{"id":1113,"date":"2025-08-19T14:43:45","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T14:43:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/?p=1113"},"modified":"2025-09-09T21:46:51","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T21:46:51","slug":"5-things-i-learned-writing-the-price-of-blood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/?p=1113","title":{"rendered":"5 Things I Learned Writing “The Price of Blood”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ever since publishing my book, \u201cThe Price of Blood,\u201d I\u2019ve been thinking about the 6 years that I spent writing it, and about the things I learned along the way. It\u2019s been quite a journey, but God has used it to teach me many things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While I learned these lessons in the context of books and writing, they can certainly be applied to any career, as well as life in general. So even if you\u2019re not a writer, keep reading if you want to see just a few of the things I\u2019ve learned in the past 6 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A comprehensive list would probably be very extensive, so I\u2019ve narrowed it down to 10 life lessons. I\u2019ll be sharing 5 of those today, and 5 of them in my next blog post. I hope these lessons will be an encouragement and a challenge to you, both in your career and in your walk with Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Find your purpose<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    This honestly goes much further back than this particular book, but I needed to be reminded of it many times while writing \u201cThe Price of Blood.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    God created all of us with gifts and desires that we should be using for Him. When you find your purpose and fulfill it, there is no greater satisfaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ever since I was little, I\u2019ve wanted to change the world. I\u2019ve also always loved writing. So when I made the decision to use my writing to change the world for God\u2019s glory, it was life-altering. It gave me so much more purpose\u2026 not just in my writing, but in my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I would encourage you to find your purpose. What does God want you to do with the gifts He\u2019s given you? Use your talents to fulfill the ultimate purpose you were created for\u2026 to glorify God. And when you do, you will find great contentment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I recently posted a YouTube video that talks about changing the world and how we can use our words to make an impact, so make sure to go check that out here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    1. See the need<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      I\u2019ve talked about this before, especially in one of my recent blog posts, which you can read here<\/a>. But one of the best ways to find your purpose and to make an impact is to see a need and meet it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      For me, that need was good quality Christian fiction. I had heard many people complain about the lack of it\u2014and I had often noticed it myself\u2014but it wasn\u2019t enough for me to just feel bad about it. I wanted to do something about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Often as I wrote \u201cThe Price of Blood,\u201d I had to remind myself of the need that I wanted to meet. I prayed and asked God to show me what He wanted me to write about\u2026 the story He wanted me to tell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Become someone who meets needs instead of creating them. When you see something that needs to be done, or a hole that needs to be filled, maybe God brought it to your attention so you could fill it. In a world full of takers, be a giver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      1. Don\u2019t be ashamed of the gospel<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        I\u2019ve often seen authors who claim to be Christian who shy away from including the gospel in their writing. If they do mention God, it\u2019s very vague and general, so as not to offend people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        I understand wanting to appeal to readers. Of course, as an author, you want to sell books. But never let your success be at the expense of proclaiming your faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Yes, we want to be careful to accurately represent Christ. Yes, a fictional book does not have to sound like a sermon. But literature always portrays some kind of message\u2014some kind of truth. And as children of God, if we are not spreading the gospel message, what message are we spreading? What better news could there be than the good news?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        This is something that I had to constantly come back to while writing \u201cThe Price of Blood.\u201d At times, I would become too focused on making the plot exciting or developing the characters, and I would let the true message of the story become clouded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        But whenever that happened, I found that the book would suddenly begin to sound so empty and dry. Like there was no meaning or life to it. I had to remind myself of why I was writing the book\u2014of the truth that God wanted me to share with the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        You can write faith-filled fiction that is exciting and captivating. You don\u2019t have to sacrifice quality for truth, nor do you have to sacrifice your beliefs for entertainment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        I talk more about writing Christian fiction in this post here<\/a>, so make sure to check it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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        1. You\u2019re not always ready when you think you are<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          When I first started writing \u201cThe Price of Blood,\u201d I thought it was the best thing ever. In my eyes, the characters were amazing, the plot was intriguing, and it was going to be a breeze to write.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Or so I thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          As anyone who\u2019s ever been a young teen knows, you sometimes get a little bit overconfident in your abilities. And I sure thought that when I finished the draft of my book, I could publish it and become a bestselling author\u2014all before the age of fourteen!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Of course, it didn\u2019t quite work out that way. When I reread the draft, I realized that I might need to make a few changes before publishing it. It turns out, I had to rewrite the book a few times before it turned into something readable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          All of this is to say that in any kind of endeavor\u2014or just in life in general\u2014keep a humble attitude. Be looking for things you can do to improve\u2026 I guarantee you\u2019ll find something. Refusing to admit that you need to grow will keep you from growing at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          And if you think you\u2019re ready for something that God hasn\u2019t given you yet, you probably aren\u2019t. Don\u2019t get discouraged if it takes a long time. God knows exactly what we need and when we need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          None of us are perfect (and we won\u2019t be until we reach Heaven), so keep pressing towards that mark. God promised that He would help us grow to be more like Him. We have to ask Him to show us the areas in our life that we need to work on, and to give us the power to improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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          1. Don\u2019t put off your problems<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

            This very much goes along with the previous point. In wanting to be ready to publish before I was actually ready, I ignored many plot holes and problems in \u201cThe Price of Blood.\u201d These were things that I had to come to back to and rework multiple times before I could fix them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Would it have been easier if I\u2019d recognized the problems the first time? Absolutely. Would I have published the book sooner than I did? Probably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            I wonder how many things in my life I\u2019ve put off doing that have kept me from growing or from doing something that God wanted me to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            That little lazy habit could be part of a much bigger problem. That tendency to give in to my flesh might come back to bite me. Not watching my tongue could eventually lead me to say something hurtful or sinful. Being impatient may keep me from seeing the task that God has for me now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Ask God to show you your problems. Read His Word and meditate on how it will apply to you. Allow the Holy Spirit to convict you of your sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            If you ignore the issues that God wants you to deal with, it can keep you from the plans He has for you in the future. It can get in the way of your relationship with Him, as well as your relationship with other people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            So if you feel like something just isn\u2019t \u201cworking\u201d in your Christian life\u2014much like how I felt like something wasn\u2019t \u201cworking\u201d in my book\u2014you might need to take a step back. Maybe there\u2019s a plot hole that needs to be filled before you can move on in your growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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            Stay tuned for my next blog post in a few weeks, where I\u2019ll be sharing 5 more life lessons that writing \u201cThe Price of Blood\u201d has taught me. You can buy my book on Amazon or through the link here<\/a>, and be sure to leave a review if you enjoyed reading it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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            Comment below a life lesson that your career has taught you!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Ever since publishing my book, \u201cThe Price of Blood,\u201d I\u2019ve been thinking about the 6 years that I spent writing it, and about the things I learned along the way. It\u2019s been quite a journey, but God has used it to teach me many things.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[201],"tags":[202,29,206,208,178],"class_list":["post-1113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-price-of-blood","tag-author","tag-christian-writing","tag-novel","tag-the-price-of-blood","tag-writer"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1113"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1123,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1113\/revisions\/1123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}