A time and a place for everything

 One of the things that most fascinated me about the coronation was the amount of detail that gone into the planning. The BBC News website featured an article on the man who had been commissioned to create the anointing screen. Classic FM had lots of information about the music being used, which included a mixture of old favourites as well as newly-commissioned works. (Fun fact: Zadok the Priest was the first piece ever played on Classic FM.)

 

What particularly made me think, however, was the number of items of regalia that had to be brought to the King, each representing a different aspect of his role. Amongst others there were swords, sceptres, an orb and a ring. Oh, and I believe a crown was involved somewhere along the line… 

 

All of these had to presented to the King at the proper time, with the right form of words, and Charles had to respond in a prescribed way. It was like an elaborately choreographed ballet at times, where everything had its place.

 

It’s a good reminder for us as writers that each word, each phrase, each chapter has its own place in our manuscript. The way we structure a piece depends on its form and its prospective audience. Magazine articles will be put together differently from flash fiction stories. Novels will differ in form from poetry. Most of us can spend hours searching for the right word or phrase that will make our work come to life. More painfully, we often have to remove bits that don’t quite belong or are there as padding rather than earning their place.

 

The author of Ecclesiastes wrote about there being a time and a place for everything. I’m not sure he was thinking about writing in particular, but it’s still good advice. So, how about you? Do you find it easy to ensure everything earns its place in your work? Let me know in the comments if you have any great tips on how to do this.

Fiona Lloyd is Chair of the Association of Christian Writers and writes regularly for Together magazine. Her first novel, The Diary of a (trying to be holy) Mum, was published by Instant Apostle in January 2018. Fiona also works for Christians Against Poverty.

 

Twitter: @FionaJLloyd & @FionaLloyd16