How to Write a Compelling Character
Who wins, plot or character? My short answer: Yes. Without either or both, you have something other than a compelling story. This is the difference between a story that sticks in the mind and one that...
View ArticlePlot: 5 Key Ingredients
In a previous post I mentioned that character beat plot for which is most important to your story. But it’s a close call. Plot and character need each other like fish need water. Plot is the hardest...
View ArticleWords: You Can’t Write Without ‘Em
Once you have a good grasp on who your main character is and the adventure he/she/it is about to take, you need to start getting words out of your head and onto the page. But often, it’s at this very...
View ArticleSpectacle: Adding the WOW to Your Story
Spectacle. It’s the big reason you read books, watch movies, and go to the theater is often the reason you started writing in the first place. There was some memorable “WOW” moment that hooked you for...
View ArticleChurch Skits: 5 Guidelines to Dairy-Free Writing
Unfortunately, church skits have a bad rep for being cheesy, heavy-handed, and down-right bad. My friends, it doesn’t have to be this way. Of all the writing I’ve done, writing short scenes...
View ArticleMomentum: 3 Ways to Tighten Your Story’s Action
How we learned to write in school bogs down our story’s momentum. We were taught to describe everything – the room, the character’s hairstyle, the hue of the leaves – everything but moving toward a...
View Article7 Secret Skills from My “Worthless” Degree
It takes skills to pay the bills, right? I graduated college way back in the 1900s with the ultimate “what were you thinking” degree – Theatre (the “re” is Latin for extra pretentiousness). I say...
View ArticleKeep Working On It: How Four Words Changed My Life
The four most challenging words I’ve ever heard came from my youth pastor’s mouth. I wasn’t even in my church’s youth group yet. He was new to working at our church, and all I knew was he made me...
View Article3 Questions for Evaluating Art
Art. What is it? It seems like we as a society have lost some categories to honestly evaluate many things and, sadly, art is one of those things. If an elephant takes a paintbrush in its trunk and...
View ArticleHow to Maintain Habits
There are words I used to hate as a kid, but now I really appreciate. Words like Obedience, Responsibility, and, yes, Habits. I like getting stuff finished. But I’m not an achiever. You know that...
View ArticleWhy the In-Between Time is the Best Time
I don’t like the in-between times. I want to “just get on with it.” My impenitence causes me to be sloppy about a great many things. It’s an internal reflex to anxiously wait for the “good stuff” to...
View ArticleCalling: Are You Supposed to be Doing That?
Maybe it’s because I’ve broken into my 40s, but I’ve recently been thinking and reading a lot on the topic of calling. Recently I read The Art of Work, by Jeff Goins. It’s a good read and it provides...
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