It’s an honest question. Obviously, if you are writing first person POV, then this does not apply to you. Of course your narrator should be a character. Otherwise, it ain’t first person! But what about third person? Should your narrator have a distinct personality? Should your narrator be you? Mark Twain and Charles Dickens seemed … More Should Your Narrator be a Character?
There are two kinds of children’s books: the kind that grownups want children to read and the kind that children want to read. As adults, we may be tempted to write the first type of book. The kind that gets Newberry and Caldecott medals. The kind that ends up on librarian and teacher’s lists. They … More Two Kinds of Children’s Books
In my multimedia journalism class, our professor talked about “writing for the ear.†If you’re unfamiliar with the term, writing for the ear is when you write something that is meant to be spoken or performed rather than read silently. My Shakespeare professor taught me something similar. She said that Shakespeare’s plays were never meant … More Writing for the Ear
There is nothing more painful as a writer, than staring at the blank page, with your mind even blanker. Some people call this writer’s block, some people say writer’s block doesn’t even exist. But neither of these offers a solution. Today, I’ll offer mine: prewriting. An umbrella term, prewriting can mean anything from brainstorming, drafting, … More The Craft of Prewriting
Last week started with the Super Bowl and ended with Valentine’s Day. This Super Bowl was the most watched one yet, and while Valentine’s Day is on a downward trajectory, it is still celebrated by more than half of Americans. This is good. As a country that can feel divided, we need those shared experiences … More Art Must be Communal
Last year I watched 52 movies, and read 48 books. But I didn’t like them all. Some movies I hated. Some books I rolled my eyes at, or finished with the thought of “Finally. Now, I can read something good!†As I finished the year reading A Christmas Carol, I was struck by this question: … More Why Can’t Everything be a Masterpiece?
It always bugged me that depictions of Christ’s birth show the wisemen there alongside the shepherds. It just isn’t very accurate. Matthew 2 says that “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea…Magi from the east came to Jerusalem†(emphasis added). While I understand the convenience of placing the wisemen at the climax of the … More What the Wisemen Can Teach us About the Epilogue
By the time you are reading this blog, I will officially be 30 years old. A lot has happened in the first three decades of my life. Some things haven’t happened as quickly as I wanted to. Others happened before I was ready. But’s that’s another blog for another time. Let’s just say me and … More I Have Been Writing for Half of my Life. Here’s What I Learned.
When did you know that your writing had become more than just a hobby? For me, it was when my mother said these words: “I think you should focus on making money with your writing.†It was after I had pitched her my idea of an AI-generated graphic novel about a recent seminary graduate in … More When Your Writing Becomes a Side Hustle
I have a Spotify playlist called “In Case of Emergency, Hit Play.†These aren’t Christian songs for when my heart is in anguish. That’s a different playlist. No, this kind of emergency is strictly a writer’s problem. Whether it is writer’s block, or just a tight deadline I have to meet, this playlist has never … More Listening to Music While Writing