Record Keeping

Read Revelations 19-22

Revelation 20:12 "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works."

Writing is creative, so not all writers are good at record keeping, but it is a skill we need to develop. When we are first beginning to write, there isn’t much to keep track of and it doesn’t even seem worthwhile to keep track.

But the more we write, the more crucial record keeping becomes. We want to keep track of which queries we’ve sent out, to whom, when, and whether or not we have a response.

Once payment enters the mix, we can’t afford to lose track of who has paid, who hasn’t paid, and when we can expect payment. Even writers who only write blogs for their own enjoyment will want to keep track of which subjects we have covered and when.

Clarity

Read Revelations 16-18

Revelation 17:8 "The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is."

Even if we are not writing directions we will want to make sure our writing has clarity. Anyone who reads what we have written should be able to understand what we are trying to say.

We will want to make sure our subject and verb agree and to keep our sentences straightforward. Any modifiers should be closest to what they are modifying to prevent unintended humor.

Our fiction especially needs to be written clearly. Confused readers will not only not finish our stories, they will not purchase anything else from us and recommend their friends do the same.

Research

Read Revelations 13-15

Revelation 15:3 "And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints."

The most efficient way to research is to write the piece and highlight where we need more information and what questions we still need answered. That way we can narrow our search to what we need and save time.

But research is a pleasurable pastime. We can look up something we are interested in and enjoy the journey if we have time.

Research is also a way to generate ideas. As we are looking for specific information, looking for more information, or browsing the Internet or library, we may be surprised at how the facts we come across spark ideas for more articles, stories, or plot points.

Symbolism

Read Revelations 10-12

Revelation 10:4 "And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not."

Symbolism is most effective when it unfolds naturally in our stories. We may notice a theme showing up in physical ways—that’s when we see the symbolism — for instance we may notice circles everywhere when our theme involves closure.

We can add depth to our characters when they become aware of their own symbolism during the plot. A character might need to open a savings account as a symbol of independence, for instance.

We may be surprised at the symbolism readers pick up on in our work. Since they are coming new to our stories, they may notice things we didn’t realize were there—possibly even unintentional.

Science Fiction

Read Revelations 7-9

Revelation 9:7 "And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men."

Science fiction stories usually take place in the future. They rely more on technology in the settings, pushing what we know of science to what might still be ahead and how that will affect us.

Characters may be from other planets and only look vaguely like something we would recognize, perhaps different parts of familiar animals put together in unfamiliar ways. That means the plots affect not only earth, but involve other planets, maybe stars, or could involve a different ocean world than what we are used to.

Settings tend to be stark at times, often taking place on inhospitable planets or entirely on a space ship. But as long as the science is something possible, most anything goes.

Melodrama

Read Revelations 4-6

Revelation 5:4 "And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon."

Melodrama happens when emotion is overwrought in a writing piece. The emotion displayed is excessive to the event.

It happens in real life, especially with children and teenagers, but can happen to normally rational adults who let things build until they explode. So melodrama doesn’t necessarily have to be a negative thing or something to be avoided.

When we write melodrama, we can give it context to explain characters’ reactions. We might also use melodrama for humor.

Marketing

Read Revelations 1-3

Revelation 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."

Marketing means sales. Writers who are good at selling things will find there are many venues looking for their work.

There are companies who hire writers to write sales letters, direct marketing material, brochures, and other sales-related materials. There are magazines looking for how-to articles for their business readers.

Readers also are looking for how-to books to improve their business revenues. Then there is the writer’s marketing of her own work, using query letters, book proposals, and whatever other means she can find to encourage editors, publishers, and readers to give her work a try.

Love Interest

Read 2 John, 3 John, Jude

2 John 1:6 "And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it."

Stories don’t have to be category romances to have romance in them. A protagonist usually has a love interest, no matter what the genre.

Even television shows and movies provide romance for their characters. Love is a part of living and plots seem pretty empty without it.

But when the story is something other than a romance, the love interest becomes a subplot. Often the girl and guy get together at the end, along with the rest of the happily-ever-after resolutions, but them not getting together could provide a motive for the protagonist’s actions.

Getting Ideas

Read 1 John 1-5

1 John 1:1 "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;"

“Where do you get your ideas?” is a question writers are asked and a question writers ask each other. The answer is, we get our ideas from everywhere.

We might be reading the newspaper and something catches our imaginations. It might be we have an idea about the article itself or something in the article, a tidbit that sets the ideas flowing.

It happens when reading magazines, listening to sermons, reading book or movie titles, hearing snatches of conversations, in our dreams, and everywhere else. It’s when we stop reading, listening, or paying attention because we have gone on the journey of “what if.”

Movies

Read 2 Peter 1-3

2 Peter 1:5 "And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;"

When we think of writing a movie, we automatically think of movies that are shown in theaters. But there are other movie markets: made for television movies and direct to DVD movies, for instance.

Even some You-tube videos are created as mini-movies. Most movies have a three-part structure.

Act 1 is the setup act where the characters and situation are introduced. Act 2 is where the tension builds as the characters try to solve the story problem, just like in books, and Act 3 is the climax where the showdown between good and evil takes place and the situation is resolved one way or another.

Tragedy

Read 1 Peter 1-5

1 Peter 1:24 "For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:"

Tragedy has a big impact on everyone’s life and that’s why it’s a popular topic to write about. We might write an essay about how a tragedy has changed us.

We might write an article about someone who has endured tragedy and made a positive impact because of it. We could write about a tragedy that a community has been through and how readers can help.

For our fiction, a tragedy might be the motivation or an end for our characters. The type of story we want to write will dictate the enormity of the tragedy and when it takes place in the story since different genres handle tone and content differently.

Transitions

Read James 1-5

James 1:16 "Do not err, my beloved brethren."

Nearly every type of writing needs transitions. Both fiction and nonfiction rely on transitions so readers aren’t jarred by abrupt changes and can easily follow the piece.

Nonfiction transitional phrases might include words like finally or next. Sometimes the transition might be a word in the last sentence of a paragraph repeated in the first sentence of the following paragraph.

Fiction transitions usually involve marking time, for instance later that day, or after he left. Other times an extra space between paragraphs or a new chapter may mark the transitions.

History

Read Hebrews 10-13

Hebrews 10:32 "But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;"

Some writers keep track of what historical event took place on a given day. We can write fillers for publications about something related to the publication’s subject matter for the time period the publication covers, for instance when the microwave oven was invented for a cooking or women’s magazine.

Writers interested in history might want to do a longer piece on a milestone anniversary of a historic event, for instance a fifty years anniversary. We might even write a book—even a children’s book—that offers more detail and tells the whole story of the historic event or how an invention came into existence.

Historical fiction is another way for history-savvy writers to go. While doing research, we might come across a little known historical fact that sparks a story idea, or might get so caught up in the era we’re researching, we can’t help but imagine a story of people who lived then.

Detail

Read Hebrews 7-9

Hebrews 9:19 "For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,"

Our stories appear so clearly in our heads, we can’t believe readers can’t picture the scene. We’re like the two year old who sees his reflection in the mirror and believes we also see him when he hands us the mirror to look into.

So we have to make sure we give out the details of our scene, our characters, their actions, and motivations. We have to describe the setting well enough that the readers see what we see in our imaginations.

We have to find actions for our characters to take that clearly represent their personalities. And we have to give our characters a chance to think through their situation in order to give detail to their motivations.

Medical

Read Hebrews 4-6

Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

Writers with interest or expertise in medical related subjects are in great demand. Magazines are always looking for articles on the latest breakthroughs in the medical world.

Readers are also wanting to know if the latest medical information will help them or harm them. Instead of relying on advertisers who are trying to sell them the newest pill, they look for data from unbiased well-researched articles and books.

Fiction writers can use their medical knowledge to bring realism to their stories and settings. We might even be able to predict the next medical issue with our facts in combination with our imaginations.

Ghostwriting

Read Hebrews 1-3

Hebrews 1:5 "For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?"

Ghostwriting is when a piece is written by a person other than the person whose name is in the byline. Usually when we think of ghostwriting, we think of celebrities’ autobiographies.

However, plenty of professionals need ghostwriters to write manuscripts in their voices. A brilliant doctor may have developed a more effective way to relate to her patients, but not be able to communicate that effectively to her fellow professionals in the article she is trying to publish, so she will look to hire a ghostwriter.

Even an organization might want to hire a ghostwriter to write the story of the founding and history of the organization for a milestone anniversary coming up. Ghostwriters rarely get credit for their writing, but they can get paid fairly well for their hard work.

Stereotypes

Read Titus 1-3, Philemon 1

Titus 2:2 "That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience."

Writing is condemned for the use of stereotypes. A stereotype is a character that has been overused and is no different from the same character in many other works.

When characters are nothing but a stereotype, readers get bored and disengage from the story. But stereotypes can help when we’re writing the first draft of a story.

The trick is not to leave the character or the setting as nothing but a stereotype. We’ll need to make changes, turn details upside down, and add substance to our characters and settings so they are distinguishable as unique to our stories.

Niche

Read 2 Timothy 1-4

2 Timothy 1:6 "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands."

Hopefully we have so many ideas that we are overwhelmed by the possibilities of writing projects. Articles, essays, nonfiction books, short stories, fiction books—we can write anything we want.

We may find that pursuing each idea requires lots of research and lots of research eats up our writing time. That’s when we may want to find our own niche to write about.

We may already have experience in an area and want to write about that or we may have done so much research on something that fascinated us that we have become experts on the subject. Once we have found our niche in something we enjoy writing about, we can use one research venture to write a variety of pieces.

Teen

Read 1 Timothy 4-6

1 Timothy 4:12 "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity."

There are plenty of teen markets in magazines and books. The magazines range from popular to Christian and are all looking for certain materials to appeal to their readers.

Teens are looking for information about how to fit in, how to be an individual, and for guidance about making the life decisions that are coming up like college and marriage. Nonfiction books can cover pretty much anything by focusing on one of a teen’s concerns.

For fiction, it still hold true that most teen readers would be looking for stories that have characters slightly older than the targeted readers. That’s not a hard and fast rule, however—just tell the story we want to tell and then look at what group it might appeal to for marketing.

Hero

Read 1 Timothy 1-3

1 Timothy 1:12 "And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;"

The hero of a story is the protagonist. It is the person who has the most to gain or lose in the story.

A nonfiction piece could also have a hero. If we are writing an essay, we might be the hero or if we are writing about someone we have interviewed, they could be the hero of the piece.

Usually the hero is the point of view character in fiction. But it is possible to have a narrator for the story and a hero of the story that are not the same person, like the Sherlock Holmes stories.