He doesn’t think of doctrines as primarily ‘true’ or ‘false’, but as ‘academic’ or ‘practical’, ‘outworn’ or ‘contemporary’, ‘conventional’ or ‘ruthless. Jargon, not argument, is your best ally in keeping him from the Church. C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, Chapter 1 Like a lot of people, I grew up with an education that was…
Archives for March 2018
Get the Other Person Saying “Yes, Yes” Immediately
When a person says “No” and really means it, he or she is doing far more than saying a word of two letters. The entire organism—glandular, nervous, muscular—gathers itself together into a condition of rejection. Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People My youngest daughter’s favorite word right now is “No, no.” She…
Stages of Platform Development
I was thinking about the progression of an audience from hearing about an author for the first time to becoming a true fan. It looks something like this: 1. Notice People notice your name or books. They hear your name or books mentioned in conversation or in an interview or in something they read online….
Writing Advice from R. J. Palacio, Author of Wonder
R. J. Palacio, author of the popular book and now movie Wonder, offers two pieces of advice to aspiring writers on her website about page: 1. Write every day. I would sum it up with another precept I wrote down when I was a teenager. It was from The Agony and the Ecstasy: “The most…
Stories > Strategies
When I read books these days, I read to learn what the author has to say but I also pay close attention to how she or he says it. I’m always very curious about how an author chooses to structure the book and the individual chapters. I hope to learn from them and improve my…
