Papa Don't Preach

(First in a series: Choosing Content)


Some of you may remember Madonna’s music video—that of a teenager who tells her father of her out-of-wedlock pregnancy. She pleads with her father not to tell her she’d been wrong. She already knew that. She wanted to know, “Will you help me or condemn me?”

Sometimes, I wonder if the pendulum hasn’t swung too far away from the hell, fire, and brimstone era. Maybe there is a place and time when the finger needs to be pointed and, like Nathan the prophet, say, “Thou art the man.” There are those so afraid of offending and being too preachy that the message is watered down to mere platitudes.

We need never apologize for truth appropriately spoken. But at the same time, simply telling a person they are a sinner without offering a solution is akin to the days of the stockades. As God’s messengers, we want all to come to know the power of God’s saving Grace. Then how do we deal with the publishing mandate, “Be real, but don’t preach”? How do we “speak the truth in love”? How do we determine our content?

First: Identify your target audience.

Are you writing for the saved or unsaved? Moms? Dads? Husbands? Wives? Children?

Second: Identify your motivation

Is this work to edify or entertain? Is this work intended to challenge or promote thinking? Is this message intended to offer solutions? Or is it to simply provide information? All are legitmate.

Thirdly: Identify your form of delivery

Will this message best be delivered in a story, an article, a poem, or larger work of fiction or non-fiction?

Fourthly: Identify your tone

Will this message be better told humorously or straight as an arrow? Does the message need to be hard sell or soft pedal? Once you determine the overall tone, your imagery and voice should ring true with your tone or style.

Just a few thoughts to consider before you write your first word and after you have carefully prayed concerning the kernel idea God has given you.

Happy writing!
Linda Rondeau