#56 WORKSHOP VI, Monday, 1:45-2:45 PM Location: Lakeside Meeting Room (Far Side of Administration Building) Instructor: Susan King, The Upper Room
Writing Devotionals That Get Publishing & Read: Part II Continuation of 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. The attitude of the average reader is: “What’s in it for me? What can make a difference in my life?” B. Good devotional writing makes the reading seem effortless. II. Characteristics of writing that gets published (and read): A. A Fair Trade — Readers are lazy; their time is valuable. The payoff they get must be worth the effort that reading requires. 1. Economy of expression: saying a lot with a little 2. The SURE test for choosing the best word B. Clear, concise, and direct 1. Quick Fixes for Sluggish Style — combating wordiness a. Limp Beginnings b. Buried Verbs
2. Quick Fixes for Sluggish Style — using language that enlivens rather than deadens a. Empty Enablers b. Weak Adjectives c. Tired intensifiers
C. Concrete and sensory (rather than abstract and vague) 1. Building bridges between the author and the writer through language that draws the readers in, rather than pushing them away
2. Building bridges between the physical and the spiritual by using richly descriptive, sensory language
3. Being specific with concrete examples
4. Being sensitive to denotation and connotation
III. Conclusion: Learning to write well for The Upper Room is learning to write well for any publishing market.