An Open Letter: Guidelines for Choosing

Hello Lynnda...I read on one of your blog posts that you were taking the Apprentice course through Christian Writers Guild.  I am a new writer and wondered about the course.  Have you found it helpful?  Any other suggestions.  God bless your writing ministry. Connie C.

Good morning, Connie;

Congratulations on your decision to become a writer! You are starting out on a marvelous adventure that makes anything Indiana Jones experienced in the movies seem tame by comparison.

Like anything else that is worth doing, becoming a professional writer is not easy; it's not even simple. Becoming a published professional writer in today's world is difficult and complicated. Becoming a Christian writer adds another dimension to this. What you write will reflect on who God is. For that reason, adding professional skills to the talent God gave you is important.

Which brings us to formal training to improve your skills. I have worked through the first seven lessons of fifty in the apprentice program of The Christian Writer's Guild, and so far, I love it. For me, signing up for a formal training program was important. That may not be true for you. Here are some guidelines for deciding if you want to take that path.

1. How much money can you afford to spend? I can afford the $60 a month the apprentice program costs me. From the prices I've seen for independent mentors, this is a bargain. I have personal attention from a seasoned professional for every sentence I write in the lessons. Since the program lasts two years, my mentor will be a major factor in the polishing of my skills. Make sure your budget can allow for the extra expense. No formal course worth doing is without significant cost. Remember though, this is an investment in your career.

2. How much time can you commit to the lessons? This was another easy one for me, since I am physically handicapped and spend 90% of my time at home. Keeping to the schedule of sending in a lesson once every two weeks can eat up large chunks of your time, if you get everything you can from the lessons. Any formal program will demand that you give up something and spend your time studying the craft of writing. Look at what you can give up doing so that you can replace it with learning to write.

3. What other formal education courses are available for you to consider? I researched several other options before I chose distance learning. If you live in a rural area, distance learning may be the best process for you. If you live in or near a city, check out continuing education courses. If you are fortunate enough to live near a university that has a degree program for writers, look into that.

4. Do you have the energy, stamina, and determination to complete the course? Many times, I have started projects I did not complete (like most of my New Year's resolutions!). Learning how to write is work. If you get discouraged by the feedback on your lessons, if you are depressed by the latest rejection letter, if you have family or friends who cannot understand why you study so much, can you persevere and do the work required? Be sure you have the focus and determination to overcome the obstacles that will come your way.

5. What is your goal in improving your writing skills? For me, the answer is that I want to become a Master Writer. Whatever the goal is, it must be your goal. Put it in writing. If you do not know why you want to take the course, how will you know if you're getting out of it what you need?

6. Is God leading you in this direction? While I researched my options, I prayed. Our minds are as malleable as clay. I wanted to be sure that what I was learning molded my mind to honor God more. As I learned about the programs available, I was sensitive to catch that inner snick of certainty that told me I was on the right path. If you get all the other things right but fail to consider God's will for you, it can lead to a catastrophe.
 
Taking a formal writing course is not the only way to learn the craft of writing. Books on writing abound (look in a library), as do blogs on writing. Conferences have writing classes and local writing organizations primarily exist to help their members learn how to improve their writing.
 
For everyone, the best advice is to stay alert to make the most of every opportunity and to glean every advantage from your resources as you go on this adventure. Becoming a professional writer requires courage, a love for words, mental toughness, determination, excellent writing skills, and a burning desire to see others read and appreciate the words you've written. Anyone can do it.

Be blessed,

Lynnda 

Introduction to Writing School

My preparation for school began in December 2008. I was ready to become a professional writer, instead of writing as a hobby. I spent the next nine months learning everything I could find about the craft of writing and about the business of publishing over the Internet and through books. My perceptions changed; even though I learned as fast as I could absorb the information, I began to see that my writing skills had as many holes as a washed out street. I discovered that one problem with trying to educate myself was that I didn't know what I didn't know.

About the time I discovered my problem, The Christian Writers Guild had a half-price special on their Guild Critique Service. I had a children's story in the best shape that I could make it, so I sent it to them. Six weeks later, I got back a cover letter and four pages of in-depth review. What a value for the price!

The cover letter prepared me for a critique that would be difficult to read – setting my expectations that my story would be trashed. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised; the tone of the review was positive even when the message being delivered was negative. Believe me, that tone can make all the difference in how easy it is to hear criticism.

The review was divided into six sections: purpose, planning & pacing, persuasive content, proper language usage & general presentation, personalization and potential.

This is what I learned from the critique:
Purpose: They missed the whole purpose I had in writing the story. Either I was too subtle in the way I wrote it or I don't understand the definition of purpose in writing.
Planning & Pacing: The lack of passive verbs was good; so was asking questions. The plot was too straightforward; I needed to add some twists.
Persuasive Content: My story had clichés - both the figure of speech kind and clichés of scene and character. I used too many exclamation marks. (Just for reference, don't used eight in the first three paragraphs; that's enough for a whole book!) :>)
Proper Language Usage & General Presentation: They thought I did well here, since my manuscript was formatted right, (Check out The Chicago Manual of Style.) and was correct in spelling, word usage and grammar. I had the usual problem with "telling" instead of "showing."
Personalization: This was my weakest point. I did not create a way for the reader to make an emotional tie to my main character. What was worse was that I have no idea how to do that.
Potential: The reviewers complimented me on my solid start and good voice. They also told me to strive for clarity and remove anything that could be confusing.

Some of their comments were easy to implement; some were impossible simply because I didn't know what they were talking about. It was at that point I made the decision to learn the skills I need in the most systematic and efficient manner possible, by going back to school. After spending a week studying the review and praying about it, I signed up for the Apprentice program that The Christian Writers Guild offers. Next month, I'll tell you about my first two lessons.