The Writer’s Voice
Your style is your voice, and your voice will create an intimacy with your reader that is profound. — Joe Vitale For aspiring writers, communication is everything. Words are our tools. Sentences are our strokes. Stories are our canvases. But to truly reach and move readers, writing must become more than clever phrasing or grammatical […]
Tried and True: Learning to Rely on God
When do we most need to trust the Lord? [Lord,] those who really know you will trust you completely, for you faithfully stand with those who depend on you. — Psalm 9:10 The Discussion Bible When we’re faced with disappointment, uncertainty, or loss, our instinct may be to retreat into fear or self-reliance. But these […]
Motivation to Write: A Faith-Based Guide for Aspiring Authors
What do you care about? What gets your blood boiling? What makes you roar with laughter? What human suffering have you seen that makes you wince in sympathetic pain? Cleave to your convictions and cherish them. Let them stoke your story with an energy that will drive it like the giant pistons of a steam […]
Satisfaction: The Tension Between Contentment and Desire
What does it mean to “stir up God’s gift”? How do we do that? Don’t be lazy or casual about your service, but diligently seek to please the Lord. So don’t forget to stir up God’s gift. — Romans 12:11; 2 Timothy 1:6 The Discussion Bible In a world that pushes us to always want […]
Faith, Family, Football—and a Few Side-Effects
People keep asking how I’m doing, so I figure it’s time for an official report. I’m about halfway through nine weeks of radiation for prostate cancer. The doctors say I’m responding well, but the real verdict will come in about a month. Until then, I’m just showing up every weekday, glowing a little more each […]
The Word Spectrum: Making Truth Real Through Colorful Scenes
Both metaphor and simile are points of color, illuminations that give the rest of the story special life by their reflections. They are not objectives by themselves, to be flaunted for their own sake. — Paul Darcy Boles Writing should illuminate, not merely communicate. Like light refracting through a prism, our words can present truth […]
Simplicity or Complexity: Understanding Through God’s Eyes
What about children is so important that we can’t enter the Kingdom without it? What does it mean to be humble? Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The greatest in the Kingdom are those who humble themselves. If you don’t know the truth or how […]
Talent: Why It’s Overrated—and What Really Fuels Great Writing
For Writers who Wonder If They’re “Good Enough” Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work. — Stephen King Many aspiring writers believe that great storytelling is a gift some people are simply born with. In truth, the most powerful writing doesn’t […]
Captivated: The Power of What Holds Our Attention
What is the antidote for desiring what isn’t good for us? Turn my eyes from lusting after that which cannot satisfy, but let me live by your words. Embed your words in your servant’s heart, which are given to those who revere you. — Psalm 119:37–38 The Discussion Bible What captures your attention … captures […]
Bestselling Books Gathering Dust on the Shelf
Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody else does. — Stuart Henderson Britt You don’t need a celebrity selfie to sell books … but it sure helps. Most books never get read cover-to-cover. Want yours to be the exception? I’m sharing […]
The Truth About Acceptance: Our Right or Wrong Choices
What does it mean to call “heaven and earth” as witnesses? How can we better understand that God is our life, and without him, we are dead? I call heaven and earth to witness your choice today, whether for life or death, to be blessed or cursed. Choose life so you and your descendants may […]
Growing Your Writing Talents with the Growth Pyramid Framework
Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrecorded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. — Calvin Coolidge, 30th president of the United […]