@KatyKauffman28

Cindy laughed with the other writers around the table. At least I’m not the only one, she thought. Many of them were also newbies—anxious newbies—at the Blue Ridge conference. She looked at her phone to check the time and noticed that she hadn’t heard her alarm above the roar of the dining hall. My private appointment! I have to hurry, or I’ll miss it!

In the appointment room, Cindy scurried to the right table. Flabbergasted for being five minutes late, she collapsed in the chair opposite the agent.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” Cindy said as she dropped her tote bag at her feet and looked up. “I’m Cindy Parsons, and I’ve written a nonfiction book.”

With a grin, the agent replied, “I’m glad you made it. What is your premise?”

Cindy drew a blank. My premise, my premise.

The agent leaned in and whispered, “What’s your main idea?”

The Solid Foundation of Any Writing Project

Every great book starts with a great idea. Even if we can make polite conversation with editors and agents, entice them to accept our One Sheet, and impress them with our marketing goals, our project won’t go anywhere if the main idea isn’t superb. It has to capture their attention and address a felt need, answering a question or solving a problem. It has to be strong enough to support a whole book and unique enough to warrant a publisher’s investment. Not easy to do.

Articles are easier because they’re shorter. An article can include a great story, a conversational voice, and even an organized flow of thought, but if the main idea isn’t unique enough or if it’s missing a slant or sparkling insight, the article may not be accepted for publication.

As nonfiction writers, we use our main idea as the foundation upon which we build paragraphs and pages, principles and illustrations, explanations and takeaway. A faulty main idea makes a weak foundation. A solution-driven, audience-focused, Scripture-proven, and God-centered idea speaks to readers’ minds and hearts and equips them with the possibility of life transformation. A solid foundation will stand the test of scrutiny and reward our hours of writing. Before you attend Blue Ridge next week or go to your next conference or send your next query letter, have you thoroughly considered your main idea?

Developing the Main Idea

Try these seven steps for developing a solid, intriguing, and creative main idea.

1. Consider your audience. Consider their challenges and burdens and the encouragement and solutions that Scripture offers.
2. Pick a struggle that you know from the inside out, one that caused you to appeal to God for His help, and He gave it.
3. Write a paragraph about what you experienced and learned. What takeaway do you want to give your reader?
4. Boil down your message into one sentence, using a subject and a verb.
5. Make your message memorable by incorporating a slant—draw on a metaphor from Scripture or a metaphor that fits your topic. (In Heart Renovation, the authors compared house renovation to God’s transforming work in our hearts.)
6. Share this main idea with a few trusted friends, including other writers. See if the message appeals to them as it does to you.
7. If you’re writing a book, search Amazon for books on your topic, and make sure that yours has value that the others don’t have. If you’re writing an article, make the topic interesting and engaging with a fresh approach and special insights that come from a unique understanding of Scripture and your experiences with God.

 Bible Study Writers, Let’s Brainstorm

In my continuing class at this year’s conference, we’ll spend some of the first session discussing how to pinpoint the main idea of a Bible study project. Then we’ll take time to hear from each other about our ideas. If you have a Bible study in mind and would like feedback on your idea, I hope you will consider coming to “Writing Bible Studies with Punch, Zip, and Wow.” Last year we had a great time hearing from each other and sharing ideas on how to develop Bible studies.

If you’re going to the conference, take advantage of the opportunity to talk with other writers and hear their ideas, and then share your own. As iron sharpens iron, we can sharpen each other’s writing projects and inspire each other to write for God and His kingdom.

Where do you find ideas for your writing?

It’s not too late!
To make reservations for BRMCWC 2019 please call 1.800.588.7222

Katy Kauffman is an award-winning author, an editor of Refresh Bible Study Magazine, and a co-founder of Lighthouse Bible Studies. Her Bible studies tend to focus on winning life’s spiritual battles, and she has taught the Bible to women and teens. She also loves connecting with writers and creating compilations. Katy’s writing can be found at CBN.com, thoughts-about-God.com, the Arise Dailyblog, PursueMagazine.net, and two blogs on writing. She loves spending time with family and friends, making jewelry, and hunting for the best donuts. Connect with her at her blog, The Scrapbooked Bible Study, and on Facebookand Twitter.