#45 WORKSHOP V, Sunday, 3:15-4:15 PM Location: Lakeside Meeting Room (Far Side of Administration Building) Instructor: Susan King, The Upper Room
Writing Devotionals That Get Publishing & Read: Part I We will focus on the essentials for writing devotionals with such sparkle and verve that they will knock the socks off editors. Included will be information about the devotional market in general as well as specialized writing for The Upper Room, the world’s largest daily devotional guide. Participants will come away with concrete tools for self-editing to produce polished works that attract readers and editors alike. I. Introduction A. What magazines publish daily devotionals? B. Analyzing the market C. Goal of the devotional writer II. Characteristics of good devotional writing: A. Bible-based — writing that grows from personal engagement with scripture 1. Scripture passage to practice writing a sample meditation 2. How we evaluate meditations sent to us B. Authentic — real people, talking to other real people about what it means to be a Christian, to live faithfully 1. Not using highly-specialized “religious” language or sanctimonious tone 2. Finding your voice and letting God speak through you C. A single dominant image — the devotional as snapshot, rather than movie 1. Using language that appeals to the senses 2. Sending a memorable image to the heart of the reader, drawing the reader in, becoming an open portal to God D. Exploratory style — stating ideas positively, rather than negatively 1. Avoiding preachiness 2. Putting yourself in the reader’s place
E. Universal — taking into consideration The Upper Room’s worldwide audience: Reaching over 100 countries in 42 different languages (over 2 million subscribers in the U.S. alone) 1. Meditations that are culturally specific, but not culturally particular (or exclusive) 2. Meditations that show the readers how to take the writer’s specific experience and apply it generally to their own lives. III. Conclusion: The Upper Room gives readers: A. A structure for placing themselves in a listening posture before God B. A model for reading scripture and then listening for God's voice to come to them through it