Eaten Off the Premises by Lorrie Orr

Takeaway: (food) eaten off the premises

Writing for myself is like eating a meal alone in front of the television. I choose what to eat, when to eat, and the channel I watch. I might slurp my soup. I'm the only one who directly benefits. It's satisfying, but doesn't fill anyone else.   

Writing for others is like preparing a dinner party. I think about the needs of my guests. This one can't tolerate gluten. That one hates cheese. Dinner party preparation is, for me, like writing a poem. This element balances this one. A surprise is thrown in here. Flavours meld into a cohesive whole. Flowers, candles and linens add to the atmosphere. Conversation flows. Guests push away from the table satisfied. Sometimes I'm asked to share a recipe. Perhaps a guest ponders a bit of conversation later in the car. 

During 20 plus years of mission work in Ecuador, I wrote many, many news/prayer letters. Before sitting down to write one, I'd imagine writing a letter to one person, usually a friend. Then I'd think about what I wanted that person to take away from my letter. I wanted my reader to be encouraged about God's activity in another part of the world, to know that I appreciated the prayer and financial support we received, to be inspired to pray, and to have a new realization of God's faithfulness.

I currently write a "slice-of-life" blog. Here I share bits of beauty and creativity, recipes, thoughts on life, and whatever comes to mind. It's not overtly faith-based, although most of my readers will gather that I am a woman of faith after reading for awhile. What I want my reader to take away from that blog is to cherish the small moments of life, to see the beauty in every day, and to be inspired to create beauty in her own life. 

I want to engage my reader to not merely read and leave, but to take away something for them. When I write for others, my questions are:
"What's in it for them?" 
"How can this help encourage, inspire, comfort?"
"What feeling will she be left with?"

Other ideas for take away value might include:

* links to resources...(creativity, writing, food, sewing, fashion, faith)
* to make someone laugh
* to learn something new
* to not feel alone - someone else has been where you are now
* how to....(write an outline, embroider a monogram, submit to a publisher)
* motivation to get up and do something...(take a walk, start a book, write a letter0

Ask yourself what you can put into your writing that will spark the appetite like olives, refresh like lemon sorbet, satisfy like roast chicken or linger sweetly like chocolate? What's the takeaway to be savoured when "off the premises?"

 

How Does My Writing Impact My Readers? by Janis Cox

Thanks to FreeDigitalPhotos.Net by imagerymajestic

Frederick Buechner said:

I wish that I had told my writing students to give some thought to what they wanted their books to make happen inside the people who read them.

So far I have one published book - a children's book called Tadeo Turtle. Definitely the book has a purpose - to teach children and parent and grandparents that each one of them is special in God's eyes.

This is also the theme of my blog, He Cares for You. Because I truly want people to believe what the Bible tells us:

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7, NIV).

I have discovered that the more I read the Bible the more I start to understand the mind of Christ. And that is a good thing. Because I believe I am to "feed His lambs".

 I can't feed them unless I have been fed by Him.

All the writing I do starts with my learning it first from the Bible. Then I can share what I have learned. In my fiction books there is a lesson to be learned. So the characters are like me working their way through their lives and being taught by God through all their interactions.

Starting next week I am taking a blogging holiday for a month. I need that time to reassess where God wants me to spend my time. I plan to be out in my community watching and seeing where God is working and then following Him. I plan to spend more time in study and prayer. I plan to see my family as we are returning from our winter home (we are snowbirds).

I am excited. I have more energy in the past few days just getting last minute things figured out. God has been faithful in giving me lots of fodder to work with.

I love writing and I don't want to stop. But I am willing to stop if that is what I hear from God in the next 4 weeks. I want to be sure that this is the path He wants for me.

I would ask that you pray for me during this time of renewal.

I have written on this subject at Under the Cover of Prayer.

Am I Spinning My Wheels?

Is God Working Through Me?

So yes I am thinking about what I am learning and what I want my readers to learn as well.

Tweetables:

What do you want your books/writings to make happen inside your readers? (tweet this)

How does my writing impact my readers? (tweet this)

Janis Cox, a retired school teacher and small business owner, found a new passion in writing in her retirement. A writer since 2003, Janis co-ordinates a group blog called Under the Cover of Prayer. She is also a contributor to a group blog called Family and Faith Matters.

Janis is the author of the award winning children’s book, Tadeo Turtle, published by Word Alive Press. She is the author and watercolour illustrator. For more information visit Janis on her website He Cares for You. She is a member of The Word Guild and Inscribe Writers Fellowship.