Judy Croome: Author on the Prowl

I came to “Writing Spiritual Books: A Bestselling Writer's Guide to Successful Publication” via another how-to book by Deborah Levine Herman and understand why Levine-Herman spoke so highly of both this book and its author, Hal Zina Bennett.

While this book is intensely geared for non-fiction spiritual writers, there is much to be gained for spiritual fiction writers too.

The practical guidance on how to approach writing a book is easy to read and digest, well set out and highly informative. Any writer, no matter what your genre or level of writing skills, will find something of practical use between these pages.

However, where Bennett comes into his own, is in the spiritual nuggets tucked away amongst the facts and figures of how to write spiritual fiction that editors will publish and readers will buy.

My personal favourite is his description of the act of writing as a spiritual experience: “Writing takes us deeper into ourselves, into a place that is beyond the demands and constraints of our egos. At its best, language can produce what the ancient Celts called “thin places,” that is, places or moments in life when the curtain between physical and spiritual worlds is swept aside, allowing us to peer out, past everyday reality, and catch a glimpse of the Divine. It’s here that we feel the full impact of our spiritual identity.”

This reminds me of the trance dances of the San shamans: writing can be a doorway to the other world beyond the real and it is there we will find our inner self.

With his unpretentious and friendly style, wide knowledge and his willingness to share what he knows with others, Hal Zina Bennett has created a book that should guide and sustain many an author on their personal incredible journey of writing.