“Work” is a four-letter word that sounds like drudgery, strain, and pain—something we might want to avoid if we could. To keep writing from becoming work, we need to add...
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Since most people are looking for God’s audible voice, they question whether he ever speaks to them. When they hear someone say, “God told me . . .” they feel inferior, wishing...
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“Ruthless Red Pen” is a business name that intimidates some people. I chose it deliberately. I want my clients to know that I strive to attain perfection when it comes...
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Early on Sunday morning, Matthew Jeffers saddled his horse and rode into town. This time, he didn’t stop at the saloon but tied up at the old church, which had...
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Avoid looking like an amateur. You’ll see these mistakes in print, but you can do better. Please, never use multiple exclamation points!!!! Avoid single exclamation points except for one- or...
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To Finish, Start. Without beginning, you can’t reach the end. Garrison Keillor once said we don’t know how to tell a story until after we’ve told it a dozen times....
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Readers want a picture of Jesus’ world 2,000 years ago, but not in the language of his day. How would you describe Mary’s worship of the Father? Sholem Asch wrote...
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Reporters are asked to “get the story,” which we might translate to mean “find out what happened.” If that’s all the assignment involves, we’ll get to read boring news. The...
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In the classics, long paragraphs were desirable. At one time, English teachers said a topic sentence should begin a paragraph, followed by several more, as if we hadn’t really achieved...
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It’s a common malady: at times, we want to have written, but we don’t want to write. We just don’t feel that inspired. We’re like young Johnny with a writing...
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