Question: What's the best way to start writing an article for the Christian Science Sentinel or The Christian Science Journal, or a religious article for The Christian Science Monitor? The answer is to pray. Pray to know that God endows you with the ability to serve Him in the manner of His appointing; that His intelligence, which you reflect, is limitless; that Love provides without measure the needed inspiration; and that your desire to bless others with an article is pure and unselfed, and stems from divine Love. As Christ Jesus said, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." ^{Matt. 7:7.}

Such prayer surely prepares one to receive the flow of ideas that will lead to a helpful, inspired article. And further, it enables one to detect the numerous pitfalls that need to be avoided in completing this important work for the Christian Science periodicals.

One pitfall is a reluctance to get started writing an article after the desire to do so has been kindled. Another is a lack of the diligence needed to finish it. I suspect there are untold numbers of half-written articles filed away in desk drawers, just waiting to be completed. This need not be so. We can refuse to be mesmerized by procrastination and continue our work to completion under God's compulsion. When we recognize the precious opportunity we have to bless others (and ourselves) through writing, we will readily go forward with our work.

A needed quality is patience. We must "keep at it." Not many acceptable articles are just dashed off. Usually, patient study, pondering, writing and rewriting, and continuing prayer are needed to give birth to a healing composition. It is encouraging to keep in thought Mrs. Eddy's succinct statement "We are all capable of more than we do." ^{Science and Health, p. 89.}

Sometimes we are tempted to believe that we can't write an acceptable article because we haven't been formally educated in literary composition (I wasn't). While such a background may be desirable, it surely is not essential, as has been proved over and over again. We can reject this as a limiting suggestion of mortal mind, a vain attempt to thwart our holy desire to bless mankind. God gives us the ability we need and will show us how to gain the skills necessary to communicate clearly to others. There are also many helpful books on writing, and the editorial staff of the periodicals is always happy to work with an author.

One false belief is that we don't have the time to write. This is just one more lie of the carnal mind that would negate our wish to help others through writing. It needs to be, and can be, cast out by our recognizing its impotence and the presence of divine Mind, enabling us to pursue and accomplish that which is right. An excellent aid in this regard is Mrs. Eddy's article "Improve Your Time" on page 230 of Miscellaneous Writings.

One contributor to our periodicals—a busy practitioner who has written over two hundred articles—solved the time problem in a simple way. He found that he could complete an article readily and in satisfactory time by regularly devoting about twenty minutes a day—usually in the late evening—to working on it. Surely anyone can find twenty minutes a day to spend on this blessed work.

In my experience in writing for our periodicals, I have found the following points helpful, especially for beginners. They are not necessarily mandatory but are worth thinking about.

Don't be afraid to make your article simple. Often simplicity promotes healing most readily. In writing one of my articles, I purposely made it as elementary as possible. It turned out to be one of my best efforts, as measured by the response of readers.

Endeavor to present fresh ideas in a fresh style. Avoid hackneyed words and expressions. To do this may be challenging, but the effort will be rewarding and will lift your work above mediocrity.

Focus on your subject and then stay there! The tendency sometimes is to wander, or to insert nice-sounding statements that really don't tie in with the theme of your subject. Your whole article should tie together, each paragraph relating to the one before it as well as to the main theme.

Don't include your favorite metaphysical point unless it fits. We all have certain statements or quotations that are dear to us, and the urge may be to include them. This is fine if they are pertinent to the subject. If not, skip them, for the sake of a better product.

Also one should not attempt to cover too much ground in his writing. I once wrote an article on the rules of healing as covered in our textbook. The Editors returned it, stating that I was attempting to encompass more than I should; they suggested I deal with one or two rules only. So I rewrote it, dealing with only one rule. It was accepted and proved to be a helpful contribution.

Watch that you don't attempt to interpret statements made in the writings of Mrs. Eddy. I did once and was quickly reminded by the Editors that discerning specific meaning and intent should be left to the spiritual unfoldment of the readers. It is also usually helpful, and natural, to include a quotation from the Bible in one's article and some reference to Christ Jesus' life and teachings.

If we have difficulty in expressing a certain point, it is often because we do not understand sufficiently the metaphysics involved, or its human application. In such a case I have found that as I dug deeper, working with the Concordances, praying for greater perception, and putting into practice what I did grasp, the needed understanding appeared, and the point was properly covered.

Look out for verbosity. Unneeded words can make your writing boring. It is helpful—yes, essential—to go over your article to delete unnecessary words and to simplify statements where possible.

Now, go to it! And with God's help you will accomplish your goal and be abundantly blessed by your efforts.