Life Isn’t a Hallmark Film, and Christian Authors Shouldn’t Pretend It Is

by Josiah DeGraaf | Articles | 6 Comments

Stories that focus on the rosy sides of reality are rarely compelling or memorable. They’re predictable—and indistinguishable from other patented plot lines. Just like Hallmark films. Although lighter fiction has a place in today’s market, I’d argue that we need more stories tackling the gritty sides of reality from a Christian perspective. We explored this two years ago with our Tricky Subjects series. And this year we’re addressing it again from a new angle based on the eleventh resolution of our Christian Storytellers Manifesto.

How to Showcase Light in a Story’s Darkest Moment

by Allison Raymond | Articles | 1 Comment

A non-writer friend once told me that I seem to enjoy making my characters suffer. I disagree. Sure, portraying pain can be an exciting challenge, but I don’t relish putting my characters through trials. If their hearts are breaking, so is mine. Despite this, I realize that characters, like people, grow through adversity, and oftentimes they experience the greatest change when their circumstances can’t get any worse. In storytelling terminology, this hopeless moment is known as the low point, and it happens shortly before the climax.

3 Ways to Craft a Unique Opening Line for a Poem

by Graham Jackson | Articles | 1 Comment

When you’re waiting for the curtain to rise at a theatrical production, you wonder what the stage will look like. Will the first few moments show dazzling scenery or characters prancing about? Will silence or song fill the air? What are you in for, and where will it take you? The catchphrase “lights, camera, action” captures the exhilarating transition from darkness to light and stillness to dancing. When you stand on the threshold of a poem, you’ll have similar questions and emotions swirling through your mind.

5 Reasons You May Want to Write Your Novel as a Short Story First

by Quinlyn Shaughnessy | Articles | 4 Comments

“The first draft of a novel is supposed to be terrible.” We’ve all heard that charming advice, and it’s usually true. But why do many first drafts fail? Because writers lose steam halfway through. I can’t tell you how many manuscripts I’ve abandoned after hitting a rough patch somewhere between the midpoint and the final act. Only a handful of my novels have ever reached “the end,” and the most structurally sound one came from a short story.

A Simple Strategy for Fixing Any Clichéd Trope

by Martin Detwiler | Articles | 6 Comments

Despite a writer’s best efforts to be original, familiar plot and scene devices often sneak in. But you’re not a bad writer just because your manuscript contains clichés. Writers with less experience or narrower reading lists are more prone to gravitate to common tropes—not because they lack talent, but because the situations, characters, and settings are new to them. If you’re struggling with this issue, don’t be discouraged. Your storytelling senses are not broken.

3 Ways to Make Unique Fantasy Worlds Less Confusing

by Story Embers | Articles | 6 Comments

Perhaps you’ve spent years drawing maps, creating languages, and brainstorming customs and cultures for your story world. Your worldbuilding document is packed with ideas, and you leave it open for reference as you write. However, worldbuilding can transform from a blessing into a curse if readers become so frustrated that they want to escape your world instead of exploring it. I’m going to help you reverse that curse with three tips for developing worlds that are both hospitable and richly detailed.

Why You Need to Understand the Biblical Fall to Accurately Depict Broken Characters

by Martin Detwiler | Articles | 2 Comments

When Adam and Eve bit into the forbidden fruit to experience the taste of both good and evil, they consciously rebelled against God. Broken, they plunged into an existence fraught with sorrow. In the shadow of their future, the rest of humanity plunged as well. We now live submerged, choking on water we weren’t meant to breathe. The people around us thrash and cough and drown every day. But how often do we think about the fall when we’re developing characters?

How to Breathe New Life into Stereotyped Settings

by Allison Raymond | Articles | 4 Comments

When we hunt for clichés to remove from our manuscripts, we pay attention to characters, plot lines, and even phrases, but we have a habit of overlooking settings. Genres, however, tend to recycle details to the point that readers can predict the culture they’re going to encounter before opening a book. They might still enjoy the story if it’s crafted well, but they won’t experience the wonder of exploring unfamiliar territory. As writers, we should be striving for greatness, but we can’t achieve this goal if we rely on copy-and-pasted settings.

How to Prevent Clichés from Ruining Your Story’s Prose

by Lori Z. Scott | Articles | 5 Comments

The sky’s the limit to the number of clichés that can infiltrate writing. In fact, I intend to dump a truckload into this article to illustrate why writers should avoid them like the plague. However, I also believe we ought to tip our hats to clichés. Because the phrases were crafted well, people repeated them until overuse rubbed off the gilding. Now they’re commonplace. But I still appreciate their origins, and I’m going to show you how to dig out the creative potential buried beneath them.

How to Create an Immersive Story World That’s More Than Window Dressing

by Gabrielle Pollack | Articles | 0 Comments

Numerous books, blog posts, and worksheets claim that filling in hundreds of categories makes a story world complete. But without a goal at the center, your brainstorming will lack direction, and the details you come up with won’t fit together. Whereas if you integrate your story world into your plot and characters, every aspect of the culture will have a purpose. By following three steps, you can pull readers deeper in.

Life Isn’t a Hallmark Film, and Christian Authors Shouldn’t Pretend It Is

How to Showcase Light in a Story’s Darkest Moment

3 Ways to Craft a Unique Opening Line for a Poem

5 Reasons You May Want to Write Your Novel as a Short Story First

A Simple Strategy for Fixing Any Clichéd Trope

3 Ways to Make Unique Fantasy Worlds Less Confusing

Why You Need to Understand the Biblical Fall to Accurately Depict Broken Characters

How to Breathe New Life into Stereotyped Settings

How to Prevent Clichés from Ruining Your Story’s Prose

How to Create an Immersive Story World That’s More Than Window Dressing

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