Melody J. Williams is a mother, author, musician, and ice cream lover who draws story ideas from everyday moments. She often pauses to write down nuggets of wisdom that could be included in a book, even when she isn’t certain how to incorporate them. “I get [inspiration] all the time, every day, from everywhere,” she says.
“I’ve learned that I don’t have to be any one thing. When I was growing up, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. And so I was kind of lost for a while. I ended up getting married, and then I quit going to college because we couldn’t afford it, and I still didn’t really know.”
Yet even before she knew what form it would take, Melody remembers wanting to create something of her own.
Today, Melody writes in several genres, even though she didn’t always want to be an author. As a child, she didn’t enjoy reading much. When her parents took her to the library, she preferred pop-up books over novels.
Melody found her love for reading while expecting her first child. Doctors placed her on bed rest, and people brought her books to help pass the time. Her love of romance novels sparked a new idea. Why not write the story of how she and her husband fell in love? She drafted the first chapter but eventually put it aside. It was a fun experiment, but she didn’t see herself as a writer yet.
Finding Joy amid Heaviness
Years later, writing became more than a hobby. It became Melody’s comfort during the hardest time of her life.
Melody and her husband had four sons; their youngest, Callen, became very ill as a baby. He contracted bacterial meningitis and had a stroke, which caused severe brain damage. He survived, but his need for specialized care changed their lives.
Callen is now seven, but as Melody explains, he has the cognitive development of a newborn in a bigger body. He relies on his family for feeding, changing, moving, and exercise. Melody calls him an amazing little spirit. While caring for him has made her life richer, it has also brought many challenges.
That’s where the writing came in.
When her three older sons began attending school, Melody spent long, quiet hours at home with Callen. She loved being with him, but struggled to know what to do with herself. Writing helped her find joy and heal from the heaviness that “was sucking away the life in me and just making me sad.”
She published her sweet rom-com Stealing Mackenzie’s Heart in 2024. “It just made me so happy,” she says. “I put a side character in there who was a version of my son Callen as an adult because I don’t know if he’s going to live to be an adult, but I can have this [story] forever, and I can share him with the world. His love and light are so unique and so special.”
Being able to act as Callen’s mouthpiece has made Melody believe even more in following inspiration. “Write your stories. They matter. They’re important. Your thoughts matter. It makes a difference. Someone will relate—someone who needs to hear what you have to give.”
Winning a Spark Award
Still, writing comes with its own challenges. “It’s hard to get past that imposter syndrome and self-doubt,” Melody says. Rejections and negative reactions from readers felt dream-crushing. “I didn’t know if I was good enough, but . . . I would eventually get over the sadness of [criticism] and ask, ‘What can I change? What can I learn? How can I grow?’” Those questions helped her push herself to be better.
Stealing Mackenzie’s Heart later won an LDSPMA Spark Award. At first, Melody didn’t plan to attend the award ceremony. She reasoned that she couldn’t leave her nursing baby or afford the travel costs while her family was building an addition to their house.
But her mom stepped in and told her, “No, you’re going. This is important.” She organized a donation drive to raise money for a plane ticket and a new dress.
“It was the sweetest experience to feel so much love from so many people supporting me,” Melody recalls. “It was lovely to attend that dinner and award ceremony. I’m just so grateful I got to have that experience.”
Even after winning the award and receiving great reviews from readers, Melody still doubted her talents. “Maybe I’m not good enough to keep doing this,” she remembers thinking.
Prayer and divine reassurance reminded her of why she had felt inspired to write in the first place. “It’s kind of like receiving a hug from Heavenly Father.” Sometimes she is amazed that God cares about her creative work, but she has repeatedly felt His assurance that He is shaping her through the process.
Balancing Creativity and Motherhood
When Melody first started writing, she loved escaping into fiction and spent hours on it every day. She told her husband, “This is important. I need to do this.” He supported her, but Melody later worried that writing could take up too much time. Then two more babies (“Daughters, finally!”) joined the family, making it even harder to find spare time.
Being a mom was Melody’s whole world, but it wasn’t her entire identity. Even though she went to church, served others, and tried to do everything right, Melody realized she still needed a creative outlet to recharge and feel fulfilled.
Now she recognizes when she’s neglected her creativity for too long. Sometimes her dad watches the kids for a few hours so she can write.
“I just feel uplifted in a way. Like, okay, I can do this. I can handle my life again.”
You Should Try to Write a Hymn
That willingness to create when prompted eventually extended beyond books. Even before she considered herself a writer, music was part of her life. “Obviously, my name is Melody—how could I not love music?” she jokes. “Piano and singing are some of my favorite things. My parents instilled that in me from a very young age.”
One day, Melody received a clear spiritual prompting: You should try to write a hymn.
At first, she doubted the impression and wondered why she was being prompted when others seemed more talented and experienced.
But the prompting returned three times. Finally, Melody decided to try.
One Sunday evening, she prayed: “Heavenly Father, if You want me to do this, please help me.” She turned to Mosiah 4:9 and read: “Believe in God; believe that he is.” Inspired by that scripture, she decided to write about the Godhead and why she believed in Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.
Within about an hour and a half, she had composed a tune and written three verses. Over the following week, she added a verse about the prophet. She eventually submitted the hymn for consideration for the Church’s new hymnbook.
It didn’t matter whether her hymn was chosen for publication. What was important to Melody was learning she could follow a spiritual prompting, do something hard, and receive help beyond her own abilities.
Creating with God
As Melody learned how much creativity belonged in her life, she began to recognize that the desire she feels to create isn’t hers alone.
“It’s really been a big blessing in my life to try to pick up on these little nudges of inspiration and just go for it, and have it be something beautiful.”
Her latest nudge was to start a nonfiction book. At first, she didn’t feel qualified to share her wisdom. But after reading her journals, she realized her experiences might help others someday. Writing about real trauma is harder than making up stories, but she knows the heavier stories matter too.
Through all the highs and lows life has presented, Melody has learned to follow spiritual impressions without knowing exactly where they will lead. She emphasizes that creative work has value, no matter how big or small the audience.
“If you’re inspired to do something, do it. Just try.”
This article is based on a Called to Create podcast aired season 6, episode 5. To hear the full podcast, click here.
