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To clarify this excellent beginning and keep your writing on track, identify the theme and purpose that best describe what you have in mind and spirit. (The Church Fathers did this very thing before revising the Catechism.)
Write your thesis statement in a brief sentence, and keep it someplace where you will see it each time you work on this particular manuscript. For instance, you might set up a file folder for your first draft then write your theme and purpose on the front of that file. Or, at the beginning of a manuscript that you compose on a computer, type a thesis statement, such as “To encourage the prayer life of each reader.” This theme and purpose also belong at the top of your book proposal, nonfiction outline, or novel synopsis.
As you plan and write your book, refer to your thesis statement often. Think of it as forming the stem from which you develop a black and white outline in layers for your nonfiction book or as the story plot or synopsis of your novel. These lines, layers, and edges may seem to confine your work at first, but they’ll actually help you to see the bigger picture for your book-length manuscript. Lord willing, your potential editor and readers will have a clearer view, too, when you present your book proposal. Then, as you write, use colorful details to round out that picture and bring your story or subject to life.
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