We've come to the final installment of Janet Chester Bly's great series on Writing For A Woman's Heart. Today's focus is writing for a grandmother's heart. Don't miss her tips on article topics. Read on!Writing For a Grandmother's Heart*
by Janet Chester Bly
by Janet Chester Bly
They don’t make grandmas like they used to. No more black orthopedic shoes. No Kleenex® tucked under her sleeve. No hats and gloves, fried chicken and dumplings every Sunday. And few grandmas provide homemade cookies fresh out of the oven or jam from berries picked out of her backyard.
Today’s grandmothers tend to wear sweatbands and tennies, hike the malls or run the levies, a cell phone to her ear. She nukes popcorn in the microwave and fills her cookie jar with store-bought ginger thins and Almond Roca®.
Grandkids are different too. They live in a jazzed out, juiced-up, high tech world.
The Power of a Godly Nana
Paul said Timothy had a sincere, rich faith that lived first in his grandma, Lois, then caught fire in his mom, Eunice, then in himself (2 Timothy 1:5).
Kids need grandparents as much as ever. Grandmas awaken grandkids sense of a full-flung family. They fill in the blanks of family history. They pass on tidbits of how to cope with life. Grandmas explain the world from a vantage point that no one else can.
Writers can help grandma enjoy and maintain her critical, venerable role in the midst of a stormy sea of unsettling social changes.
Who Is Your Grandma Reader?
Grandmas come in all ages. My mother was 34. She still raised four children at home. She was a hands-off grandma. My sister-in-law was 63 and a retired elementary school principal. She’s a very up close and personal, involved grandma.
Who is your reader?
She may be a step-grandparent.
She may be a foster grandparent.
She may be the mother of a son who fears losing the grandkids if daughter-in-law turns away.
She may be raising the grandkids herself.
She may be a grandma dating again, after death of a spouse or divorce.
Your articles or book ideas should be focused to her specific life situation, such as. . .
*the pros and cons of re-marriage for her, her children, the grandchildren.
*finding her inner this-season-of-life self
*forgiving herself if her kids aren’t terrific adults
*financial plans to last to retirement & beyond
*now that the kids are grown and gone, “What’s next?”
*mixing care of her own mother with full-time job
*protecting her health—the physical challenges
*learning the lingo—catching up on today’s language
*how she can still be useful, an active part of society with her own creativity.
*computer skills for dummy grammies
Some article topics that have been done and will always be needed:
*Fun, Food, and Fashions For Old Fogies
*Very Merry Un-birthday Celebrations
*Easy Does It Aerobics
*Finding Balance and Flexibility or How To Get Up in the Morning
*Brain Aerobics—ways to boost her memory
*How to Take 10 Years off Your Face in Ten Minutes
*How To Avoid ID theft
Find your own slant. Fill in with true anecdotes and stories from your world. Flavor with your style.
If you’re writing for grandmas, you got to know her needs, understand her heart.
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Janet Chester Bly has authored 12 books & co-authored 18 others with her husband, Stephen Bly, including The Power of a Godly Grandparent, available at www.Amazon.com or http://BlyBooks.com/store.htm. Check out her blog: http://BlyBooks.blogspot.com
* copyright 2006, 2011
