Hello, fellow travelers in life.
I want to wish you all a happy Resurrection Day! To honor the day that Christ defeated the grave, why not listen to Keith and Kristyn Getty’s “Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed?” To that truth, I say “Amen.”
Are you hoping to write your own middle grade novel but don’t want to create bland scenes? These tips by Kevin Lovegreen will give you the basics on how to create vivid descriptions of your characters’ world.
If you are (or know) a reader of middle-grade adventure stories, you’re probably familiar with award winning author Kevin Lovegreen. His series, Lucky Luke’s Hunting Adventures, is a big hit among the families in our neighborhood.
Lovegreen gives presentations to promote the love of reading, writing, and the outdoors. I’m so happy that he agreed to contribute a blog post with some pointers for youth who dream of becoming an author (or simply passing Language Arts).
Take it away, Kevin!
“think about painting pictures with your words”
Do you want to become a better writer?
If you’re looking for some advice on becoming a better writer, think like a painter. What!? Yep, think about painting pictures with your words. As you are writing, and more importantly, when you go back and edit your writing, try to be as descriptive as possible. Remember, you are always writing to two…
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It’s good to be realistic about how corrupt our world is. But how realistic is too realistic, particularly when it comes to writing stories? Should we be as gritty as today’s news and reveal all the world’s evils? Or be the opposite extreme, too optimistic?
My book review on Laika: Astronaut Dog shows a book giving a tragic historical story a happy ending, even though that ending never happened. I do address the problem of cleaning up history for the sake of avoiding its upsetting elements.
Hannah Mae discusses the dilemma of being too gritty or too upbeat on her FlyingFaith Talks! She shows how the Bible and being ministry-minded guide us on finding that balance.
I wrote another book review for Jennifer Hallmark’s blog! This time, it’s about a fox with a big problem but helps someone else in the midst of it. What is this fox’s problem? Hint: it has to do with her tail.
Don’t believe teenagers can benefit from picture books? Read this article from M. Liz Boyle’s website.
Sarah Mackenzie, author and founder of the Read-Aloud Revival podcast, says that we should read a picture book every day as kids grow up, even when they’re teenagers! If this sounds odd to you, listen to the podcast to learn how big kids, bigger kids, and adults benefit from picture books. Read-alouds are unanimously a […]
Read to Your Kids, Part VI, Ocean Stories with Beautiful Illustrations — M Liz Boyle
Looking for a quick read for your young children? Try “Children’s Adventure Stories by James Reeves.” It’s a Facebook Page that’s open to the public, and it’s loaded with short stories along with colorful and fun illustrations.
The following picture was on that Page. 🙂
Story Warren also has short stories for kids, and I just read a clever one called “TellUsClope.” The giraffes below are the story’s illustration on the site.
The story is about a giraffe who wishes for a short neck but later learns that a long neck does have a benefit. Want to know what that benefit is? Read more by clicking on the following link:
When writing a story, have you ever added a quick Gospel message in a way that seems forced? For example, out of the blue you have added something like, “Your brother gave his life for you, just like Christ would have done.” I’ve been guilty of that. But fiction writers are meant to write stories that both entertain and have readers think deeply, not create stories that might as well be PSAs. But how can we do that and bring glory to God as well as shine light to a dark world?
Hannah Mae shares what writing Biblical truth looks like without having to turn your story into a sermon. Click on the link at the bottom to access her podcast, FlyingFaith Talks! There you will find the title, “Averting Over-Preachiness.”
Another book review was posted on Jennifer Hallmark’s blog, written by yours truly. It’s about the children’s book Shy Willow by Cat Min, a sweet and funny story filled with beautiful illustrations.
Here is the link to the review. Enjoy!
As you may already know, I’ve reviewed a lot of books with animals in them, and I’ve written stories with animals in them, though I haven’t thought much on how to incorporate wildlife into worldbuilding.
R.M. Archer wrote a blog post that offers tips on how to create animals for your fantastical world. And she introduces a strange animal: the saiga antelope. Look it up; it’s a real animal, and let’s just say it looks quite different. 🙂
Meet an artist who paints scenes from Tolkien’s stories: Emily Austin. On Story Warren’s website, Christine Norvell interviews Austin, who shares how she gets inspiration for her pictures. You may even learn some tips on how to get inspiration for your own stories and pictures.
K.A. Ramstad 