Story Embers

Cool poem! Good job!

Oh my goodness! I LOVE this! The idea of a heart as a collection of stories about friendships and relationships is so good. The rhymes are also very well done.

Lovely poem, Maegann!! Love it so much!!!

~ Abby’s K’s roommate <3

This is absolutely lovely, Dakota. You paint such a joy-filled picture with this poem… such a beautiful song of praise <3

Thank you! 🙂

This is wonderful, Emma! I love how vivid the images you painted are! Beautifully done!!

Emmaaaaa!!! This is so beautiful! 😍 I LOVE it.

Lovely! I can almost see the delicate wings!

Emma, this is really beautiful. I loved the progression of the piece to that perfect end…
When you describe how “the trees sway like marionettes” – that line just makes me want to laugh and dance away with them <3 Lovely job, my dear.

Ahhh Emma!!! *hugs* It’s beautiful!! <3 <3 <3

I’m having trouble expressing the emotions this poem stirred inside me. I really, really like it.

Awww thank you, Sue! <3

This is beautiful! I’ve been learning to balance joy and sorrow lately. I’m naturally optimistic, and it can be hard to not be abrasively happy when others are going through a hard time.

<3 So glad it spoke to you, Nana. Love you so much!

Sarah, wow. This poem has made it’s way into one of my favorites. What a deep, beautiful encouragement, so poignant and so full of truth <3 Wonderfully written, Sarah – thank you for sharing.

This is absolutely beautiful!! I love the friend-like relationship you portray between Joy and Sorrow. It reminds me that they don’t have to exist in an either-or relationship. In fact, we can often experience both at once, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

<3 Thank you, sweet friend! I recently read this at my first open mic, and it was awesome to revisit it and what God was teaching me in this moment.

Love it! Such a vivid picture painted with just a few words! 😍

Storms! I love it so much!

This was really beautiful. Thanks for sharing this, Brianna. I really enjoyed it. 🙂

Wow… I’m stunned with the power and beauty of this piece <3

Makes me want to write a fantasy tale. 😉

This is amazing! I could almost feel what it would be like for her, not because I’m ever gonna be a queen someday, 😉 but because there are times in life when we are forced to leave our innocence and freedom behind forever.

THIS MAKES ME WANNA WRITE POETRY AGAINNN!!!!! I love how beautiful, simple, and flowing this is.

Great poem, Eliana!

Yay Eliana! Great poem. =)

This is beautiful Eliana!

Clarissa, I really loved the sway of this piece. The last stanza leading up to the last two lines left me with a nostalgic, wistful sigh. Thank you for sharing these thoughts with us. Well done : )

This is one of your best pieces yet, Libby! I always enjoy reading your poetry, but my heart warmed extra with this one.

I love this, Libby! Good job!

I really liked it!

I’m so happy you liked it : ) Thank you for your kind words.

Aww, Emma – thank you <3 <3 <3 That made my day : )

So do I! It’s so easy to try editing your story into perfect shape without thinking other factors. Thanks for reading, Lily!

Beautiful, Katelynn! 🙂

Love this! You captured what happens inside a home from the first moment to the end and did a great job pulling us into moments with specific details. Thanks for sharing!

Everything can be done for the right or wrong reason, or in a right or wrong way. Self-expression doesn’t excuse laziness or indecency or foolishness, but it is not inherently self-serving or self-centred only because it has the word “self” in it: in many ways self-expression is a form of self-sacrifice: honesty, vulnerability, humility, responsibility, taking action instead of letting the world go by.

You could also say that an artist cannot well serve others except by self-expression, or anyone else for that matter, as it is not true that self-expression is limited to artists.
It is after all how God created all his creation to serve him. The sun, a rose, a star, a tree, the sea, all serve him by self-expression alone.

But it all depends on who you yourself are. Zig Ziglar said: “You have to be before you can do, and you have to do before you can have.” Contrary to what many people claim, you can and should always be changing who you are.

I very much agree with Patrick: Self-expression isn’t inherently wrong. It isn’t, by default, ego-stroking, which I feel like the article necessarily attaches it to.

Suppressing self-expression is Puritanism, not Christianity. It serves the role of beating down the individual in the name of religious subservience, and nothing better.

1. We are creators created in God’s image. God created for His joy. It is innately good that, attuned to what God loves, we also create for our joy.

2. When we express our unique worldview—and, remember, “express” can mean “press out,” like with juice from a citrus—we create a specific, human point of connection to the reader. We don’t simply connect with the Psalms because they say “God is good.” Well, some people do, probably. But most people look to the Psalms and see suffering and deliverance and faith within them, and take comfort in the fact that even the man after God’s own heart, thousands of years ago, felt the same things we do today, and poured out his heart in writing.

3. God set us apart for good works. No, we aren’t saved by them, but we are certainly intended to do them. We are clearly intended to do more than praise God and be missionaries. If we are aligned with God, our self-expression will be so likewise. “Speak up for those who have no voice, for the justice of all who are dispossessed. Speak up, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the oppressed and needy.” (Proverbs 31:8-9 CSB)

The core of all this is that service to God should precede self-expression, not preclude it. If we do not believe we are important enough to sub-create, we shouldn’t be creating at all, because we have no respect for the beauty or power of individual humanity. And that’s not the message I see in the New Testament or the Old.

Great article, Eliza! 🙂

This is a wonderful, inspiring article!! Thank you so much for this!! In a world where everything is so man- centered, this is a very refreshing reminder that pleasing God should be our focus!! 🙂 Thank you

Hey Me (or whomever you are),

Thanks for taking the time to comment on this post. We actually don’t cherry-pick who does and doesn’t get a voice on our site; as long as comments are respectful, we welcome the exchange of ideas here on the blog!

Now, Eliza and I may not agree completely on everything she argued here (again: as a site, we value the exchange of ideas), but I think she holds a legitimate position and I don’t think this comment paints her position fairly, so I’d like to defend her against a couple of the arguments you made here that I think misrepresent the piece.

By my reading, Eliza isn’t arguing that self-expression is innately invalid. She states this rather explicitly in her article: “I’m not saying self-expression is inherently wrong. But it is if we remove God from the act of creating art.” This of course begs the question on what the removal of God looks like. But she makes it clear what that looks like: it’s written to serve those who read or view the work of art (whether it’s in written or image form). So I don’t believe that Eliza is saying here that self-expression is wrong–she’s saying that it’s something that can be wrong (as anything can, and perhaps it’s something that’s often used wrongly) but that can also be good if it’s combined with a desire to serve others.

Now, I would draw a line between stories we write that are just for ourselves and stories that are presented for public consumption. If you’re just writing it for yourself, the public service element is irrelevant in my opinion so I don’t think it’s wrong to just write it to express yourself (just like you may do in a journal). If a story is being presented for public consumption, though, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to consider the reader.

I’d actually argue that a lot of poor fiction comes about as a result of not considering the reader. If you want people to enjoy your story, you often need to consciously structure it with the audience in mind in order to craft relatable characters, a gripping plot, and readable prose. There have been a couple of times in my life when I wrote short stories in large part to help myself work through some of the emotions and struggles I was processing. Since I wanted to share these stories with others, one of the things I found myself doing each time was to revise the story to better engage and reach readers. My first draft may have been appropriate self-expression–but it was self-expression that wasn’t necessarily interesting to others without me sitting down and polishing it so that it both expressed some of my own feelings /and/ did so in a way that effectively reached readers.

Now, Eliza and I may both draw some of our lines in different places as most people do with tricky issues like this. But if (to quote the Westminster Shorter Catechism), our goal in life is to glorify God and enjoy him forever, I don’t think it’s unreasonable at all to suggest that writing stories to express ourselves /and/ to glorify God at the same time is better than writing stories that just express ourselves. People can certainly use the importance of glorifying God in fiction as a justification for putting forth bland storytelling, but I’d argue the problem is with the execution, not the motive.

If you disagree, feel free to comment and push back against some of the things I’m saying. 🙂 I would just ask that you keep the discussion respectful and focused on ideas rather than people!

YES. This is a beautiful poem.

Also, I learned a new word. ‘Coruscate’. Thank you for that, Ms. Pepper.

Lovely poetic elements woven with truth! I like this a lot! : )

Hey! I hope you don’t mind me jumping in here and offering my two cents’ worth.
I used to be far too shy to share my writing with anyone, including my parents, but that was partially just because I was shy and partially because some of the things I wrote paralleled our lives and I was scared I hadn’t done it justice. So I’m not sure how helpful I can be, but I’ll give it a shot.
First off, death and imperfections are part of life in a fallen world. If we as teens know that, I guarantee our parents do too. They’re probably read those kinds of stories themselves. Although obviously, it’s different when it’s their kid that’s writing it.
(Especially if it’s their innocent girl blowing people up, right? XD)
So chances are, one, they won’t mind it as much as it seems, and two, they probably know you better than anyone else. Your story is a part of you. It probably won’t be as shocking as it seems.
When I finally let my mom read my stories, I’d let her read one chapter, and she knew I’d let her read the next when I was ready. One little chapter at a time, she got through my entire story, and now she reads my unedited WIP as I go—which is slightly darker than the first one. She knows that I’m writing towards a healing ending. That the darkness won’t last forever.
It’s just like any other fear—sometimes you just got to blaze into it, and it’s not as bad as it seemed.
If your parents aren’t as accepting, that’s a different story, and one I’m not sure how well I can cover. Obviously we believe that writing is a gift from God and that’s something parents should encourage in their kids. I doubt your parents would make you quit, but if they did, going up in arms isn’t going to help anything. Pray about it, and ask them to pray about it. Story Embers has plenty of articles about Christians writing about darkness…maybe ask them to read that.
If they still say no, beyond that, I’m not really sure what to tell you. But I hope that was helpful.
I’m on the forums here as @wolverinerm, if I can offer any more advice. I’ll be praying everything goes over well with your parents.

This article was just what I needed. Thank you. I don’t feel really brave or bold when it comes to my writing. I’ve only ever shared it with one person. But this article has given me the courage to reach farther. To strive for more. And to not let the fear of rejection control me. So, thank you again.

We have visited this wonderful museum in Kansas City. It is a treasure, one of the best museums we have ever been to–that includes the Smithsonian ones in DC. Very well curated.

That is spectacular. What a masterpiece!

I appreciate you took the time to write this. It was touching and beautiful, and I’m truly glad I stopped by to read it.

This is beautiful and touching and so, so true. Thank you so much for sharing this <3

I LOVE this!! I really like how it’s vividly worded and poetic! Excellent work!! 🙂 <3 <3

This is lovely, Abby <3 Your words were so powerful, and the message was beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing this 🙂

This is beautiful!

Ooooh, a lovely tale of honor and what it means. Of family love, and how it applies. Thank you, Cassie. I love how clear the world it around the character, how engaged his mind is with the reader, and the clarity with which each decisions is made, even in confusion.

I make note of this as I prepare my own stories.

I love this! You tell an old, old story in a fascinating setting that held my interest without running over the emotions of the characters.

Generational conflict is a huge part of our human story, and you tackled it beautifully. I love the resolution.

Ahhhh, Cassie! This is so beautiful! Congratulations!

This was a STUNNING story, Cassie! Your worldbuilding and imagery were incredible – I could picture everything so clearly. I started reading this planning to only finish the first half, and use the rest as motivation to get my college homework done … but that didn’t happen, I read the whole thing in one go xD. You did an absolutely WONDERFUL job with this story, my friend! It felt like I could have been reading from one of the classics.

AHHH THANK YOU <3 I'm so glad I portrayed it so vividly! And I'm sorry for the pain I caused you XP <3 I'm glad you loved the ending and everything 😀 <3 *huggles*

Cassie, this is SO good!! I love this! 🤩 The setting was so rich and beautiful…the characters…AGHHH!! It’s all so good! ❤❤❤
Have some pizza and celebrate. You’re amazing!😍

Thank you so much, Shay! 😀

Thank you, Emma!! Yes, exactly. <3

Lovely, Cassie! So emotional, and gripping! *cries*

Thank you so much, John! I’m so glad you enjoyed the story and its writing quality. That means a lot.

WOW. What an awesome poem. I especially love the flow of this stanza–

“A city glowing on a hill
Forgets its Builder, forgets Him still.
With hollow morals left to fill
Foundations soon will crumble.”

Andrew, this is really an awesome poem. The way you wove truth into your words with the simple sway of your rhythm gave me such satisfaction as I read. Thank you for sharing this 🙂

This was beautiful! The flow of the poem was perfect and this subject in particular really hits close to my heart. Way to go! 👍🏻

*whispers* That’s our dear Rachel… thank you. 🙂

Rachellllllll. This is beyond-words beautiful. This makes my heart so full <3

Aw, thank you!

I love this. So beautiful! ❤️

This is so powerful. Lovely, Rachel. <3 I'm sending this to a friend who is hurting; I think your words will give her some solace.

Beautiful!! I love the second half especially. <3

Very pretty! 🙂 Thank you for sharing and keep writing!

Oh, wow that was beautiful!!!

Shannon, this was lovely. Wow. I cannot tell you how much this touched me with its truth and the simple way you laid forth life’s joys and struggles. And that last line hit home so well. Love this <3 Keep it up in the faith, Shannon!