Why you should write from your values

Anna Daugherty, author of the upcoming novel Reaching for Grace, and I have a couple of things in common. (You can read more about her in my upcoming newsletter. Subscribe to be among the first to read it.) First, we’re published by the same press, Black Rose Writing. Second, we both believe in writing from our values.

Writers don’t feel comfortable sharing their values, especially with how polarized the political landscape is today. (I talk about authors sharing their political views in this TikTok video.) There are several reasons I believe it is important and beneficial for you as a writer to write from your values.

They give you the passion you need to finish your work.

Writing takes time, especially as you edit and edit again, submit your manuscript, go through multiple rejections, edit again, find a publishing route, and edit again and again, until you complete your work. Unless you have passion for what you’re writing, you’re not going to endure all the effort and frustration it takes to bring your writing to readers.

But if you write from your values, you find the passion to create. Your story isn’t just one you want to write. It’s something you must write. It expresses your deepest beliefs and has a message you need to share with the world. You’ll endure any…