Kathryn Comstock

Thanks for the input everyone! It looks like the best option is going to be February 24th from 3-4 PM EST, so we’re going to be scheduling the Q&A for that. I’ll be sending out an email the day before with a webinar link, and will also make sure to post a link in this thread! Looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible there. 🙂

And to…[Read more]

@rachelle If you can do one hour per day, I think that’s an awesome pace to keep up consistently! A large part of how much time you should spend depends on other activities; if you’re able to spend more time on your writing, that will of course help out a lot, but sometimes it’s difficult to even find even that much time. I have the same goal of…[Read more]

@ethryndal Looks good then. Two recommendations. The first would be to make sure that she’s being shown her resolution paradigm that God gives people worth all throughout the character arc even though she won’t accept it till the end, just to make sure it doesn’t come from out of left-field but flows naturally from the story. The second would be…[Read more]

@audrey-caylin Shoot. I forgot you couldn’t time-travel like me. February 24th and 25th will have to do then. 😉

@audrey-caylin Shoot. I forgot you couldn’t time-travel like me. February 24th and 25th will have to do then.

@jenali Those are good thoughts. Figuring out how characters would react to situations that aren’t in the book is a great way of exploring their more extreme emotions and getting a better grasp on their personality.

@jenali Good set of experiments there. They normally should be similar to the answers to your focusing question, so that’s no problem here! Great depiction of what it looks like when you try to endure without God’s strength. Like I mentioned with Audrey (see my comment to her post to read my full explanation), you’ll want to also consider the…[Read more]

@ethryndal Great thoughts, and I absolutely agree. Since James 1:2-4 is accurate for our Christian lives, we should be applying its principles to storytelling as well.

@audrey-caylin Every time you use that book, you remind me that I really need to read it. =P Great work!

Welcome to the forum, @Rachelle! Glad to hear you were able to find us through Brett and Jaquelle. What areas of writing are you particularly trying to grow in at the moment?

@kate-flournoy Ah; good question. Yes, I’m just trying to exclude the characteristic moment, mash moments, midpoint, and resolution scenes. Any other scene is fine!

@r-j-wordsmith Welcome to the site–glad you’ve found us! I have seven younger siblings and was likewise homeschooled so it sounds like we have a similar background. 😉 And excellent choice with Count of Monte Cristo there. My favorite book is probably a tie between that and Brothers Karamazov.

@r-j-wordsmith Welcome to the site–glad you’ve found us! 🙂 I have seven younger siblings and was likewise homeschooled so it sounds like we have a similar background. 😉 And excellent choice with Count of Monte Cristo there. My favorite book is probably a tie between that and Brothers Karamazov.

@jenali Fantastic question. Secular stories can definitely have a theme just as much as Christian stories, and I think you’ll find that often the best secular stories out there are those that have strong themes.

I would distinguish secular and Christian stories on two fronts: with regards to the depth of their themes and with regards to the…[Read more]

@hope Nice! I like that a lot then. You do a really good job of weaving both Experiments in Living together in a way that, at least on paper, looks like a good, gradual transition.

@anna-brie That looks much better. And yes–the important thing is that you have it settled in your head. Some themes aren’t as easily analyzed in this format, but it sounds like you know where you’re headed, so all of that looks good.

@jenali Yeah–that looks great! I particularly like the contrast between moral strength and the strength that…[Read more]

@jenali Yeah–that looks great! I particularly like the contrast between moral strength and the strength that only God is able to provide. Moral strength is probably the most tempting answer to Christians, but it is definitely true that the only way to find enough strength is to rely on God’s strength.