Creative Writing
This doesn't cost any money at all - just use your imagination. If you're not used to writing to be read aloud, it's a good idea to have a kind and honest critic who will help you tidy it up a bit. Here are some guidelines for writing good prayers, meditations, prose etc:
- Keep sentences short
- Use simple, straightforward language - otherwise it'll sound pretentious
- Address God like you think, rather than how you'd speak - the result is much more natural and direct
- Keep ideas bunched together in paragraphs - don't put two different concepts into the same paragraph
- When writing a prayer, 'think' about God (say something about/to God) before 'asking' God
- Avoid ultra-religious 'Gloreeeee Lordy' language - it acts as a jargon barrier to people on the church fringe
- It might be worth experimenting with calling God 'she'/'her'/'mother', but remember that this might have a high impact and may eclipse other things you say in the vicinity of that language, alternatively you may...
- try using him/her he/she randomly in your praying - making a gentle point that God is both/and male/female, transcending single gender
- If you deliberately use archaisms ('thee', 'thou', 'thy'), don't mix them with modern pronouns
- In intercessions, use 2nd person plural unless you deliberately allow each person to put themselves into the 1st person singular language by some mode of introduction
- When reading your creations, don't rush the words, but read them slowly enough for people to savour. Experiment reading aloud what you've written as part of the writing process.
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