“Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips.” Proverbs 27:2 I’m not sure how most Christian authors reconcile this verse with the demands of marketing. It used to be that the publisher would trumpet their author’s praise. But now, if a writer plans to sell books they’ve [...]
Pessimism is one of the most important instruments in a writer’s tool box. It can also be one of the most destructive. Several years back I entered the ACFW Genesis Contest, but didn’t make the cut. I had already convinced myself I wouldn’t so when I didn’t, I wasn’t disappointed. Once again, pessimism saved me. [...]
Jesus promised that Christians would be “hated” just as He was “hated” (John 15:18), dooming “good PR” forever. To His word, there is no shortage of Christian beliefs that seem to rankle folks nowadays. So which one of the following beliefs do you think is the most hated of all Christian beliefs?
One of my favorite reads over the last few years remains Tosca Lee’s Demon: A Memoir. Apart from Tosca’s stellar writing and her unique spin on the demon v. man genre, I personally liked the ambiguous ending. By that, I don’t mean that the conclusion came off as intentionally vague or unfinished. I thought Demon [...]
Jon Acuff’s new book Stuff Christians Like has got a lot of folks laughing. And for church-goers, that’s an accomplishment. Christians have a long history of frowning upon merriment. And laughing at ourselves is, for some, virtually anathema. But things are changing. Humor is suddenly afoot amongst the saints. Take Colin Hansen’s post at Out [...]
“What’s the worse that can happen?” Those words are uttered near the end of the new sci-fi / horror film Splice. But by that time, I couldn’t imagine anything much “worse” than what I’d already witnessed. The movie is getting surprisingly good reviews, with critics calling it “smart,” “thought-provoking” and “completely original.” However, if there [...]
I’ve posted some new pics of the family over at the Duran Clan website and added a widget in my sidebar. Mainly random stuff. No huge events. Except me and Lisa’s trip to the Venice Beach boardwalk. Now that was off the chain! Chili dogs, juggling midgets, and psychic transvestites. It’ s odd how at [...]
Ask ten different authors the difference between literary fiction and commercial fiction and you’ll get 10 different answers. When there is consensus, it’s usually that literary fiction is more about the writing than the story, while commercial fiction is more about the story than the writing. Graham Greene simply made the distinction between what he [...]
Every ad campaign, book trailer, free music download, or YouTube video has in its genes a “viral” ambition — to reach the maximum number of people possible. The Gospel contains similar aspirations. So it shouldn’t surprise us that viral marketing, at its core, employs a very biblical principle. Mass influence is the result of individual [...]
I found Rachelle Gardner’s recent One-Sentence Summary Contest rather fascinating. Developing a provocative snippet (emphasis on provocative AND snippet) of your story is par for the course nowadays. So why do so many aspiring novelists have such a hard time with this exercise? Could it be they don’t really know their story that well? Or [...]
