This week, I want to discuss ways we can improve our stories. One instructor called it “Spiffing up our writing.”
Spiffing Up Our Writing
Recent Blog Posts
Writing
Proverbs for Writers
There is so much wisdom and wise counsel in the book of Proverbs. Like many believers, I spend time a lot of time in this book. Sometimes a single verse or a few verses grabs my attention. Other times, I’ll read an entire chapter. Often, what I read will speak …
Common Writing Obstacles: Building Believable Characters
This is the latest in a periodic series about the common obstacles writers face. Both experienced and newbie authors deal with building characters who are believable and real enough for the reader to want to follow for several hundred pages. For some writers, this can be the most challenging obstacle …
What Inspires My Stories?
I’ve shared in other posts how I receive inspiration for a story. The most common way is from an image that pops into my mind. Many times, I can’t remember what I was doing, reading, thinking when the idea came to me. I gave up asking myself, “Where did that …
A First Page Critique
Today, I’m sharing the first page of a story from another brave author, who shall remain anonymous. Thank you, bold author for taking a risk to seek feedback on your story. The story is set in 1970 and describes a soldier returning from Vietnam. What follows is the original as …
Common Writing Obstacles – Taking Risks
Write the Story Writing is risky. And not just in the sense of facing physical danger. Although I’m sure many writers did face physical danger at one time that stimulated or inspired them to write their story. There are other risks every writer faces. More mundane than climbing Mt. Everest, …
Common Writing Obstacles—World Building
This is another in the ongoing series about writing obstacles. To date, I’ve covered Time, Talent v Learning, Perfectionism, and Plotting. Today, we’ll look at world building. I think this is one of the more subtle areas of writing and one we frequently pay less attention to. We focus on …
Writing Obstacles—Plotting
If we have a plot with no characters, I’m not sure what we have, but we don’t have a story.
Perfectionism
This is another in the series about common writing obstacles. Perfectionism is the bane of many a writer, even experienced ones. Each story must be perfect or it’s no good. There’s no middle ground. There’s no forgiveness for ourselves. We don’t allow for the fact we’re human, we’re frail, and, …
Obstacles to Being a Writer: Talent Versus Learning
This is another in a series on common obstacles to being a writer. Talent has been described as something you either have or you don’t. You can’t learn it. I and many others disagree with this notion. You can learn to be a writer whether or not you have talent. …