The Official Writing Challenge
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08/03/12
I enjoyed your story and the ending. Being a person who keeps a 'prayer journal' myself made it especially touching. Thanks.
08/03/12
This touched my heart and brought tears to my eyes. I thought this was fantastic and resonated with a true authenticity. Dreams are vital connections at time to the Lord. As the Bible shows so many were touched and instructed through dreams, and interpretations. So, I really connected with that part.

I loved the ending withe the granddaughter starting her own journal, and the way she clearly spoke to God praising Him first, and thanking Him for her grandmother.

Outstanding job. Thank you.

God bless~
What a blessing to be gifted in writing that connects to the reader and involves one on an emotional level. Thank you and God bless you and continue to use you to point your reader to Jesus.
I so enjoyed this delightful journey into Grandma's mind. Often the literary dream can become stale and an easy way out of a conflict, but you used it as a tool to show that God does talk to us in our dreams, when our guard is lowered and we allowed him in.

The beginning, in particular felt more like telling than showing. You could switch that easily by restructuring the sentences some. For example:
Jenny was finally at the point of accepting the major change in her life after her grandmother passed away.
After grieving the death of her grandmother, Jenny took a deep breath and opened the door to NaNa's bedroom. She swallowed hard and licked her lips. Her hand trembled as she reached for NaNa's journal.
Though I took some liberties, I wanted to show you how an opening like this hopefully helps the reader connect with the MC and form vivid pictures in her mind.

Later on in the story, you did a nice job of showing. This sentence tells us so much about the emotional state of the MC: She blinked her eyes and squinted at the clock radio on her bedside table. We know she is still in that waking period, not sure if she is awake or dreaming still and we see a bit of trepidation in the blinking of her eyes. You did a nice job with that sentence and others like it. If you just push the showing a bit more, your stories will go from great to outstanding.

My mom kept a prayer journal too. I remember slightly feeling like I was invading her privacy while simultaneously wanting to hold on to the words and bring her to life in my mind. You captured those feelings in your MC as well. Nice job.
08/06/12
A nicely written piece and an enjoyable read. Well done!
08/06/12
I enjoyed this SO much! I could truly feel that MC's heart as she sat and read her grandmother's journals. You were able to place me right there with her. I thought ending it with the MC carrying onthe legacy of journaling (writing) was so precious. So well done ... from beginning to end!
08/08/12
I love prayer journals and this story was so touching. I love it. God bless!
08/10/12
Wow! This is the framework for a novel that keeps bringing the wisdom from NaNa into the present for your MC, so NaNa keeps speaking into whatever scenario arises. Scripture confirmation would overcome any tendency towards ancestral worship, but there's something here that could parallel Hebrews 11 in alonger story.
God bless your further steps.