Plowing Through to Peace—Part I
Posted on July 21, 2015 Leave a Comment
I’m not a farmer, but I’ve done a lot of plowing in my lifetime. The kind of plowing I’m talking about here is plowing through to peace of mind and heart. It’s very hard work. It takes a lot of courage…courage to face emotional pain, courage to take a stand in faith, and courage to stand firm in the decision to plow through, and not give in. Click to Tweet #amwriting #plowtopeace
We’ve all had emotional pain, discouragement, and depression—times when we feel we’re at war within ourselves. It is a war, but we can win it with God’s help.
Writing Unforgettable Fiction—Part III
Posted on July 15, 2015 Leave a Comment
Last week, I talked about plot twists from Steven James’ Story Trumps Structure. This week, we’ll look at Character Struggles.
Here’s a great way to start it out: “To initiate your story, your protagonist will either 1) lose something vital and try to regain it, 2) see something desirable and try to obtain it, or 3) experience something traumatic and try to overcome it.” Pg. 42.
There are three basic types of character struggles: internal, interpersonal, and external. Click to Tweet
Eternal Moments of the Day—Part III
Posted on July 14, 2015 Leave a Comment
It really is those momentous little things that can make an eternal difference, especially if it comes out of the blue with no warning, a lovely surprise that both enriches and encourages you. It’s a connection.
Writing Unforgettable Fiction—Part II
Posted on July 8, 2015 Leave a Comment
Last week, I talked about making promises to readers from Chapter 11 of Story Trumps Structure: How to Write Unforgettable Fiction by Breaking the Rules, by Steven James. Today, I’m going to talk about plot twists.
The Value of True Friendships—Part II
Posted on July 7, 2015 Leave a Comment
from Bet She’an, Israel
A few weeks ago, I posted about the value of true friendships, and told you about a fickle friend from elementary school. I don’t know if this is true for you, but I suspect that to different degrees, everyone’s life is like this. Friends come and go in your life. They move into your life for a season, then either you or they, move out of your life.
Writing Unforgettable Fiction—Part I
Posted on July 1, 2015 3 Comments
A year ago, when I finished my Craftsman class with DiAnn Mills, she recommended I get a book entitled Story Trumps Structure, by Steven James. I finally ordered it last week. Its tagline is How to Write Unforgettable Fiction by Breaking the Rules. I haven’t read it all yet, but I’ve been skimming. This is a book for “pantsers,” those writers who hate the idea of plotting out every little scene and detail of their story. Because most of us “organic” writers know that even the best-laid plots of mice and men are sometimes changed while they’re being written. Click to tweet
This book is entirely different than any other book on writing I’ve ever seen. Today, I’ll focus on Chapter 11, “Promises: The Keys to Building Suspense and Satisfying Your Readers.”
Angels—Aware or Unaware—Part II
Posted on June 30, 2015 Leave a Comment
A few weeks ago, I started discussing angels. We are fascinated with the supernatural, and our fascination with angels is part of that.
Psalm 91:11-12 says “For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up. Lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
Today, let’s talk about angelic protection.
Putting Fire in Your Fiction–Part V
Posted on June 24, 2015 Leave a Comment
The last few weeks, we’ve been looking in-depth about how to insert tension into every scene, because without it, the scene falls flat. We’ve looked at tension in dialogue, in exposition, action, hyping up low-tension scenes, and today, we’ll look at creating tension where there is none.
Facing Your Fear–What are YOU Afraid Of?
Posted on June 23, 2015 Leave a Comment
The Big Bad Wolf
Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf? Will he huff and puff and blow your ‘house’ down? Your life is too precious to continue to live in fear.
I’ve heard it said that we’re all afraid of “something”–whether it’s a fear of heights, fear of water, fear of dogs, fear of the unknown, or even a fear of leaving the house. My biggest fear was, catch that, was, fear of rejection.
Putting Fire in Your Fiction–Part IV
Posted on June 17, 2015 Leave a Comment
Last time, we talked about tension. Tension is the most necessary ingredient in any fiction you write. Click to tweet. Using Donald Maass’ The Fire in Fiction as a resource, we covered Tension in Dialogue, Tension in Action, and Tension in Exposition. Today, we’ll look at sprucing up low-tension scenes and avoiding the traps.
Donna L.H. Smith 