Author Guidelines
Submitting Articles for Consideration in Daily Wisdom
Please pay special attention to item #3, about the evangelistic
or apologetic content. Most submissions we decline to use are passed up because
the writer failed to heed #3. A good rule of thumb is that, if your piece assumes
the reader is a Christian, it's not for DW.
Lately, we're looking for more of the allegory/short story/parable style as
opposed to a "sermon" style. An example of the type of submission we currently
prefer appears at the end of these Guidelines:
1. Submissions are volunteer only at this time, though you
may include a credit line which may contain your email address, pointers to a
Web location, or other contact information of your choice. We get lots of submissions
these days so if yours is accepted, it may take a while to show up, and if you
write seasonal ones, they should be at least six weeks in advance of the event
or holiday. If you are submitting for the first time, please provide a brief author
bio in the submission form.
2. We've found that brief DW's are most effective. Between
250 and 500 words is optimal, though there are many exceptions.
3. DW is not a conventional "devotional" but a daily message
with an evangelistic or apologetic emphasis. Since DW is meant to appeal to
a not-necessarily-Christian audience, we avoid phrases like "we, as Christians..."
and words like "sanctification" that only believers understand. We steer away
from "Christianese" - cliches only Christians use - and references to Bible verses,
etc. understood exclusively by Christians. That's not to say we don't quote Scripture,
only that when we do, we quote the verse itself, avoiding phrases like, "In Matthew
where Jesus talks about the narrow gate..." We prefer "Revelation chapter
3, verse 6 says..." to "In Revelation 3:6, God says..." Submissions
must not assume the reader is familiar with Bible stories or books of the Bible.
4. Please do not send your submission as an attachment. Send
it as part of the body of your message. We often have trouble opening attachments
and it takes more of our time.
5. Please spellcheck your document. Careful attention to
spelling, grammar, punctuation, word usage, and sentence structure will greatly
increase the likelihood that your submission will appear in Daily Wisdom. And
NO curly punctuation, please. Curlies appear as odd characters in Web browsers,
and take an inordinate amount of time to edit by hand. If you're uncertain what
curly punctuation is, please consult the documentation that accompanies your word
processing application.
So if you have an original unpublished evangelistic story, allegory,
testimony or apologetic presentation, you may
Send your submission via the submission form.
Allegory, example of the style we currently prefer:
The Islands
Just across the channel lay The Islands. The Islands were beyond
the reach of the world's most skillful swimmers. It was impossible to land a boat
on their rocky shores. Their coastlines were too foggy to reach by air. In short,
the Islands were inaccessible. Except for the Landlord. The Landlord dwelt on
the Islands and, it was said, granted passage thereupon only to those who came
bearing a certain Name.
The Name was that of the Keeper of the Portal. He had once paid the Landlord
a passage fee adequate for all the people of all time ever born. Yet, the Landlord
allowed no one ashore who attempted other means of gaining entry. His Map said
it polluted the pristine Islands to have anyone come ashore except through the
cleansing Portal.
Further, anyone who attempted entry with the attitude of "I may do as I please
in the Name of the Keeper" was not admitted. They must prove their awareness of
the Keeper's payment by the way they lived their lives. Those ignoring the words
of the Landlord and the Keeper did not claim His payment when they reached the
Portal. Instead, they would offer payment from their own means, which was never
enough. Only the Keeper's payment was unpolluted.
All that was needed was to call upon the name of the Keeper before reaching
the Portal. Those who did so, also proved they knew of His payment with a greatly
changed life.
Those who observed these changed lives often mocked them, accusing them of
arrogance and close-mindedness for insisting the Portal was the only route to
the Islands.
Yet the mockers continued offering their own payments, ignoring the passage
that had already been paid.
DW Submission form
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