Writer’s Wisdom

Johnny ran outside, looked at the petunias, then went into the kitchen. Outside again, he played with Spot for a minute, then went for a cookie. When the screen door...

The young generation sees a button and immediately wants to push it and find out what it does. The older generation, hands trembling, is not about to push anything without...

At a national conference one year, Jack pitched his book to a long-standing acquisitions editor for a major publisher. “This is interesting,” the editor said, wanting Jack to send him...

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...

One teacher said to Becky, “Put a comma wherever you would naturally pause.” She tried that, but another teacher said, “You have commas where you don’t need them.” Becky didn’t...

After Willis Gramwell finished teaching his last-period English class, he stopped at the furniture store to buy chairs and a table for his dining room. He recognized the young clerk...

See Spot run. See Spot run fast. These were the words Johnny learned in kindergarten. Now as an adult, he wanted to write better. He turned to the thesaurus, not...

Henry had never bought a lottery ticket. Why not? His choice wasn’t due to a religious prejudice against gambling. He just never believed he could win. What he could do...

Jason sat on the church pew that Sunday morning, hoping he wouldn’t be bored. “The Kingdom of Heaven,” the preacher said, “is like a master who gave money to his...

Johnny walked on the other side of the street, past the fire truck, and stopped. Curious spectators watched the two men slide the stretcher into the ambulance, the boy under...