key to the door of knowing what you think about this topic.

People think they get that backwards. The actual process of writing is the most important portal by which new light shines into your mind on the topic. So you discover by writing, you see by writing, you understand by writing, you conceptualize by writing. I mean, conceptualize the structure of what you're going to do by writing.

One of the biggest mistakes, I think, people make at every stage on this is they think that discovery, seeing, understanding, conceptualizing must come before the writing. That is paralyzing, and it fails to see that writing is a revelatory act. It doesn't just record what you've thought. It is thinking.

It is, and it's the most effective way to think because there it is in front of you, and now you're not jumbled when you're three sentences into it. So that's number eight, maybe the most important thing I say. Number nine, since new ideas and issues and questions are always coming as you write, keep another file or sheet going to bullet those ideas.

So I did that on the computer. As I'm writing, I've got underneath this Word document another document called Ideas, and I'm flipping back and forth all the time, jotting down ideas that later could be dealt with because when I write, my mind just becomes fertile, and until I write, it is one big mess.

Number 10, as you write by hand or by computer, say out loud what you are writing. This will help you write for the ear. Even if readers don't read your book out loud, and most of them won't, I know that, most people, not everybody, but most people unconsciously hear your words in their head.

That's the way most people read, and you're writing for most people. If those words that you have on paper flow with effective sound and rhythm and pacing and cadence and balance and parallels and images, then the act of reading will be clearer and much more enjoyable. I don't know any way to write like that without writing out loud.

I talk to guys who are writing sermons all the time because when they give the sermons or read the sermons, I say, "You don't talk like that, and you don't even know what you're doing until you hear yourself doing it." That's number 10. Number 11, when you have said all you can on that first subtopic, stop and pick out another subtopic to write on.

Make a few idea lists and then get going on that. Don't worry whether, "Well, is this going to be chapter 2 or 13?" It doesn't really matter where it's going to fit. Just write what you know next about this issue, and what will happen is over time, the ideas for how to put the pieces together will emerge.

Number 12, you may be three weeks into the project, like me, writing every day before you have a clear sense of what the focus of the book is going to be. For me, it was longer than three weeks. It took me almost to the end of six weeks before I gave up on my initial conception.

Gave it up and said, "Okay, that is the book I intended to write. It's not the book I'm going to write. I'm going to get rid of that idea and do what I'm really doing." That's number 12. Number 13, feel free to track down some sources or read a bit about something you're writing about, but beware of this.

I'm talking about pausing in the writing to do some research. Beware of this. It's a great book killer. Perfectionists rarely write books. They're too busy reading everything. Realize that your book will be one small contribution. Humble yourself. You're not writing the final book, and that's a great liberator. No book says it all, so don't suspend your writing indefinitely while you research something to have the last word on it.

Here, I really should put in a qualifier because I'm not talking about major scholarly books. I know that if you're writing a major scholarly book and you're bumping up to an issue that's just got to be dealt with, you may have to spend weeks researching that and figuring that out.

I'm not talking about that kind of major scholarly work. Number 14, as your idea list grows from all that's coming into your head as you write, don't be paralyzed by focusing on it and saying, "No way will I ever be able to deal with all those issues that are coming to my mind." Stay focused on what you're writing and then do another topic.

I love the image that a big, big, big tree will fall over with chop, chop, chop, chop, a thousand chops, and the focus is, "Can I sink the ax in this time just as good as I can sink it? And tomorrow, I'm sinking it again. And the next day, I'm sinking it again." That tree's going to fall if you have the discipline to keep doing what's in front of you.

And lastly, number 15, expect divine serendipity in answer to your prayers. For example, I happened to be listening totally randomly to a podcast by Andrew Walls, a mission scholar at the University of Edinburgh, as I was writing the book about the Bible, and he was talking about how Christianity crosses cultures, and in doing so, more of Christ is seen in new cultures than the old cultures saw.

Therefore, the very spread of Christianity is the revelation of more about Christ in the Word. That just blew me away, and it found its way immediately right into the thing I was writing because it was so relevant for how we know Christ through the Scriptures. So did I plan that?

God planned that. And God has plans for people who are trying to honor His Word, stay true, be faithful, help the church, advance the mission. So that's what I learned, Tony. Those are my 15. Excellent. Those are very helpful, Pastor John. Good rhythm and pacing and cadence is certainly my greatest challenge, and it seems that the poets have an unfair advantage.

Well, just say it out loud. You'll hear it. Wonderful. Thank you. But our listeners are asking, "We still have not talked about the book you just wrote." We need to do that, and we can and we will on Monday. Until then, be sure to check out the Ask Pastor John apps for the Apple and Android devices for our recent episodes that you may have missed, and you can also go to our landing page and get caught up there.

Go to DesiringGod.org, click on "More," and click on "Ask Pastor John." Thanks for listening to the Ask Pastor John podcast. Have a wonderful weekend.