variety – Almost An Author

Variety is the Spice of Life

All of you together are the one body of Christ, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it.
1 Corinthians 12:27 TLB

I sit among six tables of gourmet popcorn, salivating at their tantalizing scents. Our Missions Team did a fundraiser and today I got the bags grouped for pickup and distribution.

I’m thinking about how the flavors of popcorn relate to writing, and how variety is necessary to fill up all the appetites of readers. Some like Cinnamon Candy Apple. Some prefer Parmesan Garlic. Others might seek out Snickerdoodle or Kettle Corn, while some play it safe with Movie Theater or Cheddar.* It’s a good thing a lot of people are sharing their words in order to satiate the audience. And the flavor of the day may not be the big seller tomorrow – we all need options!

Exercise:

Respond to someone who says, “There’s nothing left to write – everything’s already been said.”
Read 1 Corinthians 12:4-7. What is the goal of the gifts we’ve been given? (1 Corinthians 12:7)
Look at 1 Corinthians 12:8-11. What are the various ways we express these gifts through the written word?
Sift through 1 Corinthians 12:12-25. What are two goals for believers? (1 Corinthians 12:25)
Look in The Writer’s Market. List ten different types of articles to submit.
Pick one of those categories and jot down four angles to approach your subject.
Take one angle and write a paragraph to expand on it.
Go back to The Writer’s Market and look at the guidelines. Does your paragraph lend itself to one predominantly? Format it to their specifications. Add illustrations and examples.
Let it rest.
Edit and submit.

Let’s have a popcorn party and celebrate your work.

Pop some popcorn and let it remind you that you are an essential part of the body of writers. The words you use reflect the One you follow and impart “wise counsel, clear understanding, simple trust, healing the sick, miraculous acts, proclamation, distinguishing between spirits, tongues, (and) interpretation of tongues.” (1 Corinthians 12:8-10 MSG)

Your perspective is needed and helps us navigate life.

Did I mention popcorn is my comfort food? May the words you send out to your audience be seasoned with comfort and grace.

What flavor do you add to the world of words?

Reference:

*Flavors mentioned with thanks to What’s Poppin, NY!

Over 140 of Sally Ferguson’s devotionals have been published in Pathways to God (Warner Press). She’s also written for Light From The Word, Chautauqua Mirror, Just Between Us, Adult Span Curriculum, Thriving Family, Upgrade with Dawn and ezinearticles.com. Prose Contest Winner at 2017 Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference.

Sally loves organizing retreats and seeing relationships blossom in time away from the daily routine. Her ebook, How to Plan a Women’s Retreat is available on Amazon.

Sally Ferguson lives in the beautiful countryside of Jamestown, NY with her husband and her dad.

Visit Sally’s blog at sallyferguson.net

Writing for Magazines Provides Variety

Does your writing have a lot of variety? Or do you feel like you are writing the same type of article over and over with little variance? Writing for magazines provides many different possibilities, topics and types of articles. When I wrote for a church publication years ago, I wrote an article about baptisteries and steeples giving resources where churches could purchase these items. I knew nothing about steeples or baptisteries but I learned a great deal as I wrote that article and gathered the contents.

For any magazine article, there are at least two ways to approach the article. You can either write the entire article, then shop it to various magazines (normally on speculation since you wrote it without an assignment) or you can write a one-page query letter and shop your idea to publications and get a specific assignment.

Common types of magazine articles

Let’s explore some of the various types of magazine articles. I’m not covering all of the possibilities since it will vary for each magazine but these are some of the basic types of articles:

Round-up Article. I’ve written round-up articles on the latest marriage books or Bibles for children. As the writer, you can reach out to various publishers and have them send sample review copies for possible inclusion in your article. These books become the foundation of your round-up article.

Personality profile. These articles are focused on a single personality like a bestselling author. Your article reveals something different and unusual about this person’s life. I’ve interviewed over 150 bestselling authors and written personality profile articles.

Interview article. This type of article is also often focused on a well-known author or personality. The style of the writing is different and more of a Q & A format where you use the actual words of the subject inside the article. Many magazines use this type of article.

How-to article. When you write this type of article, you show the reader step by step how to do some skill or some craft.

Issue article. These articles are focused on a particular issue such as gun control or bullying or prevention of abortion or ???, Some magazines regularly feature this type of article in their publications,

Op-Ed article. An op-ed is an opinion article where you give your view on a topic and showcase your expertise and background. Magazines and newspapers use op-ed articles.

Devotional article. Numerous publications print devotional articles. Often each publication will have a particular format for you to follow with your devotional. They often include a verse or two of Scripture, a brief prayer and a short devotional insight. I’ve written devotionals for the Upper Room which has a circulation of over six million.

Book reviews. Most magazines only want to publish positive reviews unless it is a trade magazine which also publishes critical or negative reviews. If a publisher sends you an Advance Reading Copy of a book before the publication date, you can read these books and often publish reviews in magazines.

Personal experience. I’ve written a full article about the importance of personal experience articles. Everyone has “different” experiences and almost every magazine uses these types of articles.

Take a few minutes and look over the variety of articles you can write for publication. Then take a few minutes and write some ideas and types of articles that you are attracted to publishing. I encourage you to write the article or query and get published in different types of magazines. There is a world of opportunity available to you if you take action.

Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing, lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor, Whalin has written for more than 50 publications including Christianity Today and Writer’s Digest. Terry is the author of How to Succeed As An Article Writer which you can get at: Write a magazine article.com. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. His latest book is Billy Graham, A Biography of America’s Greatest Evangelist and the book website is at: Billy Graham Bio.com Watch the short book trailer for Billy Graham.

His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Follow him on Twitter at: @terrywhalin