Characteristics of Good Devotionals
Mary Lou Redding suggests 8 characteristics of good devotional writing, which are used with her permission. Here are the first three.
1. Scriptural Base: Good devotional writing in Scripture-based. It is grounded firmly in Bible study. It grows out of meditation and reflection on the Holy Word and its meaning for our lives. Don’t take words out of context or use Scripture inappropriately, however.
2. A Fair Trade: Good devotional writing is a fair trade. It offers your inside in exchange for the reader’s time and effort in reading the meditation. Use this principle regarding every piece of writing you do. The reader should never feel cheated at the end of reading a meditation, a filler, an article, or a book. Provide something new and unusual.
3. Appropriate Style: Good devotional writing has a style that is appropriate to the content or purpose of writing. When you teach, your communication should be direct, with clear use of speech. Don’t make the reader struggle with your words. Also, you can’t get too much emotion into 250 words, so don’t try to deal with issues that are too heavy for the length of your piece.