by Katy Kauffman @KatyKauffman28
A blog lets you spill your heart onto the screen. What do you want to share with your readers? What is God teaching you that you want to pass on? How can you organize your thoughts? That’s what we’ll talk about in Part 3 of this series.
In Part 1 of our series, we looked at the very basics—why we should start a blog, what we should write about, and how often.
In Part 2, we looked at some blogging platforms like WordPress, what to put in our sidebars, and how long posts should be.
This month, let’s talk about an expandable outline for your blog posts. Whether you want to write devotions, Christian living, or short Bible studies on your blog, you can take this outline and plump it out to share what’s bubbling in your heart and waiting to spill out.
Don’t forget it’s a good idea to keep posts to 500 – 800 words. What genre you pick determines what you focus on.
- Devotions focus on a story with a spiritual point.
- Christian living focuses on application of Scripture and Biblical wisdom for everyday life.
- Bible studies focus on explaining Scripture and give application.
A User-Friendly Outline
Sometimes I just want to write from the heart and see what spills out. But often, my flow of thought can become muddled. So try using this outline and expand each part as needed, depending on your genre.
Start with a story.
Captivate your readers’ attention with a story that introduces your main point. Lead-ins can be two to six paragraphs long, depending on what genre you’re writing in. Since devotions are mostly made up of stories, your lead-in may be longer.
Show; don’t tell. Share the story in such a way that the reader can experience it with you. Set the scene, share the feelings, show the conflict, and lead to the resolution (either in the lead-in or later in the post).
Transition to your spiritual point.
Just like Jesus used stories and illustrations to make a spiritual point, we can too. After you share your story, transition to your spiritual point using words from the lead-in.
When I wrote about being all in for God, I used the story of American gymnast Keri Strug. In the 1996 Summer Olympics, she fell on her first vault landing and hurt her ankle. But she didn’t quit. She pushed through her second vault attempt and “stuck” her landing, giving her American team the gold medal.
After I shared her story, I transitioned to my spiritual point sharing that sometimes it will be hard to do our God-given assignments and we wonder if we can continue. But if we push through the pain and “stick our landing,” God can turn it into gold for us and the team.
So be sure to take key phrases from your story and use them in your transition paragraph to show the connection between the physical realm and the spiritual.
Scripture
The Bible is God’s voice and heart that speak to every generation. We can encourage the reader with our personal stories, but we always need to share the powerful Word of God which changes lives and strengthens souls.
Comment on Scripture, and share application for life today.
What would you like to say about a particular Bible passage? What does it mean? How is it relevant to life today? Share some insights about your Scripture passage that drive home your main point. Include the best elements for your message—definitions, cross-references, examples, illustrations, and stories.
And don’t ever forget the application. This is the heart of our writing. After we’ve grabbed our readers’ attention with a lead-in, transitioned to our spiritual point, shared the Scripture, and talked about it, we can show its relevance to our everyday lives. Understanding Scripture and practicing it releases God’s power, peace, and joy into our lives.
Final Takeaway
Drive home your point with one final takeaway, or point of application. What else can you say that emphasizes your main idea or adds to it? Something that reinforces the why or the how behind what you’re sharing. End with this final takeaway, and ask a question to generate some conversation in the comments section.
Next month, I’ll share how to connect with other bloggers, so we can help each other build our platforms. You don’t have to blog alone! And other writers understand the time commitment blogging takes. We can greatly help each other in four ways. See you then.
Which part of the outline do you tend to focus on the most? The story? The application? Tell us in the comments below, and happy blogging!
Katy Kauffman is an award-winning author, an editor of Refresh Bible Study Magazine, and a co-founder of Lighthouse Bible Studies. She loves connecting with writers and working alongside them in compilations, such as Feed Your Soul with the Word of God, Collection 1 which is a 2020 Selah Awards finalist. She recently started The Lighthouse Connection, a monthly writers’ newsletter including writing tips, inspiration to write, and news of submission opportunities.
In addition to online magazines, Katy’s writing can be found at CBN.com, thoughts-about-God.com, and three blogs on writing. She loves to spend time with family and friends, take acrylic painting classes online, and do yard work in the morning sun. Connect with her at her blog, Winning the Victory, and on Facebook and Twitter.
The Conversation
Great post, Katy, so helpful and encouraging. Thank you!
Thank you, Katherine!
I appreciate these helpful tips, especially “be sure to take key phrases from your story and use them in your transition paragraph to show the connection between the physical realm and the spiritual.” Thanks. Katy.
Thank you, Jeannie!