 Whether you're just starting out, battling the middle of a manuscript, or seeking sustainable creativity, James L. Rubart's wisdom reminds us that great stories aren't rushed—they're forged with patience, rest, and unflinching honesty. Dive in and discover what he wants you to know about the writing life.  If you could go back to your early writing days, what one piece of advice would you give your beginner self? Don’t rush things. I was ready to publish my first novel long before I was ready. (But yeah, I sure thought I was.) Here’s an analogy that might help: I play guitar and sing. I could entertain you for 20 – 30 minutes and you’d come away saying, “I liked that, I enjoyed Jim’s playing and singing.” But you sure wouldn’t plunk down any money to buy my album. I’m just not that skilled. Pretty good isn’t going to get you published and if you go inide with a pretty good novel, no one is going to read it. Malcom Gladwell’s well-known book, Outliers says we need 10,000 hours to get good enough. I think he’s right. What rituals or tools help you stay productive without burning out? There’s this ancient idea many Jesus followers give lip service to but rarely implement. It’s called Sabbath. A day off. A day to recharge, refresh, let everything go. We need this desperately. Just recently I started taking Fridays off and it’s been incredibly life giving. I told my oldest son I was doing this and he said, “If you’re truly taking Fridays off, I challenge you to not check email from Thursday at 5pm till Monday at 8am.” True confession, it was hard the first few hours, but after that? Wooo hoooo! How do you tackle writer's block when you're stuck mid-plot or with a flat character? I’ve never had writer’s block. I think writer’s block comes from sometimes conscious, sometimes unconscious resistance to going into the deep, painful places writing brings up in us. Lady Gaga has this quote where she says, “Every time I write a song it’s like open heart surgery. It’s invasive.” I agree. What’s the old saying, “To bring tears to the reader, you have to bring tears to the writer.”? That’s not quite right, but the idea is right. Don’t want writer’s block? Commit to facing the deepest corners of your soul and bringing them to the page. Do you have a go-to technique that's saved a manuscript? See answer above.  What's your secret to creating characters that feel alive and unforgettable? Do you start with backstory, flaws, or something else? I’ve always gone the simple route when creating characters. I pull them from real life. Real life people have flaws, and quirks, and brilliance, and drive you nuts one moment and inspire to the sky the next. So why not use them? You know them in far greater detail than you know someone you’re trying to create. And because of that, they come off as authentic. So does that mean I use myself? Yep. In every book. A friend of mine once said, “All my books are autobiographical. All of them. They’re just my private journals in published form.” Yes! That’s me too. Revision can often feel endless. How do you know when your book is done? It’s never done. It’s published, on the shelf, I’ve never going back to it, but it’s not done. Always something you could have done different, that tiny tweak that’s going to make it perfect. What's one book (or author) that transformed your writing? C.S. Lewis. The Chronicles of Narnia gave me the desire to be a writer. Mere Christianity gave me a foundation for my faith. The Great Divorce showed me how innovative fiction could be. I could go on, but Lewis was the fire under my dreams for many years. Every writer faces self-doubt. What’s a moment in your career when you questioned your work the most, and how did you overcome? Are you telling me I’m going to get to the point where I don’t doubt? Was there ever a time when you had a project fail—a book that flopped, or a rejected manuscript? Did that setback teach you something unexpected about yourself, your craft, or your career? Yes, and it was a major turning point in my life. I’m one of those authors who doesn’t have any novels in their drawer. The first novel I wrote was published, hit the bestseller list, and won the RT Book Reviews Inspirational Novel of the Year. So I never dealt with rejection. Until April of 2014. Earlier that year—January 14th—a tree crashed through our home and almost killed my wife and youngest son. My wife went through PTSD and I wasn’t in the place to produce a good story. The manuscript I turned in was awful and was rightly rejected. During that spring when my wife and I were trying to put our lives back together and I was dealing with the first major rejection of my career, I came to realize I’d put my identity in being a Christy Hall of Fame, bestselling author. By mid-summer I’d come to a place where I was able to give up being an author, I let that identity go. If I never wrote another book, that’d be okay. But I was under contract, so I re-wrote the book (The Five Times I Met Myself) and based it on what I had gone through earlier that year. God certainly has a sense of humor; that book ended up being named the Christy Book of the Year. If you could leave one word of advice for future writers, what would it be? Remember why you started writing. Probably to play. To experience the joy of word pouring out on the page, the joy of taking reader to new worlds. Write like you’re still eight years old and the world is full of adventures still waiting to be discovered. That’s the real treasure of being a novelist. James L. Rubart is 28 years old, but lives trapped inside an older man’s body. He thinks he’s still young enough to water ski like a madman and dirt bike with his two grown sons. He’s the best-selling, Christy BOOK of the YEAR, CAROL, INSPY and RT Book Reviews award winning author of ten novels and loves to send readers on journeys they’ll remember months after they finish his stories. James L. Rubart is also a branding expert, co-host of the Novel Marketing podcast, and co-founder with his son, Taylor, of the Rubart Writing Academy. He lives with his amazing wife on a small lake in Washington state. You can find out more about James L. Rubart at: https://jameslrubart.com/   This post was complied by Brandy Vallance, a literary agent with Barbara Bova Literary Agency, an award-winning author, and a Story Consultant for Writing Day Workshops. Brandy is the winner of two national writing awards, one of which included a $20,000 prize. Her novel, THE COVERED DEEP, has been featured in USA Today & Writer’s Digest. WITHIN THE VEIL has been called “passionate and riveting” and Publisher’s Weekly encourages those who like sweeping Scottish sagas to dive in because “the journey is wonderful.” Brandy loves helping writers break the chains of fear and self-doubt. You can find out more at brandyvallance.com.  Attend a Writers Conference in 2026:
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