Writing Bible reading notes for the first time by Lucy Rycroft

By the time you read this, I should have completed a month's worth of Bible reading notes for CWR's Inspiring Women Every Day.

I say 'should', but you're reading this at the end of half term week, and I have a load of kids who will have been off school and a husband who works full-time. I'm not technically contributing enough to the family income to be able to wrangle some 'work time' from my husband during school holidays, but fortunately he's a kind and compassionate soul, so hopefully I'll have managed to whisk myself off for a few hours to complete the assignment, while he's been able to enjoy quality time with the kids.

(Quality time with our kids, by the way, consists of breaking up fights, cleaning pen off the walls, putting Netflix on, wiping glitter from the floor - or, more accurately, moving glitter from one part of the floor to the next - carrying numerous cups of water 'with ice' from the kitchen and into the hands of four small people who treat room-temperature water as if it's riddled with the plague, and mediating in Netflix battles over which low-budget American sitcom to watch next. Honestly, it's the stuff of Instagram.)

Anyway, I thought I might share a few of my experiences in case anyone finds themselves doing this kind of writing in the future, or for the note-comparison of those who have been doing this for years. (And, truth be told, I've written three of them this morning and am feeling the need for some light relief, so a spot of blogging should do the trick.)

I pitched my series back in September 2018 - a month's worth of reflections exploring adoption through the Bible - and, after various delays, I was commissioned in February to write the notes for March 2020.

The ACW Facebook group proved, once again, a very helpful community, in picking up a few tips and ideas on how the heck I was meant to write Bible reading notes. I felt so confident when I was writing the pitch.

The comments of others motivated me to get started, taking inspiration from the very many fantastic devotionals I have followed over the last few years, and adopting a fairly methodical approach of research and writing to get the job done.

Working back from the deadline, and taking into consideration the time I would have to write these reflections, I was able to spend roughly four or five weeks studying the Bible passages, making considerable notes as I went along. I used the NIV and ESV study Bibles, plus a few specific Bible commentaries. (This is where it's helpful to be married to a vicar with a library I'd previously berated for being too big. Lord, have mercy.)

I was grateful, at this stage, that my initial pitch had been fairly detailed. It turns out that, back in September, I'd made quite a clear plan of how each of the four weeks would be focused, with some examples of Bible passages to use. Expanding this to ensure enough passages to last the month, while also fleshing out some of my initial ideas, was a much easier job than it could have been. Thank you, former self!

It was very helpful to read Amy Boucher Pye's excellent Advice to a New Writer of Devotionals. I'm so grateful that Amy took the time to write this, as it's a very niche topic, but so, so helpful to people like me. (May I also add that I was hugely relieved to find that Amy, a very experienced writer of devotionals, uses Bible Gateway to locate Bible passages. Phew!)

Having done my research, I submitted two sample reflections to my editor at the end of March. Then, after feedback, an overseas trip and the school holidays, I started writing in earnest at the end of April, aiming to complete five devotions per week in order to meet the June deadline.

If I'm fortunate enough to get this work again, I can see that I might work differently, perhaps assigning one or two weeks to work intensely on the assignment, rather than spreading it out as I've done this year. Or maybe I will find that I need more breaks between writing, and therefore write alongside other projects. 

For the moment, however, with a small number of working hours and other commitments taking more time than I can give to writing, this was how it had to be.

Most of the ACW commenters who had done this before warned me of the word count: it's very limited! In fact, it's not even a word count, it's a character count - that's how limited it is! So many people said what a challenge this was, but actually what a good discipline to get your message down to a succinct few lines. 

I've found this to be absolutely true. My Bible study has opened up all sorts of interesting ideas and angles, and then I have to write something encouraging, challenging, appealing in just a few sentences. As something of a rambler when it comes to writing, I have really grown from the process of having to chisel off the superfluous words and dream up more concise phrases which communicate the same message.

One commenter's words stuck with me. As a former editor of a Bible reading notes publication, I guess she knew what she was talking about when she said, "...my favourite contributors were always the ones who revealed a bit of themselves in their reflection, showing how the bible has an impact on everyday life". 

I feel this advice was cemented by the words of another commenter, someone with a lot of experience in writing devotionals, who said "give your readers encouragement and challenge, but not a guilt trip!"

Isn't it the case that when we are willing to open our hearts to others and express honesty in our writing, that they feel we are on the same level as them, and therefore not preaching or giving them a guilt trip?

This advice has been in my mind throughout the writing process, and I've used it in two ways. Firstly, IWED contains daily devotionals, and slightly shorter weekend reflections (one for the two days). I've included a relevant anecdote in each of the weekend reflections, to give it a different feel from the weekday ones, and to make the month feel more personable and relatable. Secondly, hopefully obviously, I've drawn on my own experience as an adopter, and also as a Christian, admitting my struggles with discipleship, and sharing my challenges as an adoptive parent.

The whole experience has been so positive. I've grown as a writer, I'm getting some really helpful feedback from an eagle-eyed editor, I've learnt a new style/format for my writing, I'm getting paid for the privilege, and - undoubtedly most beneficial - I've had the chance to plumb the Bible for new treasures that I never saw before. God has used this process to change and challenge me, and it is my prayer that those who read my reflections will also be changed and challenged.

Lucy Rycroft writes Christian parenting blog Desertmum. Formerly a teacher and PGCE lecturer, she now divides her time between freelance writing and raising her kids. She has two books coming out this Autumn. Lucy lives in York with her husband and four children.