More than Writers

I was fascinated to read Deborah Jenkin’s post on teaching writing , because I’ve been thinking recently about how to instil a love of writing into the younger generation. Often we think about the responsibility we have towards our readers, but what about to those too young to be our readers currently? I have watched my children as they have grown and noted that it is the one who is an avid reader that loves to turn her hand to writing of all forms – journalling, creative writing – even  reviews for magazines and websites I work for !  Yet my son is bored by reading – and hates writing more than a few sentences. While he is at the top of his class in these subjects there is a notable difference in the level of engagement, and enjoyment, my children get from reading and writing. I have been helping my son prepare for some upcoming tests, and groaned inwardly myself as he and I were both struggling with knowing if something is an ‘ordinal’ or ‘demonstrative ...

I sometimes think about words and get completely blown away. It's pretty much impossible to come to an exact number of words in the English language. The Oxford Dictionary estimates that we have 171,476 words in current use, and 47,156 obsolete words. To this may be added around 9,500 derivative words included as subentries. But we can't know exactly how many words we have - for example, do we count 'dog' as one word or one of a few - it can be a verb as well as a noun, after all, and that's before we start with plurals and tenses. However many, what strikes me is that we as humans are able to express ourselves in such a crazy multitude of ways. We don't just like something; we admire, we love, we adore, we cherish, we relish, we prize. (And that last isn't just a verb, either!) Our ability to convey such depths of emotion and describe our thoughts is unique to us as the human race, created for so much more than survival. We're created for beauty...

As Christians, we are often writing about things that defy trite, easy answers. The mysteries of God are manifold and our earthly languages are not really built for expressing them. So how DO we talk about spiritual matters? In prayer, the Holy Spirit may intercede for us in groans and new tongues, but that’s not going to translate well into a Microsoft Word document. Sometimes we fall into the trap of trying to over-intellectualise things, and we end up writing theology that is perhaps a little too clever, a little too dualistic or exact. We all have that instinct that wants to tidy God up into boxes and make Him/Her/They (even our pronouns are inadequate) neatly comprehensible. Most of my own attempts at theology are rewritten time and time again after new research appears, or new insights are revealed to me in prayer. My writing about God in this direct way is the most prone to constant edits as God leads me to be ever more inclusive and gentle, and as my own small und...

I’m a collector of words. I make lists of old words, slang words, local words, specialist subject words. And I love discovering new ones – the aptness, the rhythm, the onomatopoeia. The constant evolution of language is one of its glories. I wrote a poem about it on my blog which you can find here: https://thestufflifeismadeofblog.wordpress.com/2019/02/03/where-do-new-words-come-from-five-minute-friday/.   But isn’t that one of the wonders of being a writer? We can actively echo God’s creative process in the development of language through the formation of new stories, poems, or articles but also in the construction of words themselves. Look at Lewis Carroll or Gerard Manley Hopkins. And it can be fun. We had a go at this at our local ACW Group writing retreat day. Each of us made a quick list of random words, defined three of them, then passed the words alone to someone else to write their own definitions. These were the results: JOLLYMARKS: ...

By Rosemary Johnson A few months ago, I was writing on this blog about how publishing a novel isn’t the be-all and end-all, and it isn’t.   Some of us have poems, short stories and articles published occasionally and others have not got to that point.   The Association of Christian Writers exists to ‘encourage, equip and inspire’ all writers, from authors who are household names to beginners and those - as yet - unpublished.   If you have only just started writing, or feel you are stalling, a good way to put your work about is to enter competitions.   When ACW members receive their Christian Writer magazine in the next week or two, they will find themselves reading about two competitions.   (Non-members will find some information on http://www.christianwriters.org.uk/competitions shortly.) ACW Writing for Children Competition This is three competitions in one, as there are three categories: Fiction for Children Aged Wor...

The craft of writing, as we all know, can be both taught and learned. I have read many books about writing, I have had many conversations about writing, I have listened to many talks about what makes a good writer. But where and how did I first learn to write? How did you first learn to write? I'm asking because, as a supply teacher, moving around different schools and sometimes staying to do longer term cover, I am fascinated (and sometimes appalled) at the way in which I am required to teach writing. And, believe me, I really do mean 'required'. Some schools have loose approaches and some schools have tight approaches and, boy, if you deviate from the tight approach, one tiny iota, you're out of there. The best system I have ever used was at a school in London, teaching writing through a programme called the Power of Reading. Basically you work from good quality children's books - Varjak Paw by S.F.Said, Coraline by Neil Gaiman, The Miraculous Journey of Ed...

Why are reviews and reader comments like scripture? Because to understand them properly, you have to perform exegesis – discern exactly what the original author meant at the time of writing. Only then can you perform hermeneutics  – applying the meaning then to your situation now. For example, as a Young Adult author I’ve received fanmail from young, impressionable readers who assure me that I’m the best author since J.K. Rowling! I don’t want to laugh – I’m sure they are entirely sincere, I’m delighted they enjoyed my book and I’m flattered that they felt moved to write. Unfortunately, I also know full well that what they mean is I’m the only author they’ve read other than J.K. Rowling. Or if not the only, one of not very many. I don’t let it go to my head. In the early 70s, Arthur C. Clarke wrote one of the great science fiction novels of the twentieth century, Rendezvous with Rama . In the late 80s, the same Clarke with a co-author helped perpetrate a trilogy of th...