Do you write Christian books for ten-year-old children? Two stories regarding ten-year-old girls have profoundly moved me over the last couple of weeks. The first was the news from Nigeria that Boko Haram are using girls as young as ten
Between the beginning and end of your novel, if your main character hasn’t evolved (‘moved on’ if your prefer!), your story probably lacks dynamism. It may not be true to life, either, because as human beings every event we go
This morning I read Jesus’ parable of the seeds and the sower, and as I reflected on being good soil and bearing fruit, my mind wandered to the parable of the talents. However many we have been given, we need
I have been working my way through a pile of unsolicited manuscripts over the last week or so. Some have a lot of potential! However, many have one major flaw; the lack of “showing” and lots of “telling”. It’s a shame, because stories where readers are simply
Christmas is a great time to people watch, and get some tips for when you are creating characters for your novel. This Christmas, if you are meeting with family and friends, take a few moments to observe tell-tale signs that
If you write novels for 8-14s, do you need to include quotes from Shakespeare plays, make a passing reference to the Spanish Inquisition, and have your protagonist quote Scripture? We all use passing references to people, places and events we are familiar with
I think I may have mentioned something like this before in a writing tip, but it’s worth mentioning again as it’s a common problem I see in unsolicited manuscripts: when writing for this age group (8-14s) you need to start
We all know the one about the panda who eats shoots and leaves. Or does he eat, shoot and leave? Correct punctuation can at times be essential to the meaning of a sentence; but more than that, it can make your
Wordiness is one of the most common problems I see in unsolicited manuscripts – there are many ways of tightening up a story and improving the pace; here are 3 of them. Cut out unnecessary polite conversation in dialogue. Too much
Want to look professional? Presentation of your manuscript is important, whether you are approaching an agent, a publisher, or entering a competition. Here are some guidelines: Spacing: Use double line spacing throughout. Font: Times New Roman 12 point might seem
