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Lesson Eight: Writing Skillfully

The Seventh CWG Commandment

You shall not bore your reader; but you shall be intellectually challenging, presenting your writing skillfully and in a timely manner. (I Peter 3:15)

 

Preparation and Prayer

Bring to the meeting:

» A Bible and your 3-ring binder

» Articles you, are currently writing and any pieces published since the last meeting

» Notes from the Lesson 7 assignment

As you open your meeting,

» Pray for your audience, the editors and others in your group.

» Pray for God's living, active words to be evident in your writing.

 

Establishing The Vision: Addressing Your Audience Scripture: I Peter 3:15

Latecomers filed into the darkened auditorium to find their seats. At the podium, a local pastor announced he was pleased to introduce the foremost authority on Creation Science, a man of great importance and even greater knowledge.

The audience applauded as this respected man stood and shook the pastor's hand. Lights on video cameras blinked; two reporters were present to capture his lecture on tape.

Immediately words whizzed above the heads of his listeners. Using long-winded terms and overhead charts too small to read from the auditorium, his monotone droned on and on. At first his audience sat respectfully, waiting for the introduction to end, waiting for information they could use. But it never happened. They grew restless.

One man looked at his neighbor and raised his eyebrows, asking in pantomime if he understood anything. His neighbor stifled a yawn and rolled his eyes.

"What a waste of a Saturday morning and five dollars, muttered another under her breath.

Soon one by one, under cover of darkness, the auditorium began to empty. The speaker, completely immersed in his topic, hardly noticed that he had lost them.

Essence of communication

Have you been in such a situation? Besides being bored to tears and frustrated at the waste of time and money, weren't you just a little embarrassed for the speaker? He was brilliant but he failed to communicate so his audience could understand. What's worse, he really didn't seem to care whether anyone understood him.

Or perhaps you've suffered through the opposite situation: the uninformed speaker who misquoted, misread and bumbled through a presentation filled with platitudes and misapplication of truth.

Writers face the same challenge: to capture readers' attention early-on, convince them they must continue reading, and be so interesting that they will know they have spent their time well. Our words must:

» Inspire. Use God's Word to fill the hungry void of the heart and lift the reader's eyes to Jesus. Help your readers to see the relevance of God's truth and the hope found in Him.

» Entertain. Your writing competes with a vast array of printed materials demanding attention. Since we may provide the only opportunity for a reader to see God's Truth in print that day, it is vital that we give our best effort.

» Challenge. We are called to spread the biting, cleansing salt of God's truth to the ends of the earth. The salt of our words, woven together with God's Word, may sometimes smart, but it must also challenge readers to think in different ways, to see things in a new perspective. Lovingly point out that there is another perspective which begs for attention.

Elements of successful communication

1. Be interesting. A good writer edits and rewrites his material until it is so cleverly crafted that readers cannot resist reading ... and believing!

2. Be respectful. Show respect for your readers by being aware of their needs, meeting them at their level of understanding, and giving them interesting truths they can apply to their lives.

Even when discussing deep, intellectual theses, being sensitive to the real human needs of the reader will keep your writing from becoming dull or pedantic. One of the fastest ways to insult your audience is to employ a "holier-then thou" attitude.

3. Be accurate and thorough. Demonstrate that you know the topic. Research the facts and get them straight. Your article may be compelling and well-written, but if it contains even one factual error, the entire piece has lost its credibility. Be certain of every fact you include. Critics will get so hung up on your one incorrect statement that they will not see anything else!

4. Be honest. Honest writing acknowledges that arguments run counter to yours. Through research and study you will understand the underlying principles behind issues and you will therefore be equipped to present a better case, using your research and employing God's Truth.

5. Be compelling. Christian writers are often victims of misperception, especially by editors who fear the Christian viewpoint may be too much like a sermon. Show them your message is valid and timely. Be so articulate and compelling the editors will have no choice but to respect your article and publish it.

Questions for Discussion

» Refer to the list of quotes from Lesson 7. Those from the Bible are numbers 2, 5, 6, 8, 11, 13, 14, 15, 20, 24 & 25. How did your group do? Did you think of any others? Notice the phrase "eat, drink and be merry" from Luke 12:19, famous for its misuse. Taken alone, it might mean: "take life easy; party all you want." But verse 20 pulls it all together by warning that this kind of "party" philosophy is not only foolish, it is fruitless. Note the origin of some others. Number 22 is from Shakespeare's Hamlet; Number 23 is from the Communist Manifesto.

» Have you ever made a fatal, factual error? What was the reason? What could you have done differently?.

 

Perfecting Our Skills

Critique:

Lesson Two describes how to RACE toward excellence. Eliminate unnecessary, passive phrases and sentences. This enlivens your article and makes it more interesting to read.

» A dictionary

» Roget's Thesaurus

» Elements of Style
-- Strunk & White

» Elements of Grammar
-- Shertzer

» Secretary's Handbook
-- Taintor & Munro

» AP
(Associated Press) or Chicago Times Style Manual

For those who use computers: Grammar-checkers such as Grammatik are helpful but can also be surprisingly inaccurate at times. Use it only as a tool, not a final authority.

Research -- Support Your Position

You do not begin to address a topic such as the problem of overcrowding in prisons without researching numbers and statistics first. The more accurate you are, the more credibility you have. Remember to keep notes on sources and all authors' names in case you need to refer to them later.

Use statistics: Back up statistics with sources. You can obtain these from newspaper or magazine articles, government offices and polling organizations such as Gallup or Barna. (Say, "According to an October, 1994 Gallup poll, 47% of American voters...") Most book stores and libraries carry these pollsters' compiled reports.

Where to research: The best source of information is the library, both in your community and in your church. Most public libraries are computerized, making researching easier. If you are unsure how to use the library computers, ask for help. For libraries without computers, or whose computers only contain recently published items, you may need to search the Index of Periodical Literature, card files, microfiche, and microfilm files. These and other indexes are available in the Reference section of almost any library. Don't be afraid to ask the Reference Librarian for help!

Learn what the experts say. Experts in your city and around the country can be other sources of information. Call the offices of senators or representatives, your pastor, the news desk of the local newspaper, or the local college campus. Let your fingers walk through the phone book, especially the government section and yellow pages.

For Christian-related topics, some organizations such as Focus on the Family, Family Research Council, Christian Coalition, to name a few, will send information free or for a nominal fee. Christian radio stations have phone numbers of excellent Christian organizations who can provide information. Ask to be added to the mailing lists of organizations whose information you value.

Find a balanced perspective: You may find some sources are biased toward a certain point of view. Read research with a critical eye and with the intention of finding balance. Not all researchers are objective!

Learn what other groups are saying: Read publications by groups with whom you disagree as well. You will learn to understand those with a different perspective, which will help you as you write.

Write in a "Timely Manner"

Submit op-ed pieces and Letters to the Editor on subjects of current interest. Editors are less likely to publish submissions on subjects that are no longer "hot." So if something happens today that requires a biblical response, don't wait for someone else to do it!

Publications other than daily newspapers usually want seasonal submissions (such as Christmas or Easter topics) six to nine months in advance. Check with them early to learn their policies, and plan ahead.

Technical Helps for Writing

First, a caveat. No book on writing and style is a final authority. You may find conflicts in many areas regarding punctuation, grammar and style. Find one or two you like and stick with them.

 

Application

1. Write an opinion piece based on your research and biblical study. It's time to stretch your skills! Choose a subject which God has laid on your heart to research in-depth. Spend time at the library in research and study.

2. Keep a data file on those topics God has laid on your heart. When you read an inspiring or fact-filled article, clip and save it for future reference.

3. Collect opinion pieces from local papers which serve as examples of articles making their point well and those which "miss the mark." Keep them in your notebook, and add to your collection as you go.

 

Technical Tips

Treatment of Titles in Text

Italicize or underline the publication title. Include the author's name and page numbers used.

EX: Roaring Lambs by Bob Briner, pages 70-71.

Enclose magazine articles and book chapters in quotation marks.

EX: "The One Jesus Loves" by Brennan Manning, Discipleship Journal, July/August, 1994, page 16.

Do not italicize or underline the Bible or any of its books. Its "address" should be in Arabic, not Roman, numerals. No need to write out "Chapter" and "Verse."

EX: Romans 15:15

Endnotes & Footnotes

Footnotes are placed at the bottom of the page of a quote or reference; endnotes are gathered at the end of a chapter or article. Neither of these is necessary for Letters to the Editor or opinion pieces,

Longer feature or research articles may include footnotes or endnotes. The editor will decide whether to publish them.

Ex: Title of Publication, Author or Editor's name. City: Publisher, year, pages used.

 

Thought to Ponder:

Often as Christian writers, we set our sights too low. We write to inspire "our own" -active Christians- but it is not enough to be the best among Christian writers. We must be the best writers and thinkers in the world. We have been given the truth about the world; we must not squander it.

 

Scripture References

» Prov. 6:23
» 2 Cor. 1: 12-13
» Prov. 16:23-24
» Eph. 6:18-20
» Prov. 20:15
» 2Tim. 2:23-25
» Prov. 25:11,15
» 2Tim. 4:1-2
» Matt. 5:13-16
» Titus 2:15
» Matt. 10:27
» Titus 3:2
» Rom. 15:4
» 1 Pet. 3:15

 

This is the eighth of twelve lessons in the "Church Writing Group" curriculum. Reproduction of this lesson is permissible.

For more information contact The Amy Foundation, P.O. Box 10691, Lansing, MI 48901, (517) 323-6233.

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