Four Basic Questions that Simplified My Approach to Storytelling as an Editor
When I first began delving into the world of storytelling theory, I felt like a delighted dragon hoarding glittering gems of knowledge. But when I started mentoring other writers, the sheer volume of techniques and principles began to feel overwhelming, and I...
Break the Beast by Allison Tebo: The Novel that Roused My Imagination to the Joy of Christ
In so many stories, joy is the happy ending held hostage, waiting to be set free by the hero.
In this story, joy is the hero.
A Silly Little Game I Play (and Why the Silly Little Things Matter to Your Readers)
I love road trips. As a member of my family’s bluegrass band, I’ve spent a fair bit of time staring out the windows of my family’s ancient converted passenger bus.
The thing about this bus is that it likes to chill out below the speed limit on the highway, which means most of the other people on the road have to pass us. It also has four seats facing backwards, which makes it easy to see through the windshields of all those passing vehicles.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: The Narnia Novel That Beautifully Breaks the Rules
While The Voyage of the Dawn Treader travels upwind of so many expectations of how a good book is supposed to behave, the result is one of the most achingly beautiful stories I’ve ever known.
Let the Opposition Speak (How to Make Readers Think)
As authors, we do our readers no favors by giving them false confidence in easy victories. If we want to encourage them to hold fast to righteousness and life, we need to write stories that show truth’s triumph over evil’s strongest arguments—not its weakest.
Experiment on Your Characters (How to Make Readers Think)
Storytelling is an opportunity to experiment with life. We get to try on characters’ worldviews for size and experience how they play out in action. We’re invited to compare the consequences of the characters’ decisions, and hopefully, our observations will enable us...
I’m a fiction editor and writing coach with a passion for excellent stories and the people who write them.
I believe that well-crafted storytelling has the power to make a difference in the hearts and minds of readers.
I know it’s made a difference in mine.