Being Who God Created Me to Be
What first inspired you to become a writer?
In a word, desperation. For my fifth birthday—I have the photo to prove it—I was given a Tudor Tru-Action Electric Football Set (1959). Two-inch-high plastic football players zipped around a metal field on nylon runners, propelled by good (electrical) vibrations. When it broke, I was desperate to continue playing the game, so I grabbed the offensive guys in one hand, the defensive guys in the other, and crashed them together. I then fashioned myself as a radio/TV sportscaster and not only created my own games but broadcast them to nobody but myself. Finished with a game, I would write a short story on a portable Smith-Corona typewriter my mother had given me, accented with a crayon “photograph,” as if I worked for the Corvallis Gazette-Times. I did this for literally years, covering the field in mud from my mother’s garden for added realism. And ivory soap flakes for snow. Not surprisingly, in fifth grade when Mrs. Wirth announced that for Career Day we could meet someone in the community who did the job we someday might want to do, I requested an interview with Oregon State basketball coach Paul Valenti. Mrs. Wirth made it happen. My first job out of the University of Oregon—in terms of collegiate allegiances, I had a born-again experience along the way—was sports editor of The Bulletin in Bend, Oregon, and I expanded my writing repertoire from there.
This year’s conference theme is Strength for the Journey. What does that phrase mean to you personally?
Every writer I know faces discouragement, much of it along the lines of: “I’m not enough.” Or “My words don’t matter.” Or: “Why am I doing this writing stuff?” Even if, intellectually, I know the comparison game only leads to a loss, I’ve played it too often over the years. At 72, the “strength for the journey” phrase has another meaning too: I’m beginning to deal with physical limitations. I’ve hiked the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail and am now in my fourth summer of hiking since my brother-in-law and I reached Canada in 2022. But my pack gets heavier and my legs weaker each year. Coming to grips with that can be hard. Among the lessons for my life in such a context: I need less of me and more of God.
Every writer faces discouragement. What has helped you persevere through difficult seasons in your writing journey?
Perspective. I harken back to a line from an Amy Grant song about what God made me to be.
Especially with the rise of social media, it’s easy to get lost in the I’m-not-enough game. Reminding myself that I can make a difference simply by being who God created me to be—that I don’t have to play the world’s games—is reassuring, if sometimes difficult.
If you could give one piece of encouragement to Christian writers who are feeling stuck or uncertain, what would it be?
Nobody said it would be easy. The writing craft is the only pursuit that immediately builds into it an off-ramp for failure: writer’s block. Last time my plumber came, he didn’t refuse to fix my pipes because “I’m just not feeling the muse,” and my knee surgeon didn’t tell me “I’m gonna pass today because the vibe just isn’t there.” The plumber fixed my pipes. The surgeon fixed my knee. Accepting from the get-go that writing is hard precludes you from using that as an excuse. Writing is also fun, rewarding, and a great way to create all sorts of new adventures and relationships. Recently, a friend asked me what I would have been had I not been a writer. I love the craft so much that I had trouble coming up with an answer. If you’re stuck, persevere. Everything worthy comes with the price of pain.
What are you most looking forward to sharing with attendees at this year’s Cascade Christian Writers Fall Conference?
Having taught the Beachside Writers Workshop for 15 years and written a book on writing, Writer, I have long felt that I get more out of such events than my students. I love to see how God is alive in different ways in each writer. I love the enthusiasm of writers who’ve found their unique niche, perhaps far from mine, and pursue it with passion. And I love the humor and poignancy that often emerges at gatherings of writers. It’s a privilege to be part of this event, and I’m eager for it. I just may bring the original Tudor Tru-Action football set.
BobWelch
Bob Welch is the award-winning author of more than two dozen books and has collaborated with fellow writers on another half dozen. His newest release, Writer: How to Craft Nonfiction Stories That Touch Your Readers’ Hearts, Souls & Funny Bones, equips writers to create compelling, memorable nonfiction. He is also the author of Cross Purposes: One Believer’s Struggle to Reconcile the Peace of Christ with the Rage of the Far Right.
Bob’s books have been published by major publishers including Zondervan, Harvest House, Thomas Nelson, Atria Books (Simon & Schuster), St. Martin’s Press, and Berkley Books (Penguin). His book A Father for All Seasons received the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association Gold Medallion Book Award for Family & Parenting. The Wizard of Foz was named the 2019 Book of the Year by the Track & Field Writers of America, while American Nightingale was an Oregon Book Award finalist and was featured on ABC’s Good Morning America.
A former longtime columnist for The Register-Guard, Bob is a two-time recipient of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists’ “Best Writing” award. He is the founder and director of the Beachside Writers Workshop in Yachats, Oregon, and writes Heart, Humor & Hope, a Substack newsletter with more than 3,000 subscribers. Bob will keynote at the 2026 CCW Fall One-Day Conference on October 10 in Lebanon, Oregon. Visit our conference page for the day’s schedule and list of workshops
