Writing "the story". Okay so we have the pantsers and the outliners. But how does the story travel from mind to matter? Inspiration can be practical for professionals. But it also comes on a whim, a word, a phrase, a song, a picture, a headline, or you tell me. Writers know that publishers tend…

                                      The expression "flying by the seat of his pants" points to unplanned indulgence. Whether it's attacking a responsibility, task, or hobby, it connotates a bit of whimsical engagement without real foresight or research. When it's used to describe writers, it's been shortened to "pantsers" or "seat-of-the-pants" which reveals the author does not set…

                                                             Reviewed for the CFBA Tour Poison Town by Creston Mapes is the second book in The Crittendon Files following Fear Has A Name. Catching up with Jack Crittendon, ace reporter for the downtown Trenton City, Ohio, Dispatch newspaper, we join him in his freezing car on the way to his favorite family of…

    The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia – your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to…

          To conclude my limited knowledge of French words and phrases for the week, I will end with this well known expression of thank you very much. Thank you to those who visit here, who comment, who write, read, and voice opinions, who love Jesus, and to those who don't yet know Him. Thank you for…

                http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/au_contraire Over the years here you've read my commentary and disagreements with some of the ritualistic conduct of Christian publishing. Professional writing/publishing blogs have presented their guidelines for prospective writers/authors, citing key phrases such as "We're always looking for fresh voices" while continuing to publish exactly the same type of literature previously presented for…

                        http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/c%27est_la_vie   "That's life." How many times have you heard that expression in reference to a bad thing, an unfair occurrence, or after registering a complaint to a parent, employer, or friend? If you're a parent, how many times have you found yourself saying it to your offspring? It's a non-committal phrase which tries to…

          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laissez-faire Bing Dictionary lais·sez-faire [ lè say fér ] principle of no regulation of industry: the principle that the economy works best if private industry is not regulated and markets are free refusal to interfere: refusal to interfere in other people's affairs, or the practice of letting people do as they wish synonyms: noninterventionist…

                                http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joie_de_vivre Many years ago I worked for a year in retail after a freshman stint at the U of W to save enough money to travel to Great Britain and Europe. Having talked a friend into making the exciting trip with me, we flew away to Heathrow in London after a brief…

  Will evildoers never learn –   those who devour my people as men eat bread   and who do not call on the Lord? There they are, overwhelmed with dread,   for God is present in the company of the righteous. You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,   but the Lord is…