I love writing. I’ve always loved it. I have hundreds of pages filled with handwritten stories from when I was a kid and a teen. I even created my own magazine that would come out a couple of times a year. My biggest dream was to become a writer. Guess what, I’m a writer now. I’ve published a non-fiction book, started a successful blog, and wrote many different publications like articles for magazines, guest blogs, youth ministry materials, and whatnot. And the funny thing is, that English is not my primary language.
My primary language is Dutch, since I was born in The Netherlands and grew up there. I’ve only moved to the US a year ago. Over the years, I’ve invested countless hours into becoming a better writer. I’ve read tons of books, written all kinds of different articles and stories, and asked for feedback from professionals. My writing has improved tremendously. The fact that English is not my mother language has played an important role, I’m sure. When you learn a new language consciously, you are very much aware of the rules of grammar for instance, and you tend to check your spelling better. I loved to write, and I also love to help others become better writers themselves. That’s why we’re starting a new blog series here on ChurchMag, to help you improve your writing. Whether you’re writing blogs, articles, a church newsletter, stories, or even sermons, the tips and tricks we’ll cover in this blog series will help you become more effective in your writing. Here are some of the topics we’ll cover:
- Purpose Driven Writing
- How Strong Verbs Can Enhance Your Impact
- How to Write a Good Story
- 10 Literary Devices that Actually Work
- Crafting an Effective Testimony
- Tightening Your Writing
- 3 Words You Can (Almost) Always Cut
- Attack of the Notorious Homonyms
- Stop Using a Double Space After a Period
- Do You Have Rhythm?
- Writing More Effective Sentences
- Finding the Right Tone
We’ll add to this list as the series continues, so keep checking in for more! And if you have any issues or questions when it comes to writing, drop a comment!
What is your biggest issue when it comes to writing, where do you struggle the most?
[Image via Sarah Reid via Flickr cc & Edited by Eric Dye]
Eric Dye says
Very cool. Can’t wait! 😀
Rachel Blom says
Thanks Eric, I love writing about writing 🙂