Every writer, book-lover, movie-goer, and parent has opinions on what constitutes an appropriate amount of violence and how it’s presented in books and movies. I’m no exception. The Bible has lots of violence because it’s full of wars. The … [Read more...]
Storytelling
“When did your storytelling begin?” Our speaker* showed a photo of herself as a little girl. Although I’d never thought of myself as a storyteller, an image of a flannelgraph board popped into my head. Funny how I’d forgotten about that. … [Read more...]
Writing Tips from the Bible on Swearing
We can get plenty of writing tips from the Bible on swearing. While God forbids profanity and all unwholesome talk, the Bible is full of sinners like us. So how did Bible writers handle instances of people swearing? Let's look at the example of … [Read more...]
My Internal Editor
The presenter at a Creative Writing workshop told us we’d be more productive if we wore our Writer hat for writing the rough draft, then switched to our Editor hat for revising. How many times have I heard that advice yet still fall into Editor … [Read more...]
Coincidence in Fiction
I don’t like coincidence in fiction. Not long ago I read a book that was full of coincidences. Big ones. Little ones. The book was a gift, so I kept reading with hopes the story would improve. It didn't. The heroine got what she wanted through a … [Read more...]