When Intuition Takes a Back Seat: A Peek Into My Writing Process

Every January at our church, we receive a Star Word—a single quality to sit with all year, something to meditate on, resist, or grow into. Mine this year is intuition.

I laughed when I saw it.

Intuition is how I live. It’s how I read people, design rooms, choose fabric and color, and—most especially—how I write. My best scenes arrive while I’m walking or doing housework. They tap me on the shoulder  and insist on being written this very moment.

But now, here I am doing the very thing intuition dislikes most: planning.

Book Three of the historical fiction Dauntless Series, the story of Annie Osborn and Daniel Read Anthony, has reached the stage where inspiration alone won’t carry it forward. I know this about myself. I’ve tried the “just write a few chapters and see what happens” approach. It feels marvelous—and then gets lost in the overall scheme.

So this week, I’m politely asking intuition to step aside.

Out come the humble tools I’ve relied on for years: index cards, scissors, tape, and stacks of paper spread across the table like a card shark’s hand. I am, once again, cutting and rearranging the story physically—because a book doesn’t exist for me till I can actually see and touch it.

A Work in Progress

Friends often ask, “How far along are you with Book Three?”
I never know quite how to answer.

I’ve been writing pieces of this book since 2012. Some chapters arrived fully formed years ago, written out of order, faithful to the emotional truth even before I knew where they belonged. Alongside them sits a massive historical timeline—my book’s skeleton—built from years of research and careful attention to names, dates, and events. I bend history only when it doesn’t alter the timeline’s meaning, and only when the story demands it.

Now comes the hard part.

I’m assigning those long-written chapters to an outline. Some will slide neatly into place. Others won’t belong anywhere. And inevitably, I’ll find gaps in the narrative to fill. When that’s done, my developmental editor will have her turn, and yes, the scissors will come out again.

Eventually, the outline will replace even the timeline. It will become the living map of the book.

And then—blissfully—I’ll return to intuition.

Perhaps that’s the gift of this year’s Star Word: a reminder that intuition doesn’t disappear when I ask it to rest. It waits. It watches. And when the scaffolding is finally in place, it will take over once more—guiding the voice, the rhythm, and the heart of the story.

I can’t wait to get back to that part.

An Encouraging Word

 I’ve received many wonderful reviews of Born of This Fire. They mean a lot to me because they reflect the theme and qualities I’m aiming for in Book Three:

A beautifully written, courageous, and deeply moving book. Gehret weaves personal story, spiritual depth, and hard-won wisdom into a narrative that is both honest and hope-filled. Her voice is authentic and compassionate, inviting the reader to face pain, transformation, and healing with grace. This book doesn’t just tell a story–it creates space for reflection and inner renewal. Highly recommended for anyone seeking depth, resilience, and spiritual insight.

*

An engaging and well-written fictional depiction of historical figures Annie Osborn Anthony and Daniel Read (D.R.) Anthony as their new marriage is tested by the trials of living on the frontier, fighting for civil rights–and simply being newly married….I feel like I know these characters intimately. Gehret brings the people, settings, and conflicts of Civil War-era Leavenworth, Kansas to life in vivid detail, with compassion for people on both sides of the line. This was a quick-paced book, and I found it difficult to put down. Recommended.

Have you already read Born of This Fire? Reviews on Amazon or Goodreads help more than you know—and if the book is still on your list, you can find all the buy links on the book landing page.

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