Interviews

Read Job 37-39

Job 37:19 "Teach us what we shall say unto him; for we cannot order our speech by reason of darkness."

When we interview someone, it might be for an article about that person. It could be someone prominent in a certain field or even someone famous.

We might interview someone to gain knowledge for a subject we are writing about. We might interview several different people to get quotes to use in the article.

We could also interview family for a history we are writing for our family alone or for a memoir we are writing. We might interview people to make sure the facts we are using in our novel are accurate.

Glimmer of Hope

Read Job 34-36

Job 35:10 "But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night;"

Once our protagonist has her black moment where all is lost, she needs a reason to get up and keep fighting. Sometimes we use a glimmer of hope.

All may be lost, but there may still be a way for her to turn things around and be victorious. The glimmer of hope is different from a desire for revenge.

The desire for payback may get the protagonist back into the fight, but without regard for whether he lives through the ordeal or not. The glimmer of hope will give him strength to know that the impossible situation he finds himself in might be salvageable.

MFA

Read Job 31-33

Job 32:21 "Let me not, I pray you, accept any man's person, neither let me give flattering titles unto man."

The debate over getting a Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) in writing continues. There are as many opinions about it are there are writers.

Some believe an MFA is necessary to call oneself a writer. Others prove writers can be successful without the degree behind their names.

It comes down to what we want—if we want to further our education an MFA might be perfect for us. But until we’re ready to pursue it, writers get along fine with whatever education or life experience we already have.

Web Writing

Read Job 28-30

Job 29:25 "I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners."

Web writing includes everything from blogs to articles. Most every company needs web content of one sort or another.

Plenty of magazines have web editions. Some have only web editions, no print editions.

The way in is the same—querying and proving we can do the work well and on time. Just remember to treat any email queries as formally as printed queries and not make the mistake of treating them as casually as we do friends.

Metaphors

Read Job 25-27

Job 27:20 "Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night."

Metaphors are what we use to bring a concept to life using a symbolic comparison, rather than a direct comparison. The above verse uses both simile—using the direct comparison “as waters”—and metaphor, when the tempest steals the terrified person away at night.

Metaphors can add poetry to our writing. We can use metaphors to make our writing clearer.

We can use metaphors to give substance to ideas. Metaphors help people form pictures in their minds so they can understand what we’re saying, whether we are writing fiction or nonfiction.

Arguments

Read Job 22-24

Job 23:4 "I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments."

Arguments between characters are a direct source of conflict. When they are arguing in a less direct manner, it can be a subtle form of conflict.

Arguments also come up in a debate-type environment. We may be writing one particular point of view or be writing a persuasive speech.

We might also write an argument in the form of an essay—showing by personal experience why one solution is best. Another hidden type of argument is a commercial—we might write why one product will change a person’s life for the better.

Plot Devices

Read Job 19-21

Job 21:27 "Behold, I know your thoughts, and the devices which ye wrongfully imagine against me."

Plot devices are things writers use to move a story along. They can be anything from a ticking clock to a rescue.

Used clumsily, they are so obvious they throw a reader out of the story. We don’t want anyone to see our tricks.

Used skillfully they can heighten conflict and provide suspense. They can make our story the kind of tale a reader stays up all night to finish.

Sorrow

Read Job 16-18

Job 16:20 "My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God."

There will be instances in the plot when we need to show how our characters handle sorrow. We will also need to find ways to show they are sorrowing.

We might have sorrow of our own we need to express. We could write a poem or an essay about how we feel and how we handle it.

We might also write about the sorrow of others. An article about people who have had a devastating loss could include how they coped.

Not Inferior

Read Job 13-15

Job 13:2 "What ye know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto you."

When we write about a mousy character, we risk writing about a boring person. A character who thinks she is inferior is likely to passively have things happen to her in the story.

We can write about a protagonist that others might think is inferior. We might even write about someone who agrees with society that he is inferior.

But the story will need to be about how the character breaks out of that stereotype and declares himself not inferior. Then he behaves proactively to solve the story problem.

Why Me?

Read Job 10-12

Job 10:2 "I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me."

With all the problems we throw at our protagonist, it would only be logical if at some point she asked why me? We know the answer—it’s because the plot is better for it.

However, we will need to think of another reason for our character to come up with. The villain, of course, will be the source of much of the hero’s troubles.

But we don’t need to stick with the villain as the sole source of the protagonist’s troubles. Some could be natural disasters—fire, flood, etc.—and some could be consequences of the protagonist’s own actions.

Stream-of-Consciousness

Read Job 7-9

Job 7:1 "Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling?"

When a character talks to himself or talks a great deal without any other characters contributing to the conversation, he might be doing a soliloquy. He could even be telling a story.

If he is using stream of consciousness, it is likely to seem pointless and boring. Stream of consciousness refers to writing whatever comes into our heads as one thought leads to another but does not seem to be connected to anyone who might read it.

A stream of consciousness for a character will have to be masterfully written or the readers will get tired of the character. Stream of consciousness may be better kept to our journals and writing exercises, rather than put into the market place.

Longing

Read Job 4-6

Job 6:8 "Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for!"

A character’s longing drives a story’s plot. Watching the protagonist go after what she wants is what makes the story interesting.

We can further spice things up by adding layers to the longing. We don’t have to restrict ourselves to using it for the motivation.

In addition to what the character needs to bring order back into his world, we can add something the character longs for. It can be a complementary desire or it can be something that adds conflict to the plot—will the character get what he wants or what he needs or both?

Riches to Rags

Read Job 1-3

Job 1:21 "And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

Typical stories concern a character who fights to get what she wants. At the end she is better off than she was at the beginning.

We’re familiar with a rags to riches story—a character or real life person who starts out with nothing and becomes successful. The riches to rags story is less popular.

Job’s story is so familiar that anytime we write, hear about, or experience a riches to rags tale, we compare it or ourselves to Job. So if we want to write a riches to rags story, we’ll need to keep that in mind and use our imaginations to find ways to make the story original.

Symbol of Doom

Read Esther 7-10

Esther 7:8 "Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Esther was. Then said the king, Will he force the queen also before me in the house? As the word went out of king's mouth, they covered Haman's face."

Covering Haman’s face is such a chilling act. We don’t even need the rest of the narrative to know Haman is doomed.

We may want to choose something similar for our stories. The villain is going to be defeated, of course, but our stories can give our readers an extra shiver if we can find a way to foreshadow that ultimate defeat.

It might be easier to think of something for a historical story, because our readers will not expect to be familiar with old customs. The biggest test of our imaginations will be to think up something for a contemporary story.

Reversal

Read Esther 4-6

Esther 6:11 "Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour."

If we don’t surprise our readers, they will get bored with our story. One way to surprise them is with a reversal.

While we’re plotting, we will want to come up with as many reversals as we can think of to keep the story going and the readers guessing. We’ll want to brainstorm other twists our story could take and not just be satisfied with the most logical one that pops in to our imaginations.

Then we’ll want to do the opposite of what we’ve come up with in order to work in a reversal, like what Haman experienced. A reversal not only needs to be a good plot twist, but it should send the characters in a different direction or deepen the conflict.

MRUs

Read Esther 1-3

Esther 1:12 "But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment by his chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him."

Writer Dwight Swain is the one who identified MRUs. It stands for Motive Response Units and a complete story should consist of a series of MRUs.

The motive is what happens objectively in the story—something anyone would experience, for instance a queen’s refusal. The response component has three parts.

The first reaction would be emotional—for instance anger, followed by the second reaction which is instinct or training. The final response is the character’s action or thoughts.

Good Outweighs The Bad

Read Nehemiah 10-13

Nehemiah 13:14 "Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for the offices thereof."

Our characters are supposed to be well rounded. That means having protagonists with faults and villains with virtues.

The best way to tell them apart is when the good outweighs the bad, you are looking at a hero character. But the good outweighing the bad principle is not limited to our characters.

In our writing life, we have days when we are productive and days when we don’t even make it to the keyboard. However, we have to keep chipping away at our writing projects and soon the good and productive days will outweigh the bad days and we’ll have something good enough to send out to markets.

Book Review

Read Nehemiah 7-9

Nehemiah 8:5 "And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:"

Wouldn’t it be a perfect way to make a living—reading books and writing about them? There are a lot of markets for book reviews out there.

Unfortunately, not too many of them are paying markets. Since reading is something even non-writers love to do, there is no lack of those willing to write book reviews.

But the paying markets are out there. It’s not easy to break in, but a determined writer can do it.

Mocking

Read Nehemiah 4-6

Nehemiah 4:3 "Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall."

We can write about characters who mock or who are mocked. If we’re writing children’s fiction, we’ll probably be writing from the recipient’s point of view.

We could write about adults who are being mocked or who were bullied as children. We might even explore what a bully grows up like—whether he regrets his childhood actions or whether he continues them as an adult.

We could write an essay about what it was like being mocked or participating in being the mockers. We could write any number of articles about it from a journalistic expose of a school or corporation known for bullying to a roundup article about how mocking changed peoples’ lives.

Keeping It To Yourself

Read Nehemiah 1-3

Nehemiah 2:16 "And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work."

We want to talk about writing. We want to talk about the projects we want to write, the novels we plan to start, and hear how other writers make progress in their own writing.

In fact, writers can fall into a habit of talking about writing, reading about writing, and thinking about writing so much, we stop doing any actual writing. That’s when it might be best to keep our writing to ourselves.

We want to channel our writing efforts into getting the right words on the paper, getting out those first drafts and then rewriting and polishing. Then we will actually have something besides theory and dreams to talk about.

We Can't Do It All In One Day

Read Ezra 7-10

Ezra 10:13 "But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing."

I can’t resist books that are about how to write faster and better. Who wouldn’t want to finish writing a polished novel every few weeks or so?

Barbara Cartland was known for how fast she could crank out a romance. A few other writers can write saleable prose fresh off the pen.

But most of us must take time—we can’t do it all in one day, or a weekend, or a month. We turtles will sell our work, too, but it will take us several drafts and polishes to reach the acceptable and professional levels.

Have What You Need On Hand

Read Ezra 4-6

Ezra 6:9 "And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail:"

When I go into a store, I have to avoid the stationery aisle. All those notebooks, papers, and pens can be too much temptation.

Too often I can justify the purchases because you can never have too many writing tools. All writers need is something to write on and something to write with and then let our imaginations soar.

But it is a good idea to make sure we have what we need on hand in order to write. That way, when the ideas come, we will be able to capture them, and we will also be able to work on the rewriting and polishing of the writing we have already done.

Mixed Emotions

Read Ezra 1-3

Ezra 3:12 "But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy:"

Our characters should show mixed emotions at times to keep them from being shallow. If they show mixed emotions too often, readers will see them as unbalanced.

They might also have mixed reactions to the same emotion, like the priests did. Laughter mixed with tears for joy is an emotion readers are familiar with, so we might shake things up by having a character show an inappropriate tears mixed with laughter to show sorrow.

We might also write an essay about a time when we had mixed emotions to an event in our lives. We will want to look beyond the usual events to make the essay interesting, but not too unfamiliar, so readers will still be able to identify with us.

Press Release

Read 2 Chronicles 34-36

2 Chronicles 34:23 "And she answered them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Tell ye the man that sent you to me,"

The difference between a press release and a news story is that the company is the one that generates the press release. A news story is generated by media looking for something that needs reporting.

The situations that prompted both may be the same—something has happened to a company or within a company. Hopefully it’s something good, but too often it is something not so good.

A press release allows the company to control how the information is presented. When a company can issue the press release before news media gets ahold of a story, they can make sure the reader's first impression is as positive as possible.

Right Choices

Read 2 Chronicles 31-33

2 Chronicles 33:12 "And when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,"

At some point in the story, our characters have to start making right choices. Maybe we started the story based on a mistake our characters made.

Even choices that seem right will have to turn out badly for a while, in order to get our protagonists into enough trouble to sustain the plot. But near the end, those right choices have to start turning out well.

We could write an article about someone who has made right choices in their life. Or we could write an essay about a difficult dilemma we faced and made the right choice, despite the temptation to do wrong.

Follow the Rules

Read 2 Chronicles 28-30

2 Chronicles 30:19 "That prepareth his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary."

When looking for interesting traits to give our characters, we don’t usually write about a character who follows the rules. More often, characters are those who break the rules for their own or a noble purpose.

But writing about a character who follows the rules can be a challenge for writers. It isn’t easy to find ways to work around a plot problem while sticking to rules.

It may test our imaginations to find solutions to our characters’ dilemmas within a rule set. We may have to go back and rewrite the rules to allow whatever we need our rule-following character to allow himself to do.

Direct Mail

Read 2 Chronicles 25-27

2 Chronicles 25:7 "But there came a man of God to him, saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the Lord is not with Israel, to wit, with all the children of Ephraim."

Direct mail is also known as junk mail. At least that’s what the people who receive it call it.

The people who mail it out call it advertising and marketing. And there is definitely work for writers who can specialize in sales techniques.

Whether it’s a testimonial letter from someone who has benefited from the product or a coupon-bearing glossy, someone has written the words on it. The trick is to match our skills with what businesses are looking for.

Home Repair

Read 2 Chronicles 22-24

2 Chronicles 24:4 "And it came to pass after this, that Joash was minded to repair the house of the Lord."

It’s a luxury to be able to hire people to make repairs in our homes. It’s also expensive.

Building and home repair magazines are for people who are experts at those construction arts. Still there is a place for those of us who aren’t experts but can do great research and write well.

Most of our markets will be for general magazines whose readers want to save money by doing their own repairs with a little bit of help from us. Also our fictional characters can either be experts at repairs, or bumblers, if we are trying to write comedy.

Plotting

Read 2 Chronicles 19-21

2 Chronicles 20:12 "O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee."

Plotting should be a lot easier than it is. How hard is it to figure out what comes next in a story we are writing?

If we were content to write boring, unsaleable stories, we could get through our word counts quickly. Have our characters eaten breakfast? Maybe it’s time for them to eat lunch.

Our difficulty is because we want exciting things to happen to our characters. We want to find ways for them to fight their way out of plausible situations to make them strong at the story’s end and to keep our readers up at night until they reach the end.

Health

Read 2 Chronicles 16-18

2 Chronicles 16:12 "And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians."

Health is a wide-open field for writers. There are lots of magazines dedicated to improving health.

Most magazines and newspapers are also hungry for health-related articles. If we or if our loved ones are struggling with a certain health issue, we already have a start on the research to make a good pitch.

If we follow certain science-breakthrough newsletters, we will get a jump on the latest information that editors will want to share with their readers. Since health-related information affects everyone, we will have no lack of material or markets for our information.

Inspirational Rally

Read 2 Chronicles 13-15

2 Chronicles 13:4 "And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim, which is in mount Ephraim, and said, Hear me, thou Jeroboam, and all Israel;"

When we’re writing about troops getting ready to head into battle, we may want to write an inspirational rallying speech for the leader character. They will need some words of encouragement in order to go forth, especially if the characters aren’t strictly a military sort of battle group.

The leader will want to be sure all the battle group members are committed to the same cause. If any have changed their minds, she will want them to feel free to leave the group before the showdown starts.

For the rest of the characters, she will want to remind them of why they are there and what they plan to accomplish. Here is where a writer can let the imagination soar in order to write some stirring, memorable, and quotable words for the leader to speak.