FOOD FOR THOUGHT: "There is no such thing as writer's block, only a lack of technique..."
Following is an excerpt from the
Guidebook to Successful Christian Writing. Anne Harrington Dewolf, a Writer, Editor and Christian Writers Institute Instructor, shared the following thoughts:
"As Christian authors, we are called to be mediators between God's help and man's hurt. People today are empty and searching. They need to know of God's grace. We have a tremendous responsibility to communicate to them His love, acceptance and forgiveness.
"Today's reader is in a hurry. He has an attention span of about 15 seconds. He doesn't have much time to read. He grew up in the Electronic Age, and suffers from information overload. TV messages, computer data, faxes, digital displays, plus a myriad of magazines all vie for his attention. He can flip past your article in less time than it takes to load his VCR.
"I know of no easy formula by which we become successful Christian writers. The most useful key I can give you is this: sit down and WRITE—and never underestimate the task before you."
MORE FOOD FOR THOUGHT: A Christian writer is simply a writer who is a Christian. Christian builders don't just build churches, get the idea? So, get your writing out there. Don't hide your light under a bushel.
Here are six writers' websites that might prove helpful to you as you seek writing assignments and places to sell your work.
These are provided by my friend, John Riddle. He is an amazing writer and a marketing genius. (Check out his website
www.ilovetowriteday.org for more great information.)
OK, after you've written an article, I want you to be your own editor before sending the article to a publication. Here are a few "checkpoints" to help you on the journey to great copy! Ask yourself the following questions:
- Does the lead or story opening grab me? Is it startling enough to draw me into the article?
- Is my story wordy—loaded with excess adjectives, unnecessary articles, and trite phrases? (If so, get rid of them.)
- Are my sentences long and hard-to-follow?
- Does my story center around one—and only one—main point or theme or problem?
- Did I use correct grammar and spelling? If you need help, go to
http://odp.shrinker.net/pod.cgi?search=Guide+to+Grammar+and+Writing
- Did I fact check all of the information and identify sources correctly?
- Did I answer all of the "W" questions: who, what, when, where, why and how?
- Is my article missing any key information that the reader will need to know?
- Did I let the story sit a few days and then come back to it to re-edit it before submitting it?
- Would I read this article if I hadn't written it? (If not, how can I make it more appealing?)
Make Language Work For You In Your Writing
Have you ever read an article and thought,
Man, that is the best article I
have ever read!, but you had no idea why? Chances are, the writer of that article used several tools that made his/her
writing exciting and endearing. With a little practice, you can do the same.
So, what makes a piece of writing so good? What makes you, as a reader,
want to invest time in an article? Let's uncover some of those "tricks of the trade" that will make your writing worth reading.
- Strong Lead: If you don't captivate your reader's attention in 15 seconds, that reader is long gone. So, you have to have a really catchy lead.
- Alliteration: So, what is alliteration? Let me give you an example. If I wrote, "The dog ran past the tree and into his house," that's a rather lackluster sentence. But, if I wrote, "The dog darted past the Dogwood and dove into his dog house," it's
more exciting. It's fun to read because of all the "d" words throughout the sentence. That's the use of alliteration.
- Strong Verbs: Many times beginning writers use too many adverbs to hide a really weak verb. If I wrote, "The man walked quickly to his car," it's OK, but a little boring. But, if I wrote, "The man raced to his car," I have eliminated the need for an adverb because "raced" says much more effectively what "walked quickly" tried to say. Get the idea?
- Good Description: There's nothing
like reading good, descriptive writing. When describing a person or a setting, don't forget that you have five senses—sight, taste, touch, hearing and smell. Use all of those in your writing and you'll bring your writing to life.
- Varied Sentence Lengths: This one is a little harder to teach, so I will show you through examples. Sometimes, it's good to catch the reader off guard with a short sentence that says so much like, "Just say no." That sentence can be an entire paragraph when used effectively.
- Comparisons (Metaphors and Similes): You can power-pack your writing with appropriate use of comparisons. For instance, if I wrote, "The girl looked really embarrassed," you might not see her as vividly as I want you to see her. But, if I wrote, "The girl's face turned as red as her fuzzy, red toboggan," you might see her more clearly.