Having a unique voice as a Christian writer helps to distinguish you from the crowd of writers and puts you out as an expert in your writing area. There are things that will help you hone your writing skills and make you stand out while spreading the gospel.
The problem most times is that many Christian writers get lost in the crowd by applying secular standards and principles to deploy their creative skills through writing.
In this blog, we enumerate some of the ways that you can develop your voice as a Christian writer.
- Purpose:
Why have you been created? Why are you in your family? Why are you in the current location where you find yourself?
Answering these questions will help you find focus and direction.
As a Christian writer, if your writings do not show that you are truly a Christian, it won’t take long before people know that they can’t trust you to help them grow their faith in God, and if they can’t find the principles of God in what you write, they will stop coming if at all they have been reading your writings in the past.
So, begin by discovering God’s purpose for your life according to His word and then apply His principles to be able to reach out to His people.
- Share Your Experience(s):
People connect easily with whatever you write when they see that you know what it feels like to be where they are or heading to. This is sensitive as you will have to be honest with the experiences you share. These experiences can be either yours or that of someone you know after you have asked for their permission to use their life stories.
Remember that honesty must be reflected in everything you share while writing because, as they say, “people just know”. Yes, no matter how well-constructed a story or experience is presented, as people begin to know you, they will begin to find out, and when they do, you lose their trust and their attention. Honesty is a must for you as a Christian writer, and there is no arguing that.
- Be deliberate about choosing your audience:
Choosing your audience as a Christian writer is one of the toughest things to decide on, considering the other benefits of writing things that would be enjoyed by just everyone.
Having discovered your purpose and coming to terms with sharing your experiences honestly with your readers as a Christian writer, you will need to accept that you are specifically writing for Christians and not just everybody.
To do this, you need to be deliberate and intentional. Besides, when you have settled for writing Christian content for Christians, it will then be easier for you to be consistent, as speed is related to focus.
- Study
Your relevance in the creative industry depends on the depth of your knowledge and how you continuously apply your skills to amplify your voice.
It is important to set time out to study all relevant books, journals, articles, and, most importantly, the word of God (the Bible), which is the basic foundation of your life and also your writing.
When it comes to finding and developing your voice as a Christian writer, one of the best things you can do is read as much as you can. Not only will this give you a better understanding of what’s being published in your genre, but it’ll also help to broaden your perspective and open up new possibilities for developing your unique writing style.
- Choose the specific area of your passion:
Do you find yourself concerned about lost souls and the judgment to come? Are you passionate about seeing people reconciled to God? Are you often burdened to show people that Jesus is the only way to God and that the Christian faith is not in the same league as other religions? Then, indeed, your message is evangelistic by call.
Do you worry about the challenges people face? Do you grapple with the problem of suffering in the world and how people, especially those who have put their faith in God, can cope? Then you are called to encourage.
Are you distressed about ungodliness, especially among the followers of Christ? Do you long to see believers reflect Christ and the gospel to the world? Do you want to see them separate from the world in thought, speech, and action? Then your message is Christian living.
However, the above listed does not mean you will never dive into other aspects of the Word of God, but you will find yourself constantly hammering on the area you’re most passionate about.
Since we all agree that it is not good for one to be just everywhere and not anywhere, to be precise, then it is okay to say that you have to pick an area where you are sure God wants you to focus on.
Conclusion
If you have carefully read through this blog, you would have come to the conclusion that your success as a Christian writer centres around focusing on everything good and honest, which will define the uniqueness of your voice.
Always remember that God’s standards, as found in His word, are what will influence your voice majorly, and as such, it is important that you study it daily and assimilate it to show your expertise.