Lecture One- Writing Your Book; What You'll Need

You should always know what ingredients you'll need before you should start on your recipe. In the same way, you'll need to know what ingredients are required to write your book before you start on it. So here's what we'll be talking about for much of the course:

Who- your characters. Who's in your story? What are they like? What's their favorite color? Vegetable preference?

What- what is your story about? What's your plot? Your theme?

When/Where- when or where does your story take place? Baltimore of 1814? A Nazi camp in 1943? The Pacific Islands? Hawaii? Fantasy Land? China?

How- writers differ when it comes to this one. Many outline and many don't. But it's probably a good idea to know a little bit about where you're going with the story before you actually leave on the journey of telling your tale.

Of course, there's a lot more to writing than just that, but those are the basics. Many writers find that their writing requires intensive research (you might be moaning by now, but I personally kind of like it).

You'll also need to know the genre of your book (is it a romance, sci-fi, historical fiction, fantasy, mainstream, etc.). This especially comes in handy when you're looking for publishers. Many publishers only accept certain genres, so it will be useful if you familiarize yourself with the one your book's in.

In addition to this course, you'll probably need to read some books on writing. One book that I'm finding extremely informative and helpful is Deborah Perlberg's The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing for Young Adults. Even if you're not writing for adolescence, check this book out. Ms. Perlberg gives you excellent tips on writing dialogue, where many other books will tell you the same thing vaguely with no examples whatsoever.

Courses, workshops, and conferences are also terrific ways to learn about your craft. I am currently a student of the Christian Writers Guild (owned by Jerry Jenkins). This is a great circle of Christian writers who can hook you up with professional writers who will critique your assinments and provide one-on-one training (many writers are published during these courses, so they are very practical and helpful). They also teach you the knowledge you need to know and how to find great techniques in the writing of others (something that we will cover later).

So, good writing takes a lot of techniques and time to truly master it. Don't try to go it alone.

Next up? Plot lines! See you there!

Lecture Series Introduction

Okay, so you've said to yourself quite a few times, "Wouldn't it be cool to write a book?" You think that when you submit a book for publication that, all of a sudden, boom! You're famous! You see it as an easy way to get rich (and to reach people with the Gospel). Always happens, right?

Wrong. If you're thinking like this as we begin these lectures, we should take a moment and get all of those ideas out of your head. Sure, you could become famous instantly (on your first submission to a publisher) if you had an extraordinary (and I mean super, super extraordinary) gift for words, dialogue, description, characters, plot lines, setting, and research (not to mention having a firm understanding of assonance, onomatopeia, alliteration, and other poetic techniques to enhance your writing). That's a whole lot to be gifted at!

But my point here is that most authors learn the long, hard way. It can take anywhere from months to years to finish a single novel-length book. John Erickson, author of Hank the Cowdog submitted his books for fifteen years without receiving a single offer for publication. It may sound daunting now, but you'll be a lot less likely to quit if you have in mind at the beginning that writing is hard.

I'm not trying to discourage you. If you want to write, go for it! I actually find much of the process enjoyable. Yes, there will be days when your characters, your plot, or your thinking cap just won't cooperate. But, other than that (and the series of rejection slips from publishers), writing can be an absolute blast! Think of it; characters that you create with their own personalities, each unlike the rest, plot lines that excite you and pop up out of nowhere, learning your history while researching a time, creating dialogue that suites the era or country, making people cry over the death of a character, and laugh at a funny spot. All of it comes with writing.

But, as a beginner, you're most likely struggling. You don't know where to begin. So that's where I come in. I'm here to help you because I know how difficult it is to be a writer, especially a Christian writher when you want to share the Good News of Jesus Christ so badly. How do you write like this with interesting characters and plot, without sounding as if your theme is being shoved down your readers' throats?

It's a big demand, but a great calling. The world needs Christian writers. So, what do you say? Let's begin!