I’ve been watching the six-episode documentary on Hulu entitled “McCartney: 3, 2, 1” that is an extensive interview with Paul McCartney about his life with the Beatles and the music they created. It’s a fascinating look at the craft of creating music from a master, and I highly recommend it. But as I’ve been watching … More Layers: Making Your Story More Complex
I’ve been writing a long time. Two dozen published books, a handful of awards, and several hundred articles and short stories published leads my students and fans to ask a lot of questions. And one of the questions that comes up pretty often is: “Where do you get the ideas for your books?” Well, the … More How It All Starts
Years ago, when I was a magazine editor, I was in New York City at Folio Magazine meetings. We were starting our own magazine, and were there to gather as much sage advice as we could before we were swallowed up by the production machine. I remember the advice one editor gave us: “The hardest … More The Hardest Chapter to Write
In case you haven’t been listening, my latest book, The Serpent and the Dove, is now available on Amazon as a paperback and available for advance purchase as an ebook. The actual ebook comes out on Amazon and other online stores on Monday, May 10. This book is the second in my Heretics series, following … More Announcing: Book #24 “The Serpent and the Dove”
“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would rather receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” –Hebrews 11:8 One. More. Week. After 23 years in the classroom, and 43 years in my career, I am closing up shop. I have one … More The Last Shall Be First
Well, I’ve been here before, but it still feels good. I’ve written twenty chapters on my current writing project, “The Serpent and the Dove,” and I have just one more chapter to write. That will signal the end of the first draft of this book. Yay. There’s always mixed feelings at this point in writing. … More Just One More
I’ve never been the kind of writer who can sit down for a half hour every morning, rain or shine, seven days a week, and crank out my writing regardless of what else is going on in my life. I know there are many writers who swear you have to write every single day to … More Torn Between Three Lovers
One of the things I noticed during my 24 years of teaching at our university is a common problem that many intelligent, gifted students have. Usually, when someone is talented in one area, they also have talents in other areas as well. And then what happens is that they get to college and they find … More Two Roads Diverged
Those who write stories for a living–and those who have studied storywriting–have long been steered away from the contrivance of deus ex machina, the “god from the machine,” that is described by the Oxford Dictionary as: “an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation, especially as a contrived plot device in a play … More How to Write about Miracles in Christian Novels
As I have mentioned earlier in this blog, I retire at the end of this school year. I have mixed feelings about leaving teaching after 23 years in the classroom. Some things I won’t miss, such as committee meetings, office politics and dealing with students who really, really don’t want to learn or just want … More What I Will Miss: The Rough Writers
The Great Adventure 