I’m convinced that writing for God is one of the scariest and most challenging things in the world to do. Why? Because when you invite God into your writing process, suddenly, you aren’t the only one calling the shots anymore. You aren’t the only author any longer. There is a much greater Author there with you, and he’s just as interested as you are in your character’s arc and personality type, that plot twist that’s going to shock readers, and what your story’s theme is. To quote Plot Versus Character: “…where there was once only one power…now there are two.” Writing has always felt like a tug between two powers to me, between structure versus spontaneity, rules versus intuition and art. It’s been between what should work and what does work, what I want the story to be and what it actually is. And it’s especially apparent between what...
A Writer’s Most Important Decision
There are hundreds of different elements to consider when you’re writing. I can’t say I’m an expert on all things writing, but one of the most common instances I see among young or newer writers is the feeling of being totally overwhelmed with how much there is to learn and focus on while writing. I’ve felt that more than a few times myself 😛 When I came back from Realm Makers several weeks ago and began playing around with a story idea, I was struck by the realization that I now knew not one, not two, but three different ways to write theme and character arcs in a story. *cue headdesking* I had a similar problem with a new way of story structure I’d learned, and I knew from browsing through writing craft books that there were millions of other ways out there, most that I was afraid to...
How to Be a Joyful Writer
Sometimes being a writer is the most exhilarating experience in the world… And other times, being a writer can be the most miserable thing ever. If you’ve written for a consider amount of time, you’ve probably experienced this. Flying…then falling. Having the most amazing writing day ever only to hit rock bottom the next morning. Or, worse, to be having the time of your life one moment, then the next, become incredibly depressed and discouraged about your writing. Even before I became a serious writer, I still had those ups and downs—days when inspiration came, and days when writing was a joyless task. Last year proved to be especially like that, and for days I wondered if writing was even worth it anymore if I counted how much I stressed about it and loathed sitting at a keyboard to get words down. I’ll just say it: Sometimes writers really...