FaithWriters.com-Christian Writers Forum

Just popping in to comment on this. Never reference the scripture in the body of fiction. It immediately breaks the fiction connection with the reader. In other words, it subconsciously gets in the way of the story. If you feel it necessary, give a list of the scriptures at the end of the book, cha...

I think the Challenge entry of mine that most closely fits the Action/Adventure genre is the one I wrote for the topic "Light At the End of the Tunnel." This entry placed 3rd in Advanced and 15th overall. http://www.faithwriters.com/wc-article-level3-previous.php?id=47645 Poland seems to h...

Thanks, Jan!

I have two questions. 1) Can the travelogue be written in the present tense? 2) For this challenge, you should attempt to communicate the essence of some place where you have traveled, so that a reader who has never been there can experience it, if only vicariously. What if the author has a one trac...

Thanks, Jan!

Cinnamon Bear

My opinion would be to avoid going down that heaven/dream track, and to be honest, when it comes to dream stories generally, avoid them like plague. They usually raise red flags with the judges and are a turn off for many readers. What if the M.C. thinks that what he/she is experiencing is a dream-...

I am interested in how entries featuring ghosts or vampires would be viewed. My question might also apply to witches, but I don't have any ideas for entries featuring witches at the moment. :) As I see it, vampires are merely folkloric icons. Regarding ghosts, I thought that they were meant to be al...

This entry is entitled "The Day the Earth Stood Still": http://www.faithwriters.com/wc-article-level4-previous.php?id=48704 It was inspired by an old Gary Larson cartoon. Superficially, it resembles many other tales about aliens landing on earth. Scientists claim that there is an excellent...

Thanks for your replies, Jan. I am not sure why I wrote the poem in second person. Maybe I had been influenced by something I read at the time. I normally dislike writing--or reading--in second person. Regarding the last line: I frequently rode the New York City subways with friends who were also da...

Now that I have finished my rant about free verse, I will post one of my very few efforts in this genre. I wrote it for a college freshman writing course. I was living in New York City and dating a man at the NY Maritime College (popularly known as Fort Schuyler). I'm not sure how I got an "A&q...

Questions #2 and #3: When I write poetry, it is nearly always rhymed and metered, but I don’t feel any animosity towards free verse. I just think it is very difficult to do well. A poem with rhythm and rhyme can be at least passably entertaining. But it is not enough for free verse to be good--it mu...

Jan, thanks for your interest. Some folks believe that those of us who hoped for Scottish independence are old-fashioned romantics, imagining Scotland to be all oatmeal, tartans, and bagpipes. Nothing could be further from the truth. For myself, I lived in Scotland for two years--long enough to lear...

Sorry, I'm posting so late. Until last night, I thought I'd be posting in a very different tone. Alas, it was not to be. So instead of the celebration of Scottish independence that I hoped for, I ended up writing a lament: Fear Triumphs Over Hope The scones have turned to sawdust; The tartan’s gone ...

...Criticism leaves me defensive. Especially unwarranted criticism, in which my Canadian spelling of a word is bashed. Or a foreign word I've used, entirely understandable in its context, or so I think, based on the positive comments. I read once that a writer should not "dumb down" their...

Jan, thanks for your kind words. Yes, I love cats--thanks for the cat haiku.

Cinnamon Bear