The blog
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Short essays on faith, story and the craft of telling the truth well — published several times a month.
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Are You Listening to What Matters?
Following good advice without understanding why that advice is helpful can hurt your writing. It can prevent you from following where the story goes, make you second-guess yourself, or steal opportunities for compelling scenes right out of your hands. Learn the rules and understand why they’re there, and then you can break them with skill to achieve the effect you want. — Janice Hardy
Law and Order
Obeying a law isn’t enough to make us righteous in God’s sight, because laws only expose our transgressions. They don’t reveal the condition of our hearts. —Romans 3:20
When Inspiration Meets Perspiration
Creativity is more like a muscle: If you practice regularly, flexing and training your mind to absorb inspiration from various sources, that muscle will get stronger. — David Corbett
The Procrastination Trap
Procrastination has a way of disguising itself as patience, planning, or even wisdom. We tell ourselves, I’ll get to that later, and sometimes later really is the better time. But often, later simply means we don’t want to do it now and maybe never.
Keep Casting
The only way we can fail as writers is to quit. So keep writing—when you’re scared, exhausted, and discouraged. Let the act of writing be the encouragement you need to fulfill your calling and once again recapture the joy. — Edie Melson
Commitment: Moving Forward
Those who can’t make up their minds are unstable in all they do. — James 1:8
Words That Carry God’s Light
If God is at work in the world of your novel, then you have a chance at giving your readers an experience that is humbling, joyful, and maybe even transforming. — Donald Maass
The Greater Good
A man came to Jesus and said, “Most excellent Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life? Why do you call me most excellent?” Jesus said. “No one is most excellent except God.” — Matthew 19:16–17
Good Writing Defined
God gives each of us unique voice, tone, and storytelling instincts. But excellence requires practice—and humility to improve. — Edie Melson
When Trust Is Tested
Our faith in God empowers us for the salvation we will see fully revealed in the last day. In this hope we can be overjoyed, even in the midst of sorrow and painful times of testing. The proving of your faith is more valuable than the purest gold, which is sure to perish, for when Jesus Christ appears, you’ll experience eternal praise, honor, and glory. — 1 Peter 1:5–7 The Discussion Bible
Training the Writer’s Mind
We need to train our minds to recognize inspiration in even the most ordinary details in our lives, and we need to give ourselves the license to just play with our…
Hope as Close as Our Thoughts
What should Christians do if they are not seeing much hope for the future? May your God, who has given you eager anticipation for the future, give you peace and joy…