This is a very timely and insightful article, Gabby. Thank you!

I am notorious for erring on the side of brevity. This article was just what I needed in my drafting right now!

Really love this advice! The real tricks of the trade right here.

Also, side note: It’s fascinating to hear this from someone who experiences stories so viscerally. My imagination is not very vivid, oddly enough. I tend to identify with the emotional states of characters much more strongly than I have ever experienced/identified with their visual/sensory experiences.

The neat thing is that even though that’s the case for me, I can still glean the emotional state of the character from well-crafted descriptions, so this stuff *still* works great for me. Really neat how good artistry is powerful from a variety of perspectives!

I NOW HAS IDEAS

Gabby,
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this article! I so needed to hear this and practice it. I am one of those self-critical editors that stress over finding the optimal placement of the article ‘a” in any given sentence.
I do need to find that volume switch on my internal editor and crank it down a few thousand decibels if I am ever going to get my WIP finished.
I will be following the great advice you have here.
Prayers appreciated.

This over editor is very thankful for this article!!!

Definitely needed this article! I just edited the same three paragraphs 4 times in the past 24 hours. I must stop! lol Thank you!

Oooooh, lovely article, thanks for writing it!!!!!!

Thank you so much! I’m preparing to write a romance short story for an anthology contest, even though I’m not much of a romance reader myself. So this article came just in time!

I like the point you make about love resembling forgiveness. It made me think of why Pride and Prejudice still strikes a chord with so many readers. Darcy is sacrificial and giving even when he’s not getting acknowledgment or accolades, and Elizabeth is overcoming her own shortcomings to extend forgiveness. Love costs us, but it calls us upward for sure!

So insightful and beautifully written. There is such a balance to writing a compelling story full of Truth and beauty while still acknowledging the darkness and sin and need for redemption. You’ve done a great job making me think through the stories I’m telling and how to make them better. Thanks so much for the article.

“But avoiding censure isn’t the point—it’s writing according to ideals informed by your faith. People, even well-meaning people, are fickle, and in the end, you are accountable for your choices, not readers’ reactions or assumptions.”

I really liked that line, as it’s a much needed reminder for me. Thank you for this post, Gabrielle! It left me feeling more encouraged and inspired as a writer. 🙂