Clear, Concise, and Succinct

On my way to becoming the next “award-winning-best-selling-author,” I try to make a little cash freelancing. I've learned that editors of online platforms want writing that is clear, concise and succinct. They want short paragraphs that enable the reader to skim quickly for information.

As an educator, this is disheartening. How will I ever get my students to read Robinson Crusoe or Little Women if all they are exposed to is material that only hits the high points?

I wonder if Homer, that great writer of the 8^th century, would wring his hands after reading the above mentioned novels. A lot of changes took place in writing between the 8^th and 19^th centuries.

Writing changes over time because forms of communication change. Now, more than any time in the history of the world, we communicate via the written word. Texting, e-mail, and chat, makes communication briefer and more to the point.

This is bad if you’re a writer of deep, philosophical prose. Readers today want worthy stuff in exchange for their most valuable commodity--time. When they spend time reading what you've written, take-away value better be there. They don’t care too much about the the boring inner thoughts of a young heroine as she drinks in the sweet, fragrant essence of the violent sea as it crashes violently upon the gleaming rocky shore. Modern, tech-savvy readers want the bottom line. They want info in clear, concise writing. There isn’t time for the flowery stuff. Prose isn’t going to grab them.

And yet, we need to give the reader enough information about our characters--where they are, why they are there, and what they are thinking-- so that the story has meat. How do we do that?

Therein lies the challenge. How do we tell a great story with so few words? Writing a novel is different than writing an article or column, but if this is how modern readers are accustomed to reading, won’t it carry over into fiction eventually?

Today's readers challenge us to keep their attention. Mastering attention-grabbing-and-keeping-writing is what separates today’s great authors from those who tinker with little stories on their laptops. This challenge, when conquered, is what makes writing an art.

It’s certainly my daily battle. I’m brimming with good story ideas, but weaving the right amount of words into an attention-grabbing saga is a dragon I’m determined to conquer.

What are the dragons you battle on the way to your best-selling novel? Share them with me so I know I’m not alone!

Lessons from a Snowman

Do you think in word pictures? Have you ever visualized the process of novel-writing as word pictures?

Bizarre though it might sound, I envision the writing process as similar to building a snow sculpture. Consider…

According to Snowman 101, the first step is simply to wait until enough snow accumulates on the ground. And not just any snow. You need the slightly moist type of snowflakes that stick together, not the cold, dry powdery kind. When that just-right type of snow collects, you head outdoors, scoop up a handful, and then begin rolling it across your yard. More snow sticks to your original ball, and before long—Voilá! You have a large, round orb for your snowman’s foundation.

Repeat that process, but don’t let the second snowball become quite as big as the first one. That ball becomes a plump torso to heave atop the first one. Finally, you create a third ball and plop it into place for a head. Adding chunks of coal (or bits of gravel) plus a carrot will provide a rudimentary face. That accomplished, you stand back and admire your handiwork.

However, a snowman is not a “snow sculpture.” Any elementary-school kid can duplicate that process, but the end result isn’t artwork. If you aim to create a truly extraordinary piece of snow art, it’s time to reach into your pockets for your butter knife, a spoon, and whichever other tools work best for you. By carving away lumps of snow here and there, or scooping up more snow to pat into gaps and cracks, you can transform an ungainly snowman into a genuine statue that delights the eye.

See the parallels to writing? In order to mold stories, you need material to work with. So you read. Short stories, novels, newspapers, magazines, comic books—all of these contribute fresh ideas and concepts as raw material.

Once you have an outline for a story in mind, you draw upon your brain’s accumulated ideas and you write. However, when you type that final period and your manuscript is done—it’s not really done at all. At that point, you have a literary version of a basic snowman. You could leave your manuscript as is and balk at suggestions at changing it, but chances are excellent that no one will give it a second glance. No, if you want to catch readers’ eyes and start tongues wagging about your creation, you must sculpt. You trim off unnecessary adverbs and prepositional phrases. You spot gaps and cracks and fill those in with new sentences brimming with glistening figures of speech, nuggets of wisdom, jewel-studded subplots, tension, maybe even new characters with unique points of view. That done, congratulations! You finally have a unique bit of artwork, the type that results only through hours of mental exertion: a novel.

If other readers have favorite word pictures or analogies related to writing, I’d love to hear them!

What Oatmeal and Oranges Have in Common with You and Brother Andrew

Amid all the choices I had to read, I’m not sure how I happened at age eleven upon the blue hardbound book entitled “God’s Smuggler” by the founder of Open Doors, an organization which still ministers to persecuted Christians around the world.

Known as Brother Andrew, this Dutchman loved God and risked his life repeatedly to smuggle pornographic material into Communist countries. You see, after the communist government had declared the Bible to be pornographic, jail, torture, or death awaited those foolish enough to carry such contraband.

Once, Brother Andrew prayed the eyes of the border patrol would be blinded as he stacked Bibles openly on his seat. Every other car was pulled apart and searched, but he was waved through with only a cursory glance at his passport.

What most captured me was that God Almighty gave specific direction. “Andrew, go to Red Street, knock on the fifth door on the right and ask whoever answers if they would like a Bible.” Andrew obeyed, and was kept safe. His response amazed me every bit as much as this account from Genesis 12:1, “The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.’”

Andrew wasn’t exempt from life’s problems. People betrayed his trust. Not every moment was so clearly defined. He had human frailties. Even so, God accomplished His purpose to reach Eastern European hearts just as He promised Abram that all peoples on earth will be blessed through him and his obedience.

As a young mother, I read a true account of an intercessor awakened by God and told to go shopping. She browsed the grocery aisles listening for further instruction as she filled the cart with flour, sugar, milk, baby formula, oatmeal. She hesitated over oranges, an expensive treat, but didn’t feel the task was complete until she’d added them. She didn’t know that a hungry little girl, being taught by her parents to pray to God to supply breakfast, had specifically requested them.

If God has given you a task – say to write—don’t grow weary in doing that job. Don’t let opposition or difficulties or logic sway you. There is power in the written word. Stories of Brother Andrew and that nameless woman impressed me to follow their example. You will impress others to draw closer to God through your writing. Don’t ever underestimate the power of an obedient heart sold out 100% to the Lord. Be that heart.

Who has been a Brother Andrew example for you? How has it impacted your writing experience? What is the hardest step of obedience/ trust you’ve had to make in writing?

How Many Times Can a Person Be Rejected Before He Resorts to Unscrupulous Means?

James Whitcomb Riley and my great grandmother had something in common. They both were born in a log cabin in Indiana in 1849. I wonder if she knew who he was?

I remember memorizing his poems back when I was a kid. Of course, back then it was the norm to memorize poetry and Psalms. I can still recite some of them. Do you remember this Hoosier favorite?



At one point in his life, James tried going to college in order to follow in his attorney father’s shoes. While he tried to study law and make his father proud, he found that he was better suited to follow in his mother's steps by writing poetry.

Through his poetry, James found that he was more adept to entertaining than anything else. Couple that with his longing to wander, and you can see why he traveled around the country on a theater circuit tour reciting his poems.

James Whitcomb Riley was no stranger to rejection. His poetry had been published in various newspapers across the country, but since he hailed from the Midwest and not the East, getting his poems published appeared impossible. No one seemed to notice his talent.

In spite of his inability to adapt to studying or pursuing a degree, he came up with a resourceful way to “break in” to the writer’s world. He published one of his poems under another famous poet’s name – Edgar Allan Poe. The poem received wide acclaim and served as a springboard into fame for Riley once he made it known that it was he who wrote the poem and not Poe.

Here's a little quiz to see if you can tell the difference between Riley’s poems and Poe’s.

http://search.intelius.com/James-Whitcomb-Riley/websites/frame?h=69b530d2eb&title=Quiz%3A+Edgar+Poe%2C+or+unrecognized+poet%3F&url=http%3A%2F%2Freverent.org%2Fpoe-tical_or_not.html

It is said that Riley became the wealthiest poet of his time. We in Indiana know him as “The Hoosier Poet”, but he was best known nationally as "The Children’s Poet”.

Do you have a favorite James Whitcomb Riley poem?

Clichés Are for the Birds

We're all told to avoid them, yet they show up in every writer's first draft. The key is catching them in the second, third, or fourth draft. So in honor of our pledge as writers to avoid clichés, here are my top seven cliché phrases (because a Top Ten list would be way too cliché).

7) The difference was like night and day. - Or black and white, or Baptist and Pentecostal.

6) It happened in the blink of an eye. - Or, It happened faster than a stomach clench at reading all these clichés.

5) I feel as big as a beached whale. - Cliché or not, this one is true thanks to my baby belly. Here's another true statement: I feel bigger than a hippopotamus on steroids.

4) Don't let the cat out of the bag. - Instead of freshening this one up, I just have to ask who put the cat in the bag in the first place? And who is going to get the poor thing out?

3) We can't afford to lose. - If we lose, we'll be sorrier than all these washed-up writers who can't freshen up their clichés.

2) It's as easy as pie. - Who said making a pie was easy? For me, It's as easy as a frozen Marie Callendar pie.

1) She was scared to death. - Her fear rivaled that of a writer stuck in a time warp of bad clichés.

What are your toughest clichés to kick? Do you have any fresh takes on the clichés in this list?