Those who discover love in the crucible of testing see through its facade. Genuine love is real. It has a will and finds a way. It is strong and good. I was moved by these expressions of love from a platoon of soldiers in Afghanistan (see War, by Sebastian Junger). Observe the weight behind these words: […]
When writing for young men
Society can give its young men almost any job and they’ll figure how to do it. They’ll suffer for it and die for it and watch their friends die for it, but in the end, it will get done. That only means that society should be careful about what it asks for.* When writing or publishing […]
Earned reputation
I sat in a meeting yesterday with three faculty members from Moody Bible Institute. We were exploring a complex, divisive issue. Each spoke with clarity, grace, and respect, and I felt privileged to partner with such fine and distinguished men. They left the room towering figures in my book.
Wanting and doing
Characters want, therefore they do; desire drives the action. It is what makes characters real, and it is the writer’s job to connect the characters’ wants to the reader’s own longings. Like characters, readers want justice, love, redemption, freedom, connection. Desire propels. Mistakes, irrevocable blunders get made. The story quickens. But while characters want things […]
The feel of a book
When an author makes you feel, she has you. I remember reading a manuscript, enjoying the characters, and wondering where the story would lead. Then, in the middle of a conversation, one of them cocked his head. Something wasn’t right. A noise that shouldn’t be there. I felt a chill. Suddenly, those wonderful characters — high […]
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