FaithWriters.com-Christian Writers Forum

Different approaches work for different writers, and for me, I believe I would go bananas if I made myself count the number of words in a sentence, and/or the number of sentences in each paragraph. For me, it works best to write it the way I hear it, which usually works out to be long sentences and ...

Thanks, Jan. Dialogue, it is.

And no, I don't think I've seen a rule about not using the 's as for "is" but it sometimes feels odd.

Like when the tornado's heading this way and Johnny's so upset and his face's scrunching up like a stick of beef in the dehydrator.

Jan, I'm diggin' these lessons on when it's okay to break the rules. As I've mentioned before, I am subversive by nature and when someone tells me I need to do something a certain way, I have an uncontrollable urge to figure out a way around that. So yeah, I'm loving these lessons. They are so liber...

Oh Jan, sorry to hear that. Praying right now.

Theresa

Critique is an uneasy subject, no matter how you slice it. It's not easy to give and it's not easy to take. And there are many varying opinions on it. For example, I don't have a problem suggesting a change in storyline if I believe consideration of my suggestion is helpful. I don't consider myself ...

Oh Amelia,

I am guilty of over editing, changing a piece so much that the very heart of it becomes unrecognizable, and the rawness and the edge have disappeared.

So yeah, good point. Self-editing=good. Too much=not so much.

Theresa

I agree that in most cases self-editing should not be used as a stand-alone and final edit. I'm a seven to twenty draft gal, running through a piece over and over and over before letting anyone else see it. I used to write a serial fiction online and even though I put each entry through that "s...

As a side note, this is my 296th forum post, and I'm looking forward to seeing a larger pencil beneath my avatar soon...

Though I don't have experience with queries, I've found a few resources that look good: The Steve Laube Agency (at: http://stevelaube.com/) At this website, you can find many great blog articles about writing queries and a great many other writing subjects. I signed up for their daily emails which I...

Jan, I'll send you the list. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. And I have a question about capitalization. If I'm writing about the Word, would I always capitalize "Word." If I said, "I love the Word of God," for example. Or is it only capitalized if I phrased it like, "...

I have an idea for a future lesson, or future lessons: Tips for self-editing. (Reduce adjectives, adverbs, and passive phrasing, and read your draft out loud for sound and rhythm, etcetera). I've come up with my own list of self-editing tasks, but my list is quite long and realistically unattainable...

Here's an excerpt from one of my favorite classics, The Grapes of Wrath: Joad looked at (the cat), and his face was puzzled. "I know what's the matter," he cried. "That cat jus' made me figger what's wrong." Seems to me there's lots wrong," said Casy. "No, it's more'n j...

I much prefer the original. It squeezed my heart, and made my eyes wet. All the signs of a fantastic piece of writing (IMHO). I'd like to add that as far as "Magic Endings" go, I am not a fan of the "faith fix-all." A problem arises, tension increases, hope is almost lost...then ...

It's been six months, and I still can't look at sushi. Ha! This isn't mine, it's Anne Lamott's. I believe it was from her book, Bird by Bird. It was one of those phrases that popped in her head and she wrote it down, but never found a place to use it. In Bird by Bird, she offered the phrase up to t...

@Rachel, Wow, I love that you were able to learn so much about Kristen just by looking at her board. Without ever reading the story, you nailed her primary character traits :D I also love your idea of starting a diary for your MC. You have what it takes to write a great novel...I can see your passio...