| Tips for Writing Christian Novels Free advice is worth what you pay for it. Unless . . . it actually makes sense! These are various tips in no particular order. Take what will help and disregard the rest! |
Follow all the rules, but don't be afraid to break a few. Some great writers
break all the rules. Follow all guidelines, but stretch the boundaries of those
guidelines to get noticed. How do you know what rules to break and what
boundaries to stretch? Ahh, that is the question, now isn't it? Believe in what
you write, and be ready to defend your choices. If you find you've simply made
bad choices, that's okay. Listen and learn. Always be willing to listen and learn.
Sometimes you should just stay in bed. Buy a small hand-held tape recorder
and as soon as those great ideas hit you, mumble them right in. Don't get up,
wash your face, grab a cup of coffee, then sit down and attempt to remember all
those great ideas. They won't be there. Call it writer's block; call it what you
want. But trust me on this. Stay in dreamland. Let your mind float around
gathering up all those great ideas, then record them as they hit. Then have fun
later deciphering your mumbles. And be glad for every great idea!
Write something that matters. Something that has a purpose. This purpose may
only be known to you and the Lord. That's okay. Make someone laugh. Or cry.
Make them think about things, ask questions. Make them praise the Lord for His
awesome power. Take them back to the time and place they love most.
Surround them with people worth remembering. Will your story be
remembered? Then it will matter.
Anything sent to a publisher or agent must be absolutely picture perfect. No
typos, no misspelled words, no double spaces, nothing like that. (How's that
for a quadruple negative?) Send your finished work to a professional in
editorial services. This is something you really, really, really need to do.
(Purposeful redundancy, here.) The final step before submitting your
manuscript to anyone is an extensive line edit and critique. House editors
simply do not have time to mess with less than perfect manuscripts submitted
by authors who obviously didn't care enough to send their best work.
Yes. To write novels you need to read novels. Especially in your genre. But
don't read to copy. Don't read to imitate. If your work is fraught with another
writer's style or schism, your voice will not be original. Your story must be
original, must stand out in a saturated market, must have a true purpose for
existing, and must carry your own voice.
They say to write about what you know. I say, "Write what you know, but then
research what you don't know so you'll learn it and know it to write about it."
But remember this: if you are not positively sure about something, don't make it
up. There's no excuse in this day and age with the Internet so readily available.
Inaccurate details will derail a novel quicker than anything. Ask me sometime
about the lesson I learned from this. : )
You must procure a copy of the current Christian Writer's Market Guide.
Sally Stuart knows the industry like no one else, and she's conveniently listed,
categorized, and spelled out the scope and magnitude of the entire Christian
publishing industry. Get it, know it, live it. And if you see Sally at a
conference, give her a gentle pat on the back for all her hard work all these
years for all of us.
You must go to conferences if you want your novel to be noticed. Besides,
conferences are great fun! And the food! Wow. All over the country, groups
meet and share, workshop and fellowship. Publishing house editors are
available to talk to novelists, and to listen in return. If you've never been, go.
Check out the conferences section in Sally's Market Guide. Find a group
meeting near you. And GO! (Check out the "My Mount Hermon Adventures"
posts on my blog if you don't believe me.)
Remember, if you have written a novel, or if you are writing a novel, you are a
writer! We honor God when we follow His lead, when we sit down and let the
story He's put inside us out. Seeking publication is the next obvious step, but
it's not a step you must take when your book is done. Don't feel any less a
writer if you wish not to seek publication. You are a writer! You are a
novelist. If your book is finished, congratulations! If not, don't stop until it is!
break all the rules. Follow all guidelines, but stretch the boundaries of those
guidelines to get noticed. How do you know what rules to break and what
boundaries to stretch? Ahh, that is the question, now isn't it? Believe in what
you write, and be ready to defend your choices. If you find you've simply made
bad choices, that's okay. Listen and learn. Always be willing to listen and learn.
Sometimes you should just stay in bed. Buy a small hand-held tape recorder
and as soon as those great ideas hit you, mumble them right in. Don't get up,
wash your face, grab a cup of coffee, then sit down and attempt to remember all
those great ideas. They won't be there. Call it writer's block; call it what you
want. But trust me on this. Stay in dreamland. Let your mind float around
gathering up all those great ideas, then record them as they hit. Then have fun
later deciphering your mumbles. And be glad for every great idea!
Write something that matters. Something that has a purpose. This purpose may
only be known to you and the Lord. That's okay. Make someone laugh. Or cry.
Make them think about things, ask questions. Make them praise the Lord for His
awesome power. Take them back to the time and place they love most.
Surround them with people worth remembering. Will your story be
remembered? Then it will matter.
Anything sent to a publisher or agent must be absolutely picture perfect. No
typos, no misspelled words, no double spaces, nothing like that. (How's that
for a quadruple negative?) Send your finished work to a professional in
editorial services. This is something you really, really, really need to do.
(Purposeful redundancy, here.) The final step before submitting your
manuscript to anyone is an extensive line edit and critique. House editors
simply do not have time to mess with less than perfect manuscripts submitted
by authors who obviously didn't care enough to send their best work.
Yes. To write novels you need to read novels. Especially in your genre. But
don't read to copy. Don't read to imitate. If your work is fraught with another
writer's style or schism, your voice will not be original. Your story must be
original, must stand out in a saturated market, must have a true purpose for
existing, and must carry your own voice.
They say to write about what you know. I say, "Write what you know, but then
research what you don't know so you'll learn it and know it to write about it."
But remember this: if you are not positively sure about something, don't make it
up. There's no excuse in this day and age with the Internet so readily available.
Inaccurate details will derail a novel quicker than anything. Ask me sometime
about the lesson I learned from this. : )
You must procure a copy of the current Christian Writer's Market Guide.
Sally Stuart knows the industry like no one else, and she's conveniently listed,
categorized, and spelled out the scope and magnitude of the entire Christian
publishing industry. Get it, know it, live it. And if you see Sally at a
conference, give her a gentle pat on the back for all her hard work all these
years for all of us.
You must go to conferences if you want your novel to be noticed. Besides,
conferences are great fun! And the food! Wow. All over the country, groups
meet and share, workshop and fellowship. Publishing house editors are
available to talk to novelists, and to listen in return. If you've never been, go.
Check out the conferences section in Sally's Market Guide. Find a group
meeting near you. And GO! (Check out the "My Mount Hermon Adventures"
posts on my blog if you don't believe me.)
Remember, if you have written a novel, or if you are writing a novel, you are a
writer! We honor God when we follow His lead, when we sit down and let the
story He's put inside us out. Seeking publication is the next obvious step, but
it's not a step you must take when your book is done. Don't feel any less a
writer if you wish not to seek publication. You are a writer! You are a
novelist. If your book is finished, congratulations! If not, don't stop until it is!
| By the way, whether you are seeking publication or not, I'd love to read your story. Even if you want a short, simple critique with no line editing, or no critique at all! Send me your story. I'll read it! It would be an honor. |
on writing . . .
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| Colossians 3:23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men. |
| 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. |