Resources by Topic: Writing

Question from a reader: I really enjoyed reading your Deadline/Dominion/Deception series. Have you ever considered writing another book from the perspective of Manny?

I heard one author say, “Writing is like giving birth to barbed wire.” Others say writing is 5 percent inspiration and 95 percent perspiration.

In my last blog, I wrote about one of my three pilgrimages to Oxford. Each visit I’ve pondered what Lewis wrote: “You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen…I gave in and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all of England.”

Those who have read my books know that all of them have been touched in one way or another by C.S. Lewis, because ultimately the books we write are the overflow of the books we’ve read.

The cliché answer is probably the best one—if you want to write, write.

Randy Alcorn answers the question, "How did your study of Heaven influence the scenes in your novel?"

First of all, go to any Christian bookstore and look in the front of books related to the subject you’re writing on and gather names and addresses of the publishers you want to pursue. I suggest you send two or three sample chapters, not the whole book.

I spent a lot of time with black men and women in the background research for Dominion, relying heavily on their personal accounts and paying particular attention to the recurring stories.

It’s true that those with gang and other criminal backgrounds who wish to become cops go through a lot of screening and probation and often outright rejection, but in fact a number of ex-gang members do become cops, including gang specialists.

As long as people know that fiction is fiction, we shouldn’t apologize for using our God-given imaginations to create worlds for characters to inhabit, and for readers to enjoy and learn from.

First, to realize it will not be as easy as you’re thinking. To do it well will require a great deal of work and experience and feedback in developing a God-given talent—assuming God has given you that talent or aptitude in the first place, which is a BIG assumption.

Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to get something professionally published. In fact, one publisher recently told us they don’t even accept unsolicited manuscripts any longer, they simply mail them back unopened. 

Minor characters come quickly, usually, as they may have only a few distinguishable features. You usually don’t need to develop them too much, though you can certainly make them memorable. Major characters are different, because they must be complex, with depth and substance. You don’t want them to disappear when they turn sideways. The bad guys must be in some ways sympathetic, the good guys must be flawed.

Question from a reader: I am an 8th grade student and my teacher has assigned us a reading project about any book of our choice. I have chosen to read your book Deadline. I am not the kind of person who enjoys reading very much, but your book has really caught my attention. As part of my assignment, I would like to ask you how did you come up with the idea for this story?