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- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
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I’ll let you know what I decide on!
@joy-caroline
Awesome!!!!!!!"It looks like a fairy world"~Meg from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Fall in love with Jesus@joy-caroline
Hey you mind if I ask u some questions?
So, I’m wondering, how did u first start and go about writing biblical fiction? What did you use to study and how did you do it?
You see….i want to study about David, and then I was reading some of ur stuff and it was so good and I thought, “What if, one day, I wrote a biblical fiction about David?” Kinda like what ur doing with Saul and such.
So would u mind taking me thru ur process? How u outlined it and everything? Obviously I’d still be focused on this WIP I’m currently writing too, but I’d like to get started outlining and studying. Plus, biblical fiction is a serious thing so I’d want to really really take my time (maybe a year even) to outline and study.
and I thought, well, why not combine studying the Bible with my writing? Ya know?
#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSebI feel like I haven’t been here in FOREVER. AGES. *looks around, eyes wide, rubs head and squints unnecessarily hard*
Ah, yes. I remember this place now.
So I thought I’d drop in and ask how everybody’s been doing with their WIP today. Also, I did have a question (that’s totally random, excuse me)…
How do you write stuttering? One of my main characters has a speech impediment, so needless to say, I write a lot of it. I try not to overdue it, though. Would you just use a dash? A hyphen? Ellipsis? I just didn’t know the best way to write it accurately. Any advice would be appreciated!
#waits XD. just seeing if @joy-caroline is on, or maybe the email just didn’t go thru.
#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSeb- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
- Total Posts: 1379
Of course, I’d be happy to! I’m honored that you asked!
First of all, I want to say it’s a great thing that you take Biblical fiction seriously. That is absolutely the first thing all writers of it must have in their hearts, ’cause when it’s not taken seriously is how readers get the wrong ideas about the Bible and stuff.
Hope you don’t mind lists, but that’s how I get things outta my head so Imma make one here:
1. The Bible is your only resource. Don’t go anyplace else. Other sources might give you the history, but they won’t give the Christlike perspective that must be planted in your mind and heart first. Read every book of the Bible that tells David’s life story, and read it carefully. The most important thing is to know David’s heart and everything he believed and stood for before you write about him. Before writing Paul’s fiction story, I read the book of Acts and his thirteen letters with a keen eye. And it’s not only David you have to know, it’s all the people connected with him. You’ve got to know them as well as David. So read carefully about King Saul; Jonathan; David’s wives Michal, Abigail, etc.; his children Tamar, Amnon, Absalom, etc.; and just everyone who ever came into the picture of David’s story. Even if their appearance was only brief. Like for me, I learned not only Paul’s story but also the stories of those connected with him. (Luke, Barnabas, Silas, Timothy, etc.) Learn all the history as well, such as reading in the Bible about the Law of Moses that existed back then. Read even the passages in the New Testament that mention David.
2. With that said about the Bible being your only resource, sometimes you will have to go to other sources for things that aren’t mentioned in the Bible. Such as for Paul’s story, I had to research things that weren’t mentioned. For example, the following facts: Emperor Nero (Acts 25:11) murdered his mother; Felix’s wife Drusilla (Acts 24:24) was also the sister of Herod Agrippa and Bernice (Acts 25:13). And things like the appearance of Herod’s Temple, which is not described in the Bible. Those are a couple examples of things unmentioned in the Bible that I had to research elsewhere, because they are crucial details to the story that my characters would certainly have been aware of. Something would have been missing had I not included them. But only use other sources when it’s necessary to research things that aren’t in the Bible.
3. After you know David’s story thoroughly and you’ve done any necessary extra research, you can start outlining. While I was outlining TAS, I had the Bible open the entire time. You want to be absolutely sure nothing you plan out contradicts the Bible, or you’ll have to go back and change it. And that can make things really tough. Trust me, I’ve done that before. I haven’t read the Bible carefully enough, and then when I realize it contradicts something I planned out, it’s tough to change things and figure out how to make the plot work again. Pay careful attention to every verse.
4. Although definitely make sure you’re adhering to the Bible, when you’re plotting the story don’t be afraid to be creative. As long as you don’t contradict, there are no boundaries on this! That’s my favorite part about Biblical fiction. The Bible itself doesn’t give much detail about its figures’ personal lives and backstories. Like with David’s brothers, it just says he had them (and indicates in a few spots they may have been resentful of him), but other than that nada. What was his relationship with them after he actually became king? What about his father Jesse? David’s family isn’t mentioned after we get past the “shepherd boy who killed Goliath” part of the story, so for example, it would be fun to speculate on that. Or like for Acts 23:16, where it talks about Paul’s nephew. It says “the son of his sister” but that absolutely does not mean the son was biological. I thought it would be such a cool thing for the story if I made him an adopted son and nephew. That’s how the character of Seth was born, and I couldn’t be happier! So don’t be afraid to be creative.
I know this response is awfully long, and I REALLY hope it was helpful and not just a bunch of babble! 😂 Let me know if it helped or not. Or if you ever want to ask me anything else, I’d be happy to respond! I am so excited you’re thinking about Biblical fiction. We need more God-honoring Biblical fiction out there.
@joy-caroline Oh my word thank you so much!!! It Is a definite help!! I’m gonna get to work probably soon.
#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSeb- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
- Total Posts: 1379
No problem! Definitely let me know if you need anything!!
And by the way, for some crazy reason, my email was putting all KP messages in the Spam folder, so I’m so sorry if it’s been taking me a long time to respond to anyone!
That sounds like a great idea!! I know you can do it! Good luck with it 🙂
Hey everyone! I thought it’d be fun to hop on here bc I love talking about my WIP and hearing about everyone else’s!!!
@writerlexi1216 I don’t write stuttering to often, but when I do, I usually use a hyphen between syllables or letters. Don’t know if that helped at all! I have a character who has a sort of southern mixed with a British accent and I use ‘ to indicate her slang (I can’t remember what these are called XD).Proverbs 16:2
@hallie-jean Eyyy welcome to the chat! I, too, love spouting some sort of literary nonsense about my WIPs as well! But like an NPC, if you do not talk to me first, I will not say anything.
Sooooo….anything interesting in your world of WIPs lately? What have you been working on?
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
- Total Posts: 1379
@mkfairygirl @issawriter7 @godlyfantasy12 @devastate-lasting @writerlexi1216 @imwritehere1920 @abigail-m
Thanks for everyone’s encouragement and suggestions about the devotional! Everything was so helpful, and I’ve decided what I plan on doing.
I’m gonna do a 365-day devotional for teen girls, on Paul’s 13 letters. Tomorrow I’m gonna start by reading all his letters again, and I am so excited! Every time I read Paul’s writings, they never fail to inspire and encourage me. So I am very excited to be reading them again. I’ll map out the verses I’ll do for each day, then start writing!
Again, thanks for everyone’s help. Just wanted to let y’all know what I’ve decided on, and that I very much appreciate all the input I got!
@joy-caroline
That’s so awesome Joy! Ah, I wish the best of writerly wishes (is that line getting old?) on this project:) It’s such a fantastic idea! 😀
- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
- Total Posts: 1379
Thanks! Naw, I love that line! XD Thank you!!
Oh, that was definitely helpful! Thanks! I might do that then 🙂
@joy-caroline
Thank you for sharing this; it sounds like a lovely idea. The best of luck to you!
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