Culture Archives

Make Your Characters Suffer Without Losing Your Humanity

October 2, 2014
Student Contributor
Culture, The Writing Life, Writing Tips and Tools
16 Comments

Justin Ferguson, Guest Contributor Allow me to say this up front: This post is about inflicting suffering on our characters – specifically, I want to address a negative way we as writers often approach the subject.

Conveying Hope in Your Novel without Sounding Trite

June 12, 2014
Student Contributor
Culture, Industry, The Writing Life, Writing Tips and Tools
5 Comments

Kyle de Waal, Guest Contributor We still live in a world where pain and suffering seem to be all but omnipresent. Scrolling through any news website provides more than enough fodder for the argument that humans are capable of committing any evil to each other. Where do we find hope in that? Wouldn't any message of hope seem trite against the backdrop of actual human experience?

Facing the Christian Fiction Stigma

Kyle de Waal, Guest Contributor When we look at a genre like Christian fiction, a lot of us might find ourselves sneering, because we have an idea of what Christian fiction is, and that image is not positive. We picture flat characters, predictable plots, and ham-fisted themes that leave us groaning. We can't seem to escape bonnets and buggies. However, is that really what Christian fiction is all about?

Small Hands: A Hobbit’s Radical View on Duty & Adventure

May 8, 2014
Student Contributor
Culture, Stuck? Discouraged?, The Writing Life
3 Comments

Mark Wilson, Guest Contributor Today we have the honor of featuring a post by Mark Wilson, a frequent speaker at our young writer workshops. Professor Wilson is especially beloved for his heartfelt presentations on the work of J. R. R. Tolkien. You can read for yourself why.

Is There a Right Time to Write?

January 16, 2014
Student Contributor
Culture, Stuck? Discouraged?, The Writing Life, Writing Tips and Tools
3 Comments

Angie Fraser, Guest Contributor Although The One Year Adventure Novel (OYAN) is designed for high school students, we also have many adult students—some college-age, but others who write in the midst of parenting and jobs outside of the home. Angie, in New Zealand, has the distinction of being both the mother of OYAN students and an OYANer herself. We asked her to tell us about what it's like writing a novel as a mom and home-educator.