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A Lighter Look at the Writer's Life

Sunnyside Up

“Walking on Sunshine”

“You are my Sunshine”

“Keep on the Sunny Side”

Okay, which one are you singing right now? We like sunshine and apparently songs about sunshine. There are a bunch of them. We like activities in the sun. We like feeling the warmth and seeing the light. To quote John Denver, “Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy.”

How much sunshine is in your writing? I mostly write nonfiction, but I know that Snoopy wasn’t the only fiction writer that had to write about a dark and stormy night. Nonfiction writers also write about true situations that are not always pleasant. However, there are ways to add sunshine to every genre of writing.

Add Humor.

A funny character or tongue in cheek example can go a long way in making a serious topic a little less dark. A favorite laugh inducer is when the joke is on the writer. We all have those days when we need to laugh at ourselves so we might as well make our readers laugh too.

Add Literal Sunshine.

Let your characters feel the sunshine on their shoulders or see the ray of light shining through the window. Let every terrible situation have a bright spot such as a pleasant memory or a hand holding friend. If you are writing nonfiction don’t make things up just to lighten the mood this is not the time to call things that are not as though they were. Just dig a little deeper to find the light.

Add Hope.

There are a lot of dark evil things being written and published as good right now. As Christian writers we have the responsibility to be the light. The piece we are writing may not have anything to do with Christianity at all. It might be a “how to” piece on how to put together a bookshelf but we can be positive and enthusiastic as the reader stares at the thingamajigs and whatchacallits. Of course, any time we can we need to share the ultimate hope that we have in Jesus. He is the Light!

Are you ready to take a lighter look at your writing? Are you ready to let your little light shine? I believe you can do it. Go ahead and as you are writing and singing, “Let the sunshine in.”

Sue Davis Potts is a freelance writer from Huntingdon, Tennessee. She is mother to her beautiful adult daughter, Jessa.

Sue enjoys writing for both children and adults. She worked for years as a preschool teacher but feels most at home these days with other writers who speak her language. She has been published in local magazines, anthologies, Ideals, Southern Writer’s Magazine and Focus on the Family’s children’s magazines Clubhouse and Clubhouse, Jr.

She authored a children’s library book.  She is the author of a book of short motivations 101 Life Lessons From Uno (The One-Legged Duck) and coauthored. The Priceless Life (The Diane Price Story). Both books are available on Amazon. Sue can be found on her website, suedavispotts.com

By Carlton Hughes - Lighter Look at Writer's Life

Carlton Hughes wears many hats. By day, he’s a professor of communication at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College. On Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, he does object lessons and songs with motions as Children’s Pastor of Lynch Church of God. In his “spare time,” he is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in numerous publications, including Chicken Soup for the Soul and several devotional books from Worthy Publishing—Let the Earth Rejoice, Just Breathe, So God Made a Dog, and Everyday Grace for Men. Carlton and his wife Kathy have two sons, Noah and Ethan, both of whom recently flew out of the nest, and a daughter-in-law, Kersyn. He is on the planning committee for Kentucky Christian Writers Conference and is a year-round volunteer for Operation Christmas Child. He is represented by Cyle Young of Hartline Literary Agency. His book Adventures in Fatherhood, a 60-day devotional co-authored with Holland Webb, will release in April 2020 from Worthy/Ellie Claire.

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