Teaching

This is the Year to Write Your Book

January 22, 2019 by Ann 1 Comment

Do you have a book inside of you?
Do you have a plan to make that book a reality?
To move from ideas and drafts to chapters and cover design?

If you’re writing a book, or if you want to write a book, I know what it takes to make that happen, and I also know that the road ahead is going to be both thrilling and overwhelming.

But how do you get from here to there? From idea to reality?

Personally and professionally, I know that crafting a powerful book proposal is the BEST tool for clarifying your book’s core message, solidifying your book’s structure, and moving forward to make your book a reality.

So how do you start?

You learn from others who know what you need to do.

Book proposals are huge undertakings. After having written four proposals, I know how intensive–and confusing–the process can feel. I remember trying to shuffle through multiple resources, and I kept hoping that I was doing things the right way. It became frustrating at times, but I knew that if I didn’t have a strong book proposal, my book idea would never actually become a reality. The proposal is necessary–and central to the process of writing a book.

If you know you're meant to write a book, this is for you. #amwriting Share on X

That’s why I’m teaching a Writing with Grace Book Proposal Workshop in just a few weeks! This will be a one-day, three-hour workshop in which we’ll cover the nonnegotiable elements of a powerful proposal AND how to execute those elements. Plus, we will hear from a Senior Editor in the Christian publishing industry.

If you’re aiming to write a book, you must write a book proposal, and this workshop is going to give you the tools that you need to make your proposal shine!

Registration is open now (for only a short time), and you can use the code WRITEMYBOOK10 to save 10% on the cost of the course!

We’re going to have a wonderful time together in February, and if you can’t come live, don’t worry–the recording will be available immediately afterwards for you to watch on your own time.

So, do you have a book inside of you? If you do, this is your next step.

Come join me over at Writing with Grace for all the details–I can’t wait to see you there!

Filed Under: God, Life, Teaching, Writing Tagged With: Ann Swindell, Christian writing class, Christian writing course, writing class, writing course, Writing with grace

How to Grow as a Writer: 5 Ways

March 7, 2016 by Ann 2 Comments

Perhaps one of the questions that gets tossed around the most in writing circles the question of how to grow as a writer. It can feel elusive and unclear–how does one grow in a skill that can’t be quantified, like math? How does one get better as a writer when the skill can’t be taught like teaching someone to ride a bike? There’s no ten-step process to becoming an exquisite writer (although many of us wish there was).

From Hemingway to Dickens, from Voskamp to Niequist, there is a wide and maddening range of what readers love and what any particular reader might consider “good.” That’s why much of writing revolves around the discovery of a writer’s voice and strengths. We have to learn to strengthen our weaknesses and capitalize on our natural abilities. Most of us also need a good editor.

However, I do know that there are things all of us can do to offer ourselves opportunities to grow. There are disciplines that we can adhere to, practices that we can participate in. This is part of the reason why I offer Writing with Grace, the live, online, six-week course that I teach for writers who want to grow in their writing voice, craft, and ability. We tackle a lot of the nitty-gritty of writing well in that class, and I offer a lot of tools that good writers rely on to bolster their work. Head over to www.writingwithgrace.com to check it out–this post will still be right here when you come back.

I thought it might be helpful to create an infographic of some of the ways that all of us can grow as writers. Check it out below, and hang out with me over at Writing with Grace!

Filed Under: Teaching, Writing Tagged With: am writing, author, grow as a writer, how do I grow as a writer, I want to grow as a writer, Writer, Writing, writing class, writing course

5 Books for Aspiring Writers

September 3, 2015 by Ann Leave a Comment

This is from my newest piece for Darling Magazine. Read the full article here!
[image via Lydia & Emilie]

Good writers are readers; it’s a maxim for a reason. And that’s why reading books by experienced authors is important — even necessary — for the aspiring writer. But along with novels and biographies and memoirs, consider reading books about writing, in which authors pull back the curtain on the writing process and life as a person of words.

While this is by no means an exhaustive list, these books are on my personal short list for writers. Here are 5 books to read this fall if you want to grow in the craft of writing:

“Bird by Bird” by Anne Lamott

In typical Anne Lamott fashion, this book (no, it’s not actually about birds) is cheeky and gritty and packed with punchy stories about writing and life. You can read a chapter at a time or devour the entire book in one sitting. Especially freeing for perfectionistic writers is her chapter on penning horrible first drafts.

“Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies” by Marilyn Chandler McEntyre

“Loving language means cherishing it for its beauty, precision, power to enhance understanding, power to name, power to heal. And it means using words as instruments of love” (p. 23). Through lovely prose and a deeply thoughtful commentary on culture, McEntyre invites readers to steward language and the inherent power that words carry.

“The Writing Life” by Annie Dillard

With fluid and almost dream-like prose, Dillard offers heavy-hitting truths about writing and life through unexpected stories and winding analogies. Readers who are writers will appreciate Dillard’s honesty about the difficulties and rewards of writing.

Read about the other two books here, at Darling.

If you’re a fellow writer, I’ll be teaching a writing course this January–registration opens in November, and I can’t wait to talk writing, craft, and publishing, with you. Check out the site and sign up for updates here!

Filed Under: Guest Post, Teaching, Writing Tagged With: amwriting, aspiring writer, be a better writer, books for writers, darling, Darling Magazine, growing as a writer, how do I become a better writer, learning as a writer, Writing

Receiving Grace: Friendship that Points to Jesus

September 17, 2014 by Ann 2 Comments

Things have been a little quieter around here, in large part because I’m back to teaching. But they’re also quieter because I’ve intentionally pulled back a bit. I’ve realized, over the last month, that my heart simply needs more time away from the screen, and even from the words that I love so much. More time to rest, more time to think, more time to journal, more time to pray. I need more time with my husband, I need more time with my little girl, I need more time with the women who hold up my arms as a new mom and are in these beautiful and difficult trenches with me.

I have been feeling soul-tired lately, and when that happens its time to get back to the basics: Jesus, family, friends, sleep. As a chronic over-achiever, I would like to think that I can push through anything, but that’s not the case.

And, so, I am slowing in the ways that I can. And I am opening up these soul-tired places in me to my friends. I am sharing my life with them so that they can speak truth, offer encouragement, and point me to Jesus. These are the things we have been doing for each other for years; lately, though, I find I am more on the receiving end than usual. And that’s ok. We all have seasons where we need others to offer their strength to us. I’m grateful.

My real-life friends are central in this journey I am living. But next week, I am also thankful that I get to go and make some new friends–and turn online friends into real-life friends. I’m headed to the Influence Conference, which focuses on keeping Jesus at the center of our online lives–something so beautiful and so necessary.

For those women who I will meet there, we are sharing a link-up. So here’s a bit about me: I’m a wife, mom, pastor’s wife, and college instructor. I was in school for most of my life as a student, and now I’m still in school–but on the other side of the classroom. I teach creative writing and creative nonfiction courses to college students, and I love it. I also write for multiple publications and love speaking to groups of women. My husband is my best friend and February will mark 10 years of dating (we’ve been married for 8+ of those years). I hope we have a good 60+ years left together! Our daughter, Ella, was born on our seventh anniversary and she is a delight!

I’m very much looking forward to the Strategy classes, and you’ll rarely find me without a cardigan (I get cold easily…and I’m a teacher. Ha!).

I’d love to meet you online as we prepare for #influenceconf, and I’m so looking forward to giving you a hug in person next week! Here’s to making much of Jesus!

Filed Under: About, God, Teaching Tagged With: anniversary, Christianity, faith, Influence Conference, Influence Network, marriage, mom, motherhood, my soul is tired, soul tired, Writer, Writing

An Empty Classroom: Holy Ground

August 27, 2014 by Ann 2 Comments

This is the week that school starts at the college where I teach. As a college prof I get to claim most of the month of August for the summer–but this last week is decidedly Fall for me. It may still be 90 degrees outside, and the trees may still be heavy with green, but Fall is here for me. The students are on campus, unpacking boxes and purchasing books, and I am a teacher once again.

Yesterday, I spent several hours preparing lesson plans, making sure my course syllabus was ready to go, prepping the course website, and thinking about the semester ahead.

I have the privilege of teaching.

I have the opportunity to speak into the lives of the upcoming generation.

I have the chance to point them to Jesus.

I stood in the empty classroom where I will spend two hours every Tuesday and Thursday for the remainder of the year, and I was grateful. I know there will be conversations and questions and debates and weighty thoughts in this classroom. I felt very small in that classroom, in the best way possible. It is not my classroom. It is His.

God is the leader of these students. He made them and created them, and I have the charge of stewarding their education for a few hours every week, and so I always walk into the classroom with awe and also with fear. Because I know that although I am a teacher, I also know that my own training and skill is not what these students ultimately need. I will teach them about writing, yes, but my prayer is that God will be glorified and that these students will know and love him more at the end of the semester than they do now. I pray the same for myself, for I know I will be impacted by them, too.

Lord, give me words to speak that honor you. Give me a heart that is attentive to your presence among us. And give me a mind that points always back to you, for the fear of the Lord really is the beginning of wisdom.

I start teaching tomorrow. Pray for me? I always need it.

Filed Under: Life, Ministry, Teaching, Uncategorized Tagged With: Christian education, Christianity, college, college professor, faith, fall, humility, Jesus, learning, teaching, university