Monday, October 5, 2015

A Step in the Write Direction--October 5, 2015--Ideas for Nonfiction Articles

A Step in the Write Direction
October 5, 2015
Update: I’ve been a little under the weather the last couple of days. The wind and rain hasn’t helped the COPD, but I think part of it is just the last few months catching up with me. It has been busy!...I want to share a story our interim pastor told last week, and that I found on the Internet. Food for thought! “During the reign of Oliver Cromwell, there was a shortage of currency in the British Empire. Representatives carefully searched the nation in hopes of finding silver to meet the emergency. After one month, the committee returned with its report. “We have searched the Empire in vain seeking to find silver. To our dismay, we found none anywhere except in the cathedrals where the statues of the saints are made of choice silver.” To this, Oliver Cromwell eloquently answered, “Let’s melt down the saints and put them into circulation.” (https://bible.org/illustration/melt-down-saints)
Thought for Today: You have permission to rest. You are not responsible for fixing everything that is broken. You do not have to try and make everyone happy. For now take time for you. It’s time to replenish. (Author unknown.)
Song for Today:
I stand on the mountain of blessing at last,
No cloud in the heavens a shadow to cast,
His smile is upon me, the valley is past,
For He is so precious to me.
            Charles H. Gabriel, “He Is So Precious to Me”

Laugh for Today: Bob forgot his wedding anniversary and his wife was mad. She told him, “Tomorrow morning I expect to find a gift in the driveway that goes from 0 to 200 in 6 seconds AND IT BETTER BE THERE!” The next morning when his wife woke up, she looked out the  window to find a gift wrapped box in the middle of the driveway. She opened it and found—a brand-new bathroom scale. Bob hasn’t been seen since Friday!

Grammar note (something I just learned):
            “Ever so often” means “a great many times”
            “Every so often” means “now and then, once in a while”

Writer’s Tips:                         Ideas for Nonfiction Articles

One way to get ideas for nonfiction articles is to think of something you’re now going through or have gone through in the past. Following are other hints.
·        Use the five senses.
·        Be a people watcher.
·        Tell stories your readers can relate to.
·        Think back to the “good ol’ days.”
·        Go through your photo album.
·        Share an experience that makes your readers laugh or cry.
·        Look for anniversaries of local businesses and churches. Go through old newspapers and see what happened twenty-five or fifty years ago.
·        Walk through cemeteries.
·        Look up old city or state laws.
·        Visit landmarks
·        How-to articles. These are very popular. If someone has asked you how to do something, you have the making of an article. Do you like to work on cars, fix computers, do needlework, crafts? By sharing what you’ve learned through trial and error, you can help others reach their dream.
·        Social issues. What upsets you? What can you do about it? Would you like to help others see the problem from a different point of view through your writing?

 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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