Tag: writing

The Arrows We Draw

I’ve spent most of this past week with Julian Stoner. Julian is the central character in The Boaz Superstition, the novel I’ve been working on for months and am finally nearing completion. He’s a psychiatrist, a former pastor, and a man who has returned to the small Alabama town where he grew up. Lately, I’ve… Continue reading The Arrows We Draw

When Another Word Doesn’t Help

I’ve spent much of this week working on I Dare You, Teacher, a book I first wrote years ago and have now substantially revised. Some of the work has involved large questions. What is this book really trying to say? Where does it sound too much like the courtroom lawyer I once was? Am I… Continue reading When Another Word Doesn’t Help

What Revision Asks Us to Let Go

I’ve spent a good bit of time lately going back through writing I did months ago, particularly early work on the Billy and Molly series and I Dare You, Teacher. It’s an interesting experience, reading something you remember writing but no longer seeing it quite the way you did when you wrote it. Some of… Continue reading What Revision Asks Us to Let Go

The Person Behind the Label

This week I’ve been moving back and forth among three writing projects: the Billy and Molly series, I Dare You, Teacher, and The Boaz Superstition. They’re very different projects, but I’ve noticed something happening in all three. I’m having a harder time putting people into neat little boxes. That’s probably a good thing. Take Billy… Continue reading The Person Behind the Label

Standing Beside the Witness

What writing has been teaching me lately. This week, while working on both the Billy and Molly series and I Dare You, Teacher, I realized how much my own writing has changed. Months ago, I often approached difficult ideas the way a courtroom lawyer approaches a witness. My instinct was to expose contradictions, challenge assumptions,… Continue reading Standing Beside the Witness