Andy Le Peau knows whereof he writes.
Andy Le Peau has written what may turn out to be the definitive handbook for Christian writers. Write Better (InterVarsity Press) is a distillation of Andy’s many decades as a writer and editor for InterVarsity Press. He assumes nothing in offering this book to writers and those who aspire to write. Every facet of writing and the writing process comes into Andy’s purview in this excellent book, and is given thorough, if not exhaustive, treatment by one who knows whereof he writes.
The book is divided into three parts. Part 1: The Craft of Writing, can be of help to anyone wishing to write anything. Andy’s sound advice on topics such as how best to begin a piece of writing, having a clear sense of your target readers, developing a coherent structure for your writing, practicing the discipline of rewriting, and achieving good endings is the stuff every writer needs to work hard at, regardless of whether you’re writing a blog, a poem, an essay, or a book.
Part 2: The Art of Writing offers sound advice on the creative process, finding your voice and managing the tone of your writing, working through writer’s block, and mastering the skills of word economy. These chapters will help writers maintain a level of self-consciousness about writing, and guide them in ways to make their writing more enjoyable and more persuasive. These chapters can, like Part 1, benefit writers on every sort, from every background, and for every kind of writing.
Part 3: The Spirituality of Writing gets more at the calling to write, at following and improving writing as a ministry from God and for others. Andy wants writers to see their writing as a calling from God, so that they take great care in their writing, work to improve their voice and skills, and pursue their writing as a stewardship or trust from the Lord.
Five helpful appendices – including a positive one on self-publishing – conclude the book. If writers will pay continuous attention to, and work to master, the disciplines and skills Andy outlines in this book, they will contribute to the work of the Lord in substantial and fruitful ways.
Even if all one ever writes is sermons or church newsletters, Andy Le Peau’s Write Better can make you a better, more persuasive, and more gracious writer.