H is for Hook by Susan Barclay

 

I want you to read this; it’s important. 

image from Pixabay, ds_30

Did my opening sentence “hook” you? Did you take the bait? Did I make you want to read on, to find out why I wanted you to read, and why I thought my piece was important?

When we write to inspire, our first words or sentences must “hook” or engage the reader, inciting their curiosity and making them want to read further. If as a reader, you are like me, you know that an author has the power to invite you deeper into her work, or conversely, to send you looking for a different book, one that is more exciting.

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, when we inspire, we spur on, we “exert an animating, enlivening, or exalting influence,” or we “influence, move, or guide by divine or supernatural inspiration.” We encourage others, we motivate them, we offer them examples to live by, whether our own or others’ whose stories we have heard or created.

For samples of compelling hooks, I went to my own bookshelves, and offer these for consideration:

Meg, 1967.

A solitary little girl in a gray wool coat and red knit cap flitted through the snow, searching for a glimmer of gold. Someone had given the jingle bells to Mama for Christmas, and Mama had smiled when she hung them on the front door. So when the wind snatched the bells and spirited them away, five-year-old Meg was determined to find them and make Mama happy again.

~Sensible Shoes: a Story About the Spiritual Journey by Sharon Garlough Brown

As I read this opening paragraph, I want to know, why is the little girl alone? Where is she? Is she safe? Why is Mama unhappy? And because I want to know, I read on, and learn all about Meg’s sad childhood and the lack of connection with her mother. In fact, I end up reading the entire four-volume Sensible Shoes series, which I highly recommend to anyone.

His name was Jones. At least, that’s what I called him. Not Mr. Jones. . .just Jones. He called me ‘young man’ or ‘son.’ And I rarely heard him call anyone else by name either. It was always young man or young lady, child or son.

~The Noticer by Andy Andrews

In this example, I wonder, is the man’s name really “Jones”? And why is he just Jones? Why does Jones rarely call anyone by their name but by some kind of identifier instead? Who is the narrator and how did he get to know Jones? What is it about Jones that makes him an important subject?

As a result of reading The Noticer, a largely allegorical work, I end up reading this four-volume series as well. Compelling reading, for sure!

December 1950

WORCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND

George Henry Devonshire is only eight years old and he already knows the truth. They don’t have to tell him: the heart he was born with isn’t strong enough, and they’ve done all they can.

~Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan

Yikes! Poor George Henry! Only eight years old, born with a heart condition, and by the sounds of it, not going to live much longer. Do I want to read more? You bet I do!

Perhaps it’s easy, you think, to hook a reader when you’re writing fiction. It’s true that not all non-fiction will have a hook. Think of an algebra textbook for example. (Shudder). But we can also write factual books with beginnings that appeal. Take a look at the following samples.

Thirty-seven is way too young to be having a heart attack, I thought, resting my hand on my chest and struggling to catch my breath. I’m sure it’s nothing.

~Flirting with Faith: my Spiritual Journey from Atheism to a Faith-Filled Life by Joan Ball

Was Joan having a heart attack or just panicking? What is making her struggle to catch her breath? Is it something or nothing? What's going to happen to her?

Young children danced in the downpour like it was the first rain-fall they’d ever seen. And it was.

~The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears by Mark Batterson

This downpour is the first rainfall they’ve ever seen? Really? When was this? Where? What happened? What’s going to happen next? How might this apply to my life?

As the son of a prominent evangelist, I’ve been privileged to meet many Christian leaders, but I never met another man who compared with Dr. Robert Pierce.

~Bob Pierce: This One Thing I Do by Franklin Graham with Jeanette Lockerbie

Dr. Pierce outshines other Christian leaders, including perhaps the author’s own father, the illustrious Billy Graham? How can this be? What is it about Bob that makes him so incomparable?

And finally,

The news was delivered like a blow on the chest by a heavy, fisted hand.

~thoughts of grace: inspiration and hope for troubled times by Grace Evangeline Oettinger

What news? Who delivered it? How did it affect the writer? Was there an actual fist involved? What inspiration and hope can a book that begins in such a fashion possibly offer the reader? Read on to find out!

Yes, hooks are powerful things. First words must be chosen wisely and carefully as a reader can be won or lost in the very first paragraph of a book. Take your time with these words, reread, revise, and repeat, until you are satisfied you can do no better. Share your opening words with your writing group, trusted friend(s), or spouse. What do they think? Would they want to read more?

Feel free to share a favourite first sentence or paragraph in the comments – your own or someone else’s. Let’s have some fun responding to them and considering whether or not they’re good hooks.

_____________________________ 

For more about Susan Barclay and her writing, please visit www.susan-barclay.blogspot.com.

 

 

D is for Diet by Susan Barclay

We’ve all heard it said, “You are what you eat.” A steady diet of junk food is not likely to serve our health well. There’s a reason it’s called “junk,” right?

The same thing is true of what we take in in other forms.

If we want to inspire others with our writing, we need to be conscious of what we’re feeding our minds. Most importantly, we need to spend time in God’s Word, meditating on it “day and night” (Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:2, Psalm 119:97). We need to make space in our days to listen for God’s voice, learn to recognize it, and act accordingly. Our secondary reading/viewing/listening ought also to be worthy of our time and attention, even if we're only looking to be "entertained" rather than informed or educated. What goes in is going to come out, so nourish yourself with clean reads, movies, and music to maintain pure thinking and a pure heart. If writing on non-fiction subjects, it can be important to be aware of opposing views and all angles; just soak yourself in prayer beforehand. Ask God for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Ask Him for discernment, that you would not be hoodwinked by the subtle lies of the enemy.

Here's a healthy recipe for writing inspirationally:

1. One heaping cup of God's Word.
2. A full cup of prayer with a good measure of meditation thrown in.
3. Season with devotion.
4. Three Tablespoons of inspirational reading.
5. Two cups of coffee or your favourite beverage.
6. Three hours minimum of thoughtful writing in whatever atmosphere is conducive for you.
7. Marinate for at least twenty-four hours.
8. Stir. Sift out any contaminants.
   
9. Serve and enjoy.

Remember, a diet (even one that doesn't pertain to food) isn't a temporary fad - it's a way of life! "Eat" well and stay healthy!

_____________________

For more about Susan Barclay and her writing, please visit her blog: https://susan-barclay.blogspot.com/

Faith Writing Mentor by Wendy L. Macdonald

One of my high school English teachers introduced me to my favourite faith writing mentor. She doesn’t know she did because it was an inadvertent introduction. You see, my English teacher awarded me with a bookstore gift certificate because I was a studious student who loved words. Reading them. Writing them.

    

So I was delighted to cash in my certificate as I walked across the wood floors of the local bookshop that was located in an old brick building downtown.

Although the first book I read of this beloved author was a novel, I later went on to read her books about faith. Her writing gave me glimpses of her journals as she shared from the heart. This author’s words helped me become more intimate in my conversations with the Lord. She introduced me to the blessing of praying about big and small details in my life and in the lives of those I love.

Faith permeated her heart, her journals, her books, and her life.

This author became my mentor as I wrote at my desk under an ocean view window in the beach house we rented. For my newlywed husband and I had said yes to an adventure that pulled us away from our hometown and planted us in the middle of a northern coastal village.

While missing my friends back home, faith writing became the passion that comforted and filled me as I read books and wrote in my journal. Because I was a new writer and a new Christian, much of what I wrote wasn’t worth quoting. But even faith writers have to write a bunch of rubbish before anything worth sharing glitters.

And I can’t help but believe my decades of filling up journals will one day birth a gift in me that can be shared with other believers.

In case you haven’t guessed which author I’m referring to, here’s a giveaway hint: she wrote Christy.

Have you read any of Catherine Marshall’s nonfiction books? I’m nosey-to-know. Which writer has been a mentor to you?

P.S. I wonder if my high school teacher prayed for me to choose an inspirational book; because, years later, I discovered she was a Christian. Maybe it wasn’t an inadvertent introduction after all.  

Faith Blessings ~ Wendy Mac 

Wendy L. Macdonald is an inspirational blogger and podcaster who loves to photograph nature on Vancouver Island. Her byline is: “My faith is not shallow because I’ve been rescued from the deep.” Her main website is wendylmacdonald.com where she enjoys interacting with readers.  

Write to Ignite - Lynn Dove

In my opinion, the hardest part of writing, is typing that very first sentence for an article, blog or book.  A blank page is my nemesis.  It begs to be filled with word pictures that will somehow illicit an emotional response from the reader.  Once I have agonized over that very first sentence and my page is no longer blank, I can start to formulate my thoughts and start the creative process of actually writing.  The word "ignite" by definition is the first step of fire-lighting.  Once the flame is lit, the task then becomes keeping the fire stoked. That first sentence is the initial spark, and the story builds upon that to become an inferno.

I don't know if it's a conventional way to write.  I have attended writing workshops where I was taught that characterization is paramount.  I've also been taught that plot structure is the essential component to writing a story.  I am not negating either as important, but I liken the way I write to the way I paint, haphazardly and with wild abandon!  I choose my colours with carefree spirit and splash them on abstractly.  Sometimes there's no rhyme or reason to my activity and then surprisingly a pattern develops and as more word colours flow, or drip over the white canvas, I become more and more frenzied and inspired to complete the word painting inside of my head.  (It is my editor's job to add the finishing strokes so that as an artist I am kept humbled :)

Just like a painting should invoke some kind of an emotional response from whomever looks at it, inspired writing should ignite a passionate response from readers.  Reading should never be a boring activity.  If the reader is not engaged emotionally with the writing in some way, negatively or positively, then a writer has failed in their attempts to write to ignite. 

It is my passion as a writer and as a Christ Follower to use words to draw people to respond to Christ.  To ignite their interest by sharing my faith openly in my books and in the articles and stories I write is of great importance to me.  I have tried to write in the secular realm, but have failed miserably.  It's not my passion, Christ is, and so I write to ignite that same passion in others.  To do otherwise goes against the specific calling I have as a Christian writer.

 Lynn Dove is the award-winning author, of the YA “Wounded Trilogy”- a contemporary Christian fiction series with coming-of-age themes.  A wife, mom, grandmother, and free-lance writer with articles published in several magazines and anthologies including Chicken Soup for the Soul books, her blog, “Journey Thoughts” is a Canadian Christian Writing Award winner.  Readers may connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and at lynndove.com  

Writing Down the Stirrings of Our Heart -- Ramona Heikel

I believe some of the most profound changes in readers happen while reading personal writing.  

I am always open to learning and inspiration, and want to know and understand others’ feelings, thoughts and motivations, so I gravitate toward personal essays and similar fiction.  Many personal pieces are positive and give us a warm feeling.  Others are full of difficult experiences, and when we read them it’s as if we were partaking in their grief, anger or misery.  Actually, I am willing to do that, as long as they are not sensationalistic, intended to startle or shock, and as long as there is a benefit.  My favorite authors of personal writings use introspection, contemplation, and analysis in order to help readers gain some new insight or encouragement.

All this about reading personal writings is just to say that I want to keep these in mind when I am the writer.  It is important to me to have a strong worthwhile purpose and message that will result in a revelation or inspiration for the reader.

It is also important to me to be upbeat.  Although I spill almost everything out in my journals, even in that private place I prefer to be positive and not dwell overly much on things that are hurtful or upsetting.  I guess it’s because I plan to re-read them, and I know what I’m talking about, even if I don’t give all the gory details.  Or I think that someone else might end up reading them, and don’t want anyone to misunderstand them. 

Similarly, I want all my “public” writing to uplift and encourage, and don’t usually have a problem being transparent and honest about my own foibles, mistakes, failures, confusion, revelations, relationships, hopes, dreams, and limitations.  But I don’t want a reader to feel upset or depressed.  So in my writing, I find myself hesitant to share the negative—the sad, tough, painful—things in my heart. 

However, God may have other ideas.  I recently wrote a draft of a short story in which I had the main female character struggling with something I’d struggled with years ago.  I was surprised to find the character narrating my story, something that I hadn’t thought of for a long time, and that I’d never really talked about with anyone before.  But there it was, right there all over the page where someone could read it.  I felt uncomfortable and exposed, and considered erasing it.  But then I decided just to go with the flow and write it all out.  

That was a new experience, and now it feels like it’s “out there”, even though at this point I would feel embarrassed and ashamed for people to read it.  And maybe that’s as far as it was supposed to go—in my mind and on my notebook, for me to ponder and pray about.  One day I may decide it should be available to the public in some form, but for now, I’m just feeling excited to realize that my quick prayer for God to guide my writing was clearly answered in a significant way.

William Wordsworth encouraged his wife to “fill your paper with the breathings of your heart”.  It takes courage and skill to do that, and not everyone tends to be aware of the stirrings inside, or to have the ability to write words to describe those stirrings.  But we writers do!  So we need to breathe out the words in our hearts.  I believe this is one of the most important ways that heavenly love and wisdom are communicated on this earth.

Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lecates/307250887/

Ramona Heikel

Happilywriting.com

Making Good Things Happen Inside Readers – Ramona Heikel

Frederick Buechner wished that he had told his writing students to think about what they wanted their books to do inside those that read them. That makes me ponder what I want my books and articles to do, and actually, I think I did it the other way around. First, I imagined other people reading the same great books and having the same positive reactions that I did. Then I ended up becoming a writing student.

So what exactly do I want my writing to do inside my readers? Thinking about people who are discouraged about themselves, hurt, angered by others, or disillusioned about who God really is, leads me to write something that will change those disheartening feelings. I want to encourage readers by bringing them into a welcoming global “community” of humankind, showing them that they are in good company, not so different on the inside than many other people, and therefore—most importantly—not alone.

I especially want to help people understand themselves, or understand why others do and say the things that hurt or anger them, because this can be the beginning of self-acceptance and forgiveness toward their enemies. I personally have found reading books about personality types and motivations fascinating and helpful, and I try to share what I’ve learned in my writing.

I want to truthfully portray God in his power, love and majesty, to counteract the many weak and negative ways that He, and Christ-followers, are perceived in society. The enemy, of course, is always at work deceiving people about these things, so it is no surprise how many people don’t bother to know God for themselves. But I join all of you and believers everywhere to tell the truth. No, I am not entering a religious jousting match to prove who’s right and who’s wrong, but trying to offer my perspective and experiences of finding joy, hope, better relationships, and peace of mind as I have grown closer to the Lord.

I have presented another way of looking at my hopes for my writing, by imagining an article that I’d want to be written about me in the future. You can read it in my wishful-thinking Inscribe post called “January 7, 2022” posted on January 7, 2012. Although it seems even farther in the future than it did when I wrote it, it is still my dream!

“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking: A Seeker's ABC

By the way, I looked up the pronunciation of Buechner and found out that it is pronounced “Beekner”, and if you’re interested, you can mine more of the riches of Frederick Buechner’s writings here, http://www.frederickbuechner.com/. I was also surprised to find him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube!

Posted by Ramona
www.happilywriting.com