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Susan Titus Osborn

Susan Titus Osborn

  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    The Elusive Comma (Part 3)

    The Chicago Manual of Style says this is the traditional style, and was used well before the first edition of the manual in 1906. Question marks and exclamation points go inside if they are part of the dialogue and outside if they are part of the entire sentence. Example: Why did I keep hearing over and over in my head the words, “I’ll never forget you”? Before he said good-bye, he asked, “Will I ever forget you?” “Commas in Adverbial Phrases and Clauses” will be the topic of next week’s blog.

    1 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing the Short Story (Part 5)

    After you reach the climax in your story, be brief and be gone. Wrap it up as quickly as possible, being careful not to leave any loose ends. Once you have reached the climax, your readers won’t have any reason to keep reading.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing the Short Story (Part 4)

    It may help to think through your story in scenes. (See previous blog for more information on scenes.) Each scene must move the story forward. If an event is unnecessary, leave it out. Even in a book, your writing must be tight.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing the Short Story (Part 3)

    Short stories and novels have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Write the beginning and the end before you go back and fill in the middle. You may change some things as you go along, but you must have a game plan.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing the Short Story (Part 2)

    Now write a synopsis of your story (whether it is true or fictional). Eventually this will form the body of your story. On the first draft, let it flow down on paper. Don’t worry about grammar, punctuation, or phraseology. Just get your story down. If you think of small details as you go, include them. But don’t worry about your construction in this first rough draft. Leave yourself free from constraints so your creative juices can flow. After it is written, lay it aside and let it cool.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing the Short Story (Part 1)

    Currently, one of the fastest growing markets in all of Christian writing is fiction. However, if you are a beginning writer, I do not suggest you start with a novel. Instead, write a short story for a church school take-home paper or an online website. See The Christian Writers Market Guide for a list of markets.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing for Children (Part 9)

    Picture books have a definite format, and you must know this format to write them. The concept of doing a picture book can be difficult to form a mental image in your head. Think of the entire book starting out as an enormous sheet of paper, cut up in multiples of 8. Board books are 16 pages, 14 pages of text. Picture books are 24 (20 pages of text) or 32 pages (26-28 pages of text). Over half of all picture books are 32-page format.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing for Children (Part 7)

    If you are beginning a writing career, I would not recommend starting with books. I started my writing career 40+ years ago by writing church school take-home papers. This is a wide open market. Most publishing houses use about 60% freelance material in their take-home papers. Many denominational as well as nondenominational houses publish take-home papers for every age. These come out weekly—fifty-two times a year. There are many opportunities here to get published and to continue to sell your material as reprint rights over and over once it has been published the first time.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing for Children (Part 6)

    For all your marketing ideas, I recommend the Christian Writer’s Market Guide. This can be purchased on www.Amazon.com/. This book lists over 1,200 Christian markets. Study the markets for children and then go on the various websites of the publishing houses to see their latest books and their guidelines.

    1 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing for Children (Part 5)

    Reading is the primary tool of learning—for the child and for you the author when writing for children. To learn more about a certain age level, go to the library and check out many books on the level you intend to write for. Read what they are reading. Also study the Internet and see what websites they are frequenting. Go to YouTube, Facebook, etc. sites if you are writing for teens. You cannot write for an age group if you don’t understand the members of that group. If you don’t like children, don’t write for them. Don’t try to preach at them—it won’t work. If you love children, then you are the one to write children’s materials.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing for Children (Part 4)

    In writing for children, the first thing you must determine is the age of your audience. Are you writing for preschoolers? Are they 1-3? Are they 3-5? First through third graders? Fourth through six graders? You must mark your audience. Then, you must write to that audience. You cannot just write for children without targeting your work to a particular age. Most children’s publications are geared to a specific level: primary, junior, etc.

    1 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing for Children (Part 3)

    When you write for children, make sure the concept you are dealing with is a childlike concept, not an adult one. Many people want to write for children because they don’t like the way young people behave. This is a mistake. You must love children to be able to write for them.

    1 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing for Children (Part 2)

    According to US Book Industry Statistics, 675 million print books were sold in the US last year. Although books sales are down, children’s book sales have remained constant. More than 50% of parents surveyed regularly read to their children between the ages of 0-5.

    1 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Rights (Part 3) | The Christian Communicator

    If you sell “all rights” to your manuscript, then the publisher owns your work, and you cannot print it elsewhere without getting written permission from them. Try not to sell all rights if possible unless you are signing a work-for-hire contract. You normally receive a flat fee for these, and the publisher retains all rights, and the copyright is in the name of the publishing house. Sometimes your financial state may dictate that it would be worthwhile to do some pay-for-hire work. Once you turn in the completed work, you are normally paid in full within 30 days.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Rights (Part 2) | The Christian Communicator

    If your article or story has not been published, I recommend you sell “first rights,” rather than simultaneous rights. Many editors will not show interest if you are shot gunning your material to a number of publications at once when the piece has never been published. Plus, you will usually be paid more for first rights.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Rights (Part 1) | The Christian Communicator

    Rights are different than copyright. Be careful not to confuse them. When you sell “First Rights” to a publication, you are offering one-time rights to publish your material for an article or story that has not been published before. Your article must come out in print before you send it to another publication. Sometimes these are called First North American Rights, which includes the U.S. and Canada, or First North American Serial Rights if it is a serial publication.

    1 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Fair Use | The Christian Communicator

    Fair Use is defined as the right to use copyrighted work without permission or without making payment to the owner. Copyright law provides for the fair use of another’s work without infringing on their copyright. How much can you copy from a source and stay within fair use?

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Copyright Law (Part 3) | The Christian Communicator

    The copyright registration is effective on the date of the receipt in the Copyright Office. For the material written after January 1, 1978, your copyright lasts for seventy years after your death. For manuscripts you wrote before that date, your copyright is for twenty-eight years plus a renewal for forty-seven more for a total of seventy-five years.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Copyright Law (Part 2) | The Christian Communicator

    Most magazines are copyrighted, and their copyright doubly protects your personal copyright. Newspapers are seldom copyrighted, although syndicated columns are protected. Government publications are not copyrighted either. If you write a book, the publisher will register your copyright; but make sure they register it in your name, not the name of the publishing house.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Tax Tips (Part 3) | The Christian Communicator

    There are expenses related to having an office in your home that are also deductible, including a percentage of your utilities, maintenance and upkeep, and even depreciation. You must have a designated room as an office that is not used for anything else to take these deductions. You measure the size of the room and see what percentage of your entire house it is to determine what percentage of utilities you can deduct.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Tax Tips (Part 2) | The Christian Communicator

    When a publishing house pays in excess of a certain dollar amount to an individual within a year’s time, currently $600, they are required to report it on a Form 1099 to you and the IRS. These forms reflect income you’ve earned during the year. Make sure you keep these with your tax records. Often a publishing house will send you a 1099, even when your payment is under $600. Be sure to report all 1099s on your income tax return.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Tax Tips (Part 1) | The Christian Communicator

    Here are some tax tips I have learned through the years. However, I am not a tax expert, so please check with a tax preparer (enrolled agent, registered/licensed tax preparer, or CPA), the IRS, and/or your state tax agency if you have any questions. If you are actively writing and seeking publication, you are a professional freelance writer and have a business that entitles you to deduct expenses.

    1 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing Nonfiction with Fictional Techniques (Part 13)

    Whether real or fictional, our characters must solve their own problems. They should get a just reward whether good or bad, but if you are writing for children, you must have a happy ending. Don’t leave the ending up to the readers. The readers should have a sense of completion and feel comfortable after finishing your article or book. Don’t leave any loose ends. A “problem solution story” is much more powerful than a “come to realize” ending.

    1 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing Nonfiction with Fictional Techniques (Part 12)

    When you write true stories or vignettes within nonfiction articles and books, write what you know. That means writing from your own experiences. Who are you writing about? Yourself? If you are writing your own experiences, whether as an adult or from your childhood, make sure that others will benefit from your experiences. Your story has to answer the question, “So what?” It needs to have a point that will have take-away value for the reader. Nonfiction allows you to use your own experiences, but you can couch them in fiction and change the details. We don’t have to undergo exactly what was experienced in what we want to write about, but it is vital that we feel passionately about our subject. Often you can use other people’s true stories in your nonfiction articles and books. Having several people experience similar circumstances adds depth to your writing.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing Nonfiction with Fictional Techniques (Part 9)

    If this is not possible and only one person is involved in a happening, perhaps you could relay that incident after it occurred through a telephone conversation or a chat over coffee. “He said” is better than “he articulated” or “he uttered.” After all, what is important is the information between the quotation marks, not the word used for “said.” An exception would be if you needed to show strong emotion or a certain voice tone that the words by themselves didn’t express. However, don’t use the exact words a person would actually speak because in normal conversation, a person uses far more words than are needed.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing Nonfiction with Fictional Techniques (Part 7)

    The mood you set will show the readers what is coming and help them to better identify with you. Loving Too Little, Loving Too Much Susan Titus Osborn Staring out of my hotel window on that winter’s day in Washington, DC, I watched huge chunks of ice drift lazily down the Potomac River. I recalled the morning several years before when my husband, looking tired and tense, walked into the kitchen.

    1 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing Nonfiction with Fictional Techniques (Part 6)

    Paint a Scene Often it is important to paint a scene when writing a story within your nonfiction piece. I walked faster along the shore, hoping an increased heart rate would mean greater warmth to my body. The clouds overhead blocked the moon, so I carefully picked my way across the rocky portion of the beach to the sandy stretch.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing Nonfiction with Fictional Techniques (Part 3)

    I use fictional techniques when I write true personal experience stories. All my stories seem to be about my oldest son, Richard. To have a story, you need conflict. My youngest son, Mike, is so easy going, there isn’t much to write about. Let’s see if you identify with the following story written over 30 years ago.

    3 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing Nonfiction with Fictional Techniques (Part 2)

    Devotionals may be introspective or they may involve a personal experience anecdote. Stories may be true personal experiences, totally made up, or a combination of the two. Articles and nonfiction books should always include examples of the points being made. These are all done in a story format.

    1 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing Nonfiction with Fictional Techniques (Part 1)

    Good writing techniques are the same whether you are writing fiction or nonfiction—whether you are writing something as short as a devotional or a long as a novel or a nonfiction book. And no matter what you are writing, you can incorporate fictional techniques.

    1 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Interviewing (Part 9) | The Christian Communicator

    When you have finished writing an article, I recommend allowing the person interviewed to see the final draft you plan to send to a magazine editor. But don’t let the person make unnecessary changes! Some publications will want a signed release from the person interviewed before the article is published, but I think it is good to have your own release if the magazine doesn’t require it. Now, books are different. That becomes co-authoring, and a contract is involved. However, if you have other people’s stories in your book, you will want to get signed releases from each of them.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Interviewing (Part 8) | The Christian Communicator

    Now for the write-up of the article after your interview. Do it soon so your memory is still fresh. The colder your notes get, the less you will be able to decipher them. Plus time will dull your enthusiasm for the interviewee and the subject matter.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Interviewing (Part 6) | The Christian Communicator

    When interviewing your subject, ask one question at a time. Prompt the person if they draw a blank. If they are self-conscious, tell them about a similar incident in your own life. Become vulnerable. Some people don’t want bad things said about them, but our vulnerable areas help others the most. If the interviewee opens up, get permission to print the sensitive material.

    1 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Interviewing (Part 5) | The Christian Communicator

    Your eye-to-eye contact is vital in the interview. Although you will take notes during the interview, rely more on your digital recorder. A tremendous amount of emotional tension takes place during an interview. Individuals often feel vulnerable and transparent once their feelings are down on paper. Be sensitive and empathetic in interviewing and in writing the article afterwards.

    1 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Interviewing (Part 3) | The Christian Communicator

    Now where do we find people to interview? I wouldn’t recommend looking for famous people like Max Lucado or Chuck Swindoll, even though Pastor Chuck was once my pastor. They probably won’t have time to meet with you. Look at the people around you. People are fascinating. Look in your church for an interesting person. Read the local interest column in your newspaper. Keep a folder on your computer of interesting people to interview. Perhaps a boy from your church won an event in the Special Olympics for mentally handicapped children. But a word of warning—don’t interview too close to a tragedy. A person needs a little distance to obtain a proper perspective. Be sensitive.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Interviewing (Part 2) | The Christian Communicator

    If you write personal experience stories from the first person, as I did with Deo Miller in You Start with One, then you have a decision to make. How important is it for your name to be on the byline? Are you willing to become a ghost? If you write a personal experience story for Guideposts, and it’s not your story, chances are you will become a ghost. Many of the Guideposts stories are written from interviews. As an interesting sideline, Elizabeth Sherrill, a contributing editor for Guidepost, wrote The Hiding Place, The Cross and the Switchblade, and The John Hinkley Story.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Interviewing (Part 1) | The Christian Communicator

    In our six-part blog series on “Writing Personal Experience Articles” we talked mostly about writing your own story. Yet, many people don’t have the ability to tell their own stories. That is where we, as writers, enter the scene. We can write other people’s stories for them by interviewing them.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing the Personal Experience Article (Part 6)

    Whether you are writing articles about yourself or others, be careful not to come across as sounding too perfect. Make yourself vulnerable. Show your flaws, as well as the positive points. Paint a realistic picture when writing about other people too. Only then can your readers identify.

    1 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing the Personal Experience Article (Part 3)

    Your personal experience story must have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Many manuscripts that cross my desk don’t! You must present a problem, show conflict, and come to a resolution. Write the beginning and the end before you go back and fill in the middle. You may change some things as you go along, but you must have a game plan.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing the Personal Experience Article (Part 2)

    Use the three-step writing method for personal experience stories as well as anything else you write. First, turn on the analytical side of your brain and write your theme in one or two words. Then develop a focus sentence that sums up the main point you want to make in the article. Do not deviate from your theme. Write some sort of an outline. Then set what you have written aside for a day or so. When you go back, don’t think about all you’ve been taught in the way of grammar, word usage, and punctuation. Turn on the right side, the creative side of your brain, and try to write your first rough draft in one sitting. Then set that aside to let it cool. Then go back and polish, whittle, and rewrite, using both sides of the brain.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing the Personal Experience Article (Part 1)

    Everyone has a story to tell. Each of us has at least one story inside our heads. You can use your own personal experiences to create salable articles or use interviewing techniques to tell the stories of others. Do you know what type of magazine article is the most popular? It is the inspirational true life drama—the personal experience story.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing Nonfiction Books (Part 20)

    The fifth and final part of a book proposal is the Sample Chapters. Normally two or three are included in a book proposal. These are double-spaced and should reflect the quality and substance of your book. I suggest sending the first two or three chapters to give the editor a sense of continuity. Some authors prefer to send the first, middle, and last chapters; others prefer to include a chapter with specific significance. You be the judge regarding what is best for your manuscript. The chapters should be double-spaced.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing Nonfiction Books (Part 18)

    The third part of a book proposal is a Competition (or Comparative) Analysis. Check the Internet at Amazon.com and Christianbooks.com for books similar to yours. Also check with your local Christian bookstore. Write an analysis, showing how your book compares to these other books and why you think your book will sell. Here is part of the comparative analysis I did for the book, Wounded by Words:

    3 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing Nonfiction Books (Part 17)

    The second part of a book proposal is The Chapter Outline. Keep it brief. Write a short paragraph summarizing each chapter to give the editor an overview of your book. This can be a vital tool for understanding the entire manuscript if the book proposal reaches the stage where it is considered by a publishing house committee. Some publishing houses prefer a synopsis of the book rather than a chapter outline. This is usually the case for fiction.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing Nonfiction Books (Part 14)

    An editor or agent spends an average of twenty minutes reviewing your book proposal, so it is imperative that you provide the correct material and that your manuscript looks professional. To determine the submission format for each publishing house, check the Christian Writer’s Market Guide or check each publisher’s writers’ guidelines online. If this is your first book, you want editors to read an actual chapter in the 20 minutes they will allow you.

    1 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing Nonfiction Books (Part 12)

    Why are you writing? Is it to share your story with others? Is it to make money? Are you seeking personal growth? Most of my books sell wholesale. I make 22 cents-$1.50 a copy partly because I co-author most of my books. I carpeted my house with one of my checks. I’ve discovered that I’m not in this business for the money. I feel that writing is a ministry. I need to make enough with my consulting, writing, editing, and teaching to live, so for me it has become a business. But my main reason for writing is that I want to change lives. I want to share something with others that will benefit them.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing Nonfiction Books (Part 11)

    Creating a One-sheet When you verbally pitching your book idea to editors, you will probably have only 15 minutes to sell them on your idea. You can find a moment when they are free and hand them your “One-sheet.” A “One-sheet” is one sheet of paper to hand out to editors that shows a book proposal project—thus the name. It basically includes the same things that a cover/query letter would include and should basically answer five questions: Why are you qualified to write this book?

    1 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing Nonfiction Books (Part 10)

    An important part of pitching your book is what we call the “Thirty-second Pitch.” This can be used in a 15-minute appointment with an editor at a conference. If you pique an editor’s attention, he or she will want to hear more.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing Nonfiction Books (Part 9)

    Now look at the opening sentence and paragraph of the chapter you are working on, or at the section of that chapter. Do you have a strong hook? Does the reader want to keep reading? Many publishing houses and agents receive 5,000 to 10,000 proposals a year. If the editors aren’t impressed by the first paragraph, they may not continue reading.

    1 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing Nonfiction Books (Part 6)

    Writing the first rough draft is probably the most emotional birthing phase of the entire process of writing a nonfiction book. Once the words are on paper, you need to emotionally detach yourself from your baby. Lay it aside for a week and let it cool.

    1 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing Nonfiction Books (Part 4)

    Next create a preliminary outline before you begin the actual writing of your book. This may change as the writing progresses, but you need a guideline to start with. Your outline should be built around your chapter titles. Perhaps you have 10, 12, or more.

    1 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing Nonfiction Books (Part 2)

    Writing a nonfiction book involves many other things besides the actual writing. I also include reading, rewriting, and editing in my time. These, too, are important parts of the writing process. To write you must spend as much time reading as you do writing. You will gain ideas for your own writing, and it will help you develop your own writing style. Also you need to read articles and books on the subject you are writing about to better educate yourself on your subject.

    1 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing Nonfiction Books (Part 1)

    We will begin a long series on writing nonfiction books from the formation of an idea to a final product. Writing a book is like eating an elephant. A person does not dare to attempt the project in one sitting! We will cover book proposals, writing the entire elephant, and contract negotiations. You’re reading this because you want to write, to get your book published, and to glorify God. Right? You can use these same techniques for articles, stories, and fiction, as well as nonfiction books. Are you published?

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing the Short Story (Part 5)

    After you reach the climax in your story, be brief and be gone. Wrap it up as quickly as possible, being careful not to leave any loose ends. Once you have reached the climax, your readers won’t have any reason to keep reading.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing the Short Story (Part 4)

    It may help to think through your story in scenes. (See previous blog for more information on scenes.) Each scene must move the story forward. If an event is unnecessary, leave it out. Even in a book, your writing must be tight.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing the Short Story (Part 3)

    Short stories and novels have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Write the beginning and the end before you go back and fill in the middle. You may change some things as you go along, but you must have a game plan.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing the Short Story (Part 2)

    Now write a synopsis of your story. Eventually this will form the body of your story. On the first draft, let it flow down on paper. Don’t worry about grammar, punctuation, or phraseology. Just get your story down. If you think of small details as you go, include them. But don’t worry about your construction in this first rough draft. Leave yourself free from constraints so your creative juices can flow. After it is written, lay it aside and let it cool.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing the Short Story (Part 1)

    Currently, one of the fastest growing markets in all of Christian writing is fiction. However, if you are a beginning writer, I do not suggest you start with a novel. Instead, write a short story for a church school take-home paper. See The Christian Writers Market Guide for a list of take-home papers.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Narrative and Exposition (Part 6)

    Example: He said, “Please wait for me before you serve dinner.” I’m coming home early tonight,” she said. Question marks and exclamation points go inside if they are part of the dialogue and outside if they are part of the entire sentence. Example: Why did I keep hearing over and over in my head the words, “I’ll never forget you”? Before he said good-bye, he asked, “Will I ever forget you?” This ends the six-part series on “The Use of Narrative and Exposition.” I hope this series helps you make your stories more exciting.

    1 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Narrative and Exposition (Part 5)

    As has been mentioned, the best way to move a story along is through dialogue. Here is an example of a devotional that is almost entirely dialogue. It is taken from my book, Rest Stops for Single Mothers.

    3 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Narrative and Exposition (Part 4)

    Conversational Speech: Dialogue should be kept simple, natural, and conversational. However, don’t use the exact words a person would actually speak because, in normal conversation, a person uses far more words than are needed. Actual speech needs to be whittled down, so it is crisp and clear. Never let your characters ramble.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Narrative and Exposition (Part 3)

    Good Dialogue is essential to your story. Dialogue moves the action along better than any other medium. Dialogue can be used effectively in fictional stories, personal experience stories, devotionals, and anecdotes within articles and nonfiction books. Here are some tips for using authentic dialogue in your manuscripts.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing from the Heart (Part 8)

    You want to meet the felt needs as well as the real needs of your audience. You want them to say, “That’s what I needed today,” or “I didn’t know anyone else felt that way.” You want to leave them with a “take-away” message—something they can take into their own lives and use for their own personal growth. You want to offer them hope and help them grow closer to the Lord.

    1 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing from the Heart (Part 7)

    “Written words change lives” because reading gives each individual reader a chance to digest what the author is saying. The author’s words become part of each reader as they formulate their own opinion on the topic.

    1 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing from the Heart (Part 6)

    When you write, picture one individual in your mind—someone you want to touch with that particular message at that point in time. When I was writing the stories for Rest Stops for Single Moms I pictured a different single mom in my mind with each devotional. Each one was written specifically for one woman. Yet many who have read the book feel that I am speaking directly to them. That’s because many single moms have experienced the incidents described in the vignettes.

    2 min read
  • avatarSusan Titus Osborn

    Writing from the Heart (Part 5)

    We don’t have to undergo an exact experience in order to write about it, but we need to feel passionately about our subject. We can use a similar emotional response within ourselves to evoke a reaction in our readers. If God hasn’t touched you on a particular subject, you aren’t going to touch your readers. Write from your experiences. Write about what is around you—the everyday occurrences. Be aware of interesting details or parallels in life. Write from your heart.

    2 min read
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Susan Titus Osborn