Hello again fellow Christian writers! I hope you will find the following creative writing tip useful:

When setting a scene, it’s good to begin with a description of the general panorama before getting to the details. For example, if we have a scene in our novel where our characters are on a beach, we should begin our description with the sky, the cliffs behind, and any background noises and smells (e.g. the salty smell of the sea, the cry of the seagulls).

worthing beach

Once our readers have the big picture in their mind, it’s time to bring them in a bit closer; people laughing and splashing in the waves, children building sandcastles, a boy throwing a stick for his dog . . .

Finally we need to zoom right in to show the details of our character and the action that takes place in this scene.

If we go straight to our characters and their actions without first giving a broad picture of the scene, readers might have to revise their mental picture, and that’s annoying!

There’s no such thing as the perfect book, but let’s aim to do the best we possibly can. Our readers are worth it! 🙂

If you would like to take the next step with your writing and join the next Write for a Reason course, we start on 21st September. The course is for Christians who write novels for children and teens. Registration is now open! Places are limited, as I don’t want to take on too many students, so book your place now if you want to be sure to get in.

You can read some reviews of the course here: Go to Testimonials

And read more about the course here: Go to Course Details

Janet WilsonIf you have any questions about the course or anything else, please don’t hesitate to contact me – always glad to help. 🙂

Janet

How Not To Confuse Your Readers When You Set Your Scenes (Confused? Read on!)
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