In this motivational podcast episode, Shelley Hitz addresses Christian writers who struggle to finish their first draft. She explains that the primary barrier isn’t lack of time, talent, or ideas, but an inner critic that fuels perfectionism and hesitation. Drawing on her own experience with her bestseller Broken Crayons Still Color and the success of over 70 published books from her community, Shelley outlines three common mistakes that keep drafts unfinished: (1) waiting for a feeling of readiness, (2) treating the first draft as a final, polished product, and (3) writing in isolation without community support. For each mistake she offers practical counter‑measures—setting a 15‑minute timer for focused writing, embracing messiness and later revision, and joining a supportive group of “kingdom writers.” She shares a testimonial from member Jackie Scott, who completed a book using 15‑minute sessions. Shelley then promotes the free, one‑day “Finish Your First Draft” edition of the 11th Kingdom Writers Conference on March 24, 2026, featuring 14 speakers and offering recordings, a live Zoom kickoff, and an optional All‑Access Pass. The episode closes with a call to action: take a tiny, obedient step of 15 minutes, trust God’s timing, and prioritize progress over perfection.
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Hey friends, welcome back to the podcast. Shelly Hitz here, and I'm so glad you're here today because I want to talk about something that I know so many of you are dealing with right now, and that is the struggle to finish your first draft. If you've had a book on your heart for months or even years and you just can't seem to get it across the finish line, I want you to know something: you are not alone. This is one of the most common things that we hear from writers in our community. It's just so easy to get stuck in this messy first draft, right? And here's the thing I've learned from helping over 1,000 writers finish and publish their books. The biggest thing keeping most writers stuck— it's not time, it's not talent, it's not a lack of ideas— it's that relentless inner critic that whispers, "Who are you to write this?" And can I be honest with you? I've been there too. So has CJ. There has been seasons where I maybe had a book on my heart, and one in particular that I just couldn't seem to finish. But it wasn't because I didn't have the ideas. I always have ideas. And it was more the voice in my head telling me, should you really share all of this with the world, right? Should you really share your testimony and be vulnerable in this way It was, it was kind of scary and I got stuck and I just was waiting until I felt ready. But here's what I finally understood. Like God wasn't waiting for me to feel ready. He was waiting for me to take the next step in obedience. And so once I stopped waiting for perfect and started writing in progress, slowly something shifted. The words started coming, pages started filling up, and one day I held a finished manuscript in my hands. Many of you have heard this story many times, but it was my book Broken Crayons Still Color. I'd gotten stuck for a year, and that book has then went on to be our bestseller of all time and impacted so many lives. People always email me and say, "Shelli, thank you so much for sharing your story." But I had, I had been stuck too. But since then, like, we have published over 70 books now, and not because we're exceptionally talented. We're not. CJ's a more talented writer than I am. But because we decided obedience matters more than perfection. So today I wanna share 3 mistakes that might be keeping your first draft unfinished right now. And I think maybe at least one of these could hit home for you. So mistake number 1 is waiting until you feel ready. Readiness is a myth for most writers. There will always be another season of life, another reason to wait, another voice telling you the timing isn't right yet, And many of you tell me, like, life just keeps getting in the way. But here's the truth: God's timing and your ready are not usually the same thing, right? Can I get an amen? Oh my goodness. Most of us get our best writing done not when we're feeling fully prepared, but when we take one obedient step forward in the midst of imperfect circumstances. So if you've been waiting for the right season, the right word count goal, the right amount of confidence, I want to encourage you to stop waiting and just take the next tiny step today. 15 minutes. Just set your timer for 15 minutes and do one thing. God will meet you there. So mistake number 2 is treating your first draft like it has to be your final draft. Perfectionism is one of the most common reasons writers never finish. When every sentence has to be perfect before you move on to the next one, you get stuck fast, and you feel frustrated, and you realize you're nowhere near the end of your book. And so here's why I want you to remember: your first draft is not the version people will read. It's the version that makes the final version possible, right? The goal right now is just to get it out of your head and onto paper, all of it messy, imperfect, and incomplete in places. You can fix it later, but guess what? You cannot fix a blank page. One of our members, Jackie Scott, wrote her entire book in just 15-minute sessions, and now she's published multiple books and continues to publish more. So consistent beats perfection every single time. Mistake number 3: writing in isolation instead of community. Writing a book alone is harder than it needs to be. When there's no one cheering you on, holding you accountable, or praying for you, it is easy to lose momentum and let the inner critic take over. But community changes things. When you're surrounded by other kingdom writers who believe in your calling and understand the struggle, you show up differently. You keep going when you might otherwise quit. So if any of these 3 mistakes resonated with you, I have something really exciting to share. CJ and I are hosting our 11th Kingdom Writers Conference, and this one is the Finish Your First Draft Edition. We're hosting this on March 24th, 2026, and it's completely free, a one-day event, and we have 14 handpicked speakers who are ready to help you stop second-guessing and finally finish the first draft of the book God called you to write. And if you're listening to this later, you can still get all of the presentations and the recordings um, inside christianbookacademy.com, you actually get access to all 11 of the past conferences, and you can pick and choose which presentations you want to listen to. But you're going to hear from speakers like Brian Dixon, Shea Bynes, Stephanie Miller, Kim Galloway, and so many more. We are covering everything from overcoming perfectionism, maximizing small pockets of writing time, to partnering with God in the process. So there's also a live kickoff call on Zoom where you can connect with other writers, ask questions, and win prizes. And here's the best part— it's completely free to attend. All the presentations will be available for 5 days, and if you want ongoing access plus hundreds of dollars in bonuses, you can upgrade to the All Access Pass for a really special low rate after you register. So head over to trainingauthors.com conference to grab your free ticket. I'll also put the link in the show notes so you can find it easily, but we would love to see you there. This is going to be such a powerful day, and I don't want you to miss it. All right, friends, remember, progress over perfection. Just take the next tiny step of 15 minutes. Set your timer for 15 minutes, and God will meet you there. All right, I'll talk to you all soon. Bye-bye.