Writing For The Soul By: Jerry B. Jenkins

Writing For The Soul

By: Jerry B. Jenkins

http://www.jerryjenkins.com/

Gaining advice from the experience of Mr. Jenkins is invaluable to the novice writer as well as the veteran author. Effective planning for the writer from point A to point B was never as entertaining to read as Writing For The Soul.

As a mom, we add teachable moments into daily activities of our young children in a way that they don’t realize “school is in session.” I found that to be true with this book. Drawn into the story line, one doesn’t realized until the end of each chapter that they had been gathering information about the writing process. With all the technical and business areas a writer has to plow through, learning to increase their cash-flow shouldn’t be a drudgery. This book definitely wasn’t.

The appealing way in which Mr. Jenkins uses humor and personal experiences to bring specific lessons home didn’t bore me, confuse me or leave me to doubt that I could attain my dream. It was the exact opposite. The book intrigued me, kept me guessing while answering simplistic yet difficult questions. My dreams of having a writing career were not dimmed but set ablaze.

Favorite Passage:

“One of the most common mistakes new writers make is trying to start their career with a book. That’s like starting your education in graduate school. Start small. Write for the joy of it, to see your name in print, even if you’re giving your work away or being paid in copies. You need to work out countless clichés out of your system, tone writing muscles, and learn both the business and the craft.”

Take Away Value:

“I call writing a sacred profession because I believe God chose the written word to communicate with man. … I’m no apostle or prophet, but if the definition of an evangelist is one who shares the news of Christ, I certainly want to fall into that category. And though I am not a pastor, I do not teach — in the classrooms and through my writing — and I hope I am, in that way, “equipping the saints.”

Warnings:

You may not want to read this book if you need practical advice in your writing endeavors. Nor would you want to read it if you’re afraid of being moved beyond your expectations of yourself and your writing. This book will definitely empower anyone to take a giant leap of faith toward their writing career.

Encouragement from Mr. Jenkins at the Blue Ridge Christian Writer’s Conference:

“Can you still be moved by your own writing? If not, than neither will your audience.”