Monday, October 19, 2015

A Step in the Write Direction--October 19, 2015--Outlining Hints

A Step in the Write Direction
October 19, 2015

Update: This has been an interesting week. One night our son and daughter who own a townhouse heard helicopters overhead. The next morning their gate was open and the door to their storage shed open. They’re guessing someone had hidden inside, so they’re getting a lock for the door….Wednesday while my sister and I were in Walmart someone broke the front driver’s window of my car. Safelite fixed it ($201), then the next day I found out I have full glass coverage so insurance will reimburse me….Our church voted on our new minister yesterday; vote was positive, he accepted, and will begin November 22. After having our previous pastor for 19 years, it will be quite an adjustment, but looking forward to good days ahead….Critique group meeting here again tomorrow so need to get house cleaned. Two of our group are heading out-of-country: one going to Italy this week and another going to Hong Kong and Australia. (Would love to climb in their suitcases—either one!)

Thought for the Day: God only illumines the next step. not long distances ahead. We would prefer for God to illumine the way a long distance ahead, but the flickering light of the Word shows only the next step....It is humbling for the pilgrim not to know what is over the hill. But this is a part of our spiritual growth: to take small steps without knowing what is ahead but trusting God to bring good out of evil (Professor Rene Castellano, Matanzas Seminary, Cuba. Imprisoned by Castro, eventually released. Cited by Tom Oden, A Change of Heart, 237-238).

Song for the Day:
In this world of fear and doubt On my knees I ask the question
Why a lonely heavy cross I must bear
Then He tells me in my prayer It’s because I am trustworthy
He gives me strength far more than my share.
Known only to Him are the great hidden secrets
I’ll fear not the darkness when my flame shall dim
I know not what the future holds, But I know Who holds the future
It’s a secret known only to Him.
            “Known Only to Him,” Stuart Hamblen

Laugh for the Day: A woman had a habit of associating a person's name with something familiar in order to remember it. At one gathering she was introduced to a woman named “Hazel.” Sometime later, they met again. The woman recognized the other but forgot her name. She did, however, recall associating the name, and impulsively greeted her new acquaintance with, "I'm so sorry, I can't recall your name. But I remember you as some kind of nut!"

Writer’s Tips:                         Outlining Your Article/Book

When I first began writing I wrote mostly short stories and devotionals so didn’t feel I needed an outline. Then I was hired at a local magazine as a home and garden editor. For two articles each month, I interviewed three business owners, sending them a list of questions ahead of time and recording the interviews for more accurate quotations. When I transcribed the tape, I found the article almost wrote itself. In preparing these questions before the interview, in essence I was outlining my article. I knew where I was going, which made the article easier to write.

In my typing service book, I outlined the book as far as the chapter headings, but I got bogged down in writing the chapters. Then I realized I could outline the chapters just as I outline an article. Later, when I wrote the tax book, I outlined it so thoroughly ahead of time with headings and subheadings, that when I sat down to write it, it took only thirty days to complete the entire book. I knew where I was going.

The following shows an example of how to outline. One important thing to remember is that there must be at least two points under each subdivision. For example, if you have an I, you must have an II; if you have an A, you must have a B. (Of course, you don’t need to have this many.)
            I. Main Topic
                        A. Subtopic
                        B. Subtopic
            II. Main Topic
                        A. Subtopic
                        B. Subtopic
                                    1. sub point
                                                a. sub point
                                                b. sub point
                                                            1) sub point
                                                            2) sub point
                                                                        a) sub point
                                                                        b) sub point

Have a good week spreading the
gospel through the printed page.

Donna Clark Goodrich

·          100-Plus Motivational Moments for Writers and Speakers – half-price $5, $2.69 s&h (This is free if you purchase 5 other books.) (I’ve now purchased the remaining inventory from the publisher. The book has been out-of print for a number of years, so this is it! If you buy FIVE copies, I’ll throw one in free. This will make a great, inexpensive gift for members of your writers’ group.)
·          A Step in the Write Direction—the Complete How-to Guide for Christian Writers—NEW edition with assignments throughout! $19.95, $3.22 s&h
·           A Step in the Write Direction—the Complete How-to Guide for Christian Writers (the original)on sale--$10.00, $3.22 s&h (only 29 left)
·          A Step in the Write Direction—Student Edition with assignments throughout—on sale—$8, $2.72 s&h)
·          The Freedom of Letting Go (new one coming out will have discussion questions; can be used in S.S. class or small group); original copies without questions now on sale for half-price--$7.50, $2.69 s&h
·          Healing in God’s Time (story of Dave Clark, composer of 26 songs that have gone to #1 on the charts); was $15; now $10, $2.69 s&h
·          The Little Book of Big Laughs—105 purse/pocket-size book of clean jokes—$5; up to 4 for same s&h—$2.69. Great gift for writers, pastors, and teens.
·          Preparing Your Heart for Christmas (31 Advent Devotions) half-price—$5
·          Michigan and Ohio Cookbooks; half-price $5 each, plus s&h (depending on number ordered)



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