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Fit For The Master’s Use
One of my test readers recently sent me an email that both blessed me and reminded me of what we’re all about as writers. At the end of her email, she included a prayer: “God, I pray you give Henry...
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Making Dialogue Work
Dialogue is one of the hardest working tools we have because we ask it to do so much. It has to convey information, develop and move the plot, increase tension and conflict all while sounding natural....
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Knowing My Characters
The more I explore this writing stuff, the more I learn how much I don’t know, or can do better. I’ve recently come across two techniques that help me probe deeper into my main character and discover...
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Everybody’s Talking at Me
While preparing a class on dialogue recently, I came across a concept I hadn’t noticed or considered before: our character’s voice may change based on the situation they’re in. Consider our own daily...
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Being Equipped
God has a will, or a plan for each of us. Psalm 139:16 (NLT) tells us You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had...
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Bringing Characters to Life
A story without people is not a story. I’m not sure what it is but it’s not a story. You can have a great plot and beautiful settings, but if your characters are not alive, you just have words on a...
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Editing Tips
Books aren’t written, they’re rewritten. Including your own. It is one of the hardest things to accept, especially after the seventh rewrite hasn’t quite done it… Michael Crichton The workshop leader...
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What Does Your Hero Yearn For?
I’m not talking about story goals here. This is something deeper, more at the core of his being. James Scott Bell writes about this in his book Conflict & Suspense. The hero may not even realize...
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Being Equipped
Many times, when I meditate on God’s Word, my eyes are drawn to encouraging and uplifting verses like John 3:16, or “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” or “The Lord is my shepherd,...
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Creating Plots
I recently attended an intensive writing retreat given by Steven James and Robert Dugoni. Here are some of the highlights from the session on creating plots. One way to look at plot is to ask: What’s a...
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Having Problems with Your Plot?
Plot problems? Here is a tool that may prove helpful. Steven James presented this material at an intensive novel writing retreat I attended. Whether you’re an outliner or an organic author, these...
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The World of Our Story
In his book, The Writer’s Journey(third edition), Christopher Vogler writes, “The Ordinary World in one sense is the place you came from last. In life we pass through a succession of Special Worlds...
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A Time for Every Purpose
Many times, people come up to me and say they want to write a book but can’t find the time. Aspiring writers, people who are making an effort to write, often say the same thing. Both groups cite full...
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