Hello, Christian Writer’s Den friends! Today is the 4th Tuesday, which means I have the joy of introducing another writer-friend to you! Today’s guest is my AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association) sister, writer and speaker Janet McHenry. You can read her bio below, but let me say here that she’s the author of 19 books, so if you’re smart, you’ll listen to what she has to say!
Leave a comment for Janet and you’ll be in the drawing for one of Janet’s books! But be sure to check back next week to see if you’re the winner.
So let’s get started. First of all, welcome, Janet. Thanks for sharing your journey with us today. My first question is one a lot of writers are interested in. What first drew you to writing?
I am not one of those writers who dreamed of publication from a young age. However, I was the editor of my newspaper in high school and wrote weekly articles for a daily paper in Sacramento. After majoring in journalism at UC Berkeley, I worked as a reporter for a daily paper in the Midwest before we settled in our small town. Because the nearest city, Reno, seemed too far away, I tried freelance writing. My first effort was a silly little article about writing thank you notes. All dozen submissions were rejected, so I decided that wasn’t for me.
But you must have tried again.
Yes, a couple years later I attended a retreat near Lake Tahoe, where the speaker challenged us to find a rock and sit on it until we heard from God. While I thought that admonition a bit silly, I wandered into the woods, where I found my rock and sat down to pray, asking God for direction for my life. “Use me, Lord,” I said. Almost I heard, “I want you to write for me.” Since I had no idea what that meant, I truly knew the words were from God.
And did you start writing again?
Not really, since I needed to find out what that meant – to write for him. So, I went to the Billy Graham School of Christian Writing, which used to be held outside of Minneapolis. I took a class on article writing, as well as many other workshops, and began writing for Christian magazines.
So how did you start writing books?
I kept going to Christian writers’ conferences every year. In fact, that first year I attended three major, weeklong conferences. One of the impressions I got was to “write what you know.” Since I had four kids, I decided I could write kids’ books. First I wrote four board books, then six first-chapter books for beginning readers, and then three girls’ mysteries.
Wow, I didn’t realize we had kids’ mysteries in common. 
But how did you switch to writing about prayer?
I tried to write the Great Christian Novel but I kept getting rejections. Finally, my agent – a very wise woman – suggested that I write about prayerwalking. At first I said, “But that’s just five words – ‘you walk and you pray.” But because she knew that God had changed me greatly through prayerwalking, she insisted that I could write a book about it. And I did. Right after PrayerWalk: Becoming a Woman of Prayer, Strength, and Discipline was published, Health magazine did a feature about my prayerwalking in my little town, and well, the book did very well. That success led to several other books about prayer.
I’m curious, what is your favorite book you have written thus far?
The hardest but favorite one is PrayerStreaming: Staying in Touch with God All Day Long. It’s about finding that pray-without-ceasing zone in your life. I studied the old and great prayer classics and the lives of their writers. With each person – Brother Lawrence, Teresa of Avila, Madame Guyon – I looked for the biographical a-ha moment when they understood what it meant to pray without ceasing. I had a love-hate relationship with that book.
Okay, you’ve got to explain that comment!
I loved throwing myself into the research, but I ended up writing that book three times. My editor completely rejected the first version, and I had to start over with a completely different structure. The second draft also needed substantive changes. However, I think that book helped me learn how to pray without ceasing!
You’ve certainly had a lot of experience and have a lot of insight to share. What would be your advice for beginning writers?
I have to stick with “write what you know” – or at least write about what puts passion in your heart and soul. Everything you write must be important – must have significance for you and for someone else.
Great advice, Janet. Thank you!
And readers, don’t forget to leave a comment for Janet and you could win a free book! But you have to check back next week to see you’re the winner. Happy writing!
BIO: Janet Holm McHenry is a speaker and author of 19 books, including the best-selling PrayerWalk: Becoming a Woman of Prayer, Strength and Discipline (WaterBrook) and four other books. In her “other life” Janet is a high school English teacher, prayer ministries coordinator for her church, the mom to four pretty good kids, and “Nana” to eight perfect grandchildren. For 32 years she and her husband Craig have lived in a town of less than one thousand people that is nestled an hour away from traffic in the Sierra Valley of California. To find out more about Janet and her writing and speaking ministry, be sure to check out Janet McHenry’s website.
