Today was a writing retreat day for me at Conestoga Gardens—Lancaster’s best kept secret. It’s open to the public on Wednesday from 1:00 to 8:00 p.m. (June to September), so I take full advantage of it.My hubby contracted the stomach flu and for the last two days I have been listening to sounds of throw-up, so I took a break to indulge in the sound of trickling waterfalls. It was so peaceful; I actually got some writing done.
Someone e-mailed this week and asked me how to write a devotional, so here’s my answer to that question. Since I’m writing 30 of them for Moms of Sons, I thought this might be a good time to share with you something you might learn at a writer’s conference.
1. Start out your story with action; dialogue usually works for me. It gets your reader involved from the get-go. Opening with a story never fails to involve your reader (which is why you are writing it!).
2. The Scripture should highlight the main point of your story. Be sure to not make it a long verse (if so, just use only a portion of it) and be careful not to use Scripture out of context. There are a lot of good sites on the Web. I use www.Biblegateway.com.
3. This is the hardest part for some writers: Your last paragraph needs to tie in the story with the Scripture.
4. End on a positive note.
There you have it. I subscribe to Joni and Friends and receive a devotional a day via e-mail. Joni Eareckson Tada is the queen of short devotionals which is harder to do than longer ones because it is tight writing. An average devotional is anywhere from 500-700 words. The hardest ones to write are about 200 words.
Enjoy the picture of the day and have fun writing your devotional!
Living Life Passionately,
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