Shaina

@jenali Great thoughts. I love your example of you and your siblings, because it’s definitely true! The people we spend a lot of time with have the ability to influence us a lot.

@jenali Well, if you use the ‘R’s as Gandalf does, then it can be a villain sounding name. I guess it does depend on how one says it. @ethryndal
Huh…I never veer to one letter over the other, but I do tend to be very picky in my names. It can take me more than an hour just to find a suiting name for a character, and lots of internets searching. 😛

@Jenali I am blown away by the fact that you like the exact three letters I do. May I say that you have very good taste? 🙂

And I agree about R. (Probably because I have a character named Rodyn 🙂 ) It’s a pretty strong sounding letter, which is why it works well for villains, but I personally like heroes named with an R as well. Just think of…[Read more]

@jenali Looks like a good basic setup there that you’ll be able to develop after video 6.

Haha, yeah, that’s a tricky issue. We’ll be addressing that more in a couple videos later on in the course–one on writing non-protagonist major characters, and one on weaving multiple themes together into one story. I will say that it normally works best…[Read more]

@jenali Fantastic. Those look like great ways of bringing physical consequences into the equation.

@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]

@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]

@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.

@winter-rose nope, not a problem. And I like that one a lot.
Soooo… let’s say the new topic is cell phones, shall we? If any of you still have any brilliant train (or otherwise completely unrelated 😉 ) ideas feel free to share, of course. It just helps with focus if we have a topic.

@Jenali ooh, I love those too! Very nice work everyone.

@jenali I really like that. The fact that you would normally think things like physical strength would be the most important thing in protecting you loved ones means you have a lot of potential for a deep theme.

@jenali No problem asking it here. Yes, many many secular books have a theme. A book doesn’t have to have a theme, but even if the author doesn’t intend it, most books do. Some of them can be very powerful, though that is rare. I personally believe that Christian books have an advantage when it comes to theme, because our world view is accurate.…[Read more]

@jenali I completely agree! Those types of stories are my absolute favorites, and are a great example of theme making a lasting impact on a reader. Can’t believe I never mentioned that aspect in the video! Great thoughts.

(Not great at tagging, but I’ll give it a try) I’m looking for British beta-readers.
@faithdk @hannah-olsen @vanna @overcomer @zoe-wingfeather @ingridrd
@adry_grace @cahndida-serkhaman @lightningmouse @anna-brie @mas410 @gretald @ivy-rose @dbhgodreigns @the-happy-bookaholic @belegteleri @writefury @kate-flournoy @hannah-c @jenali @hislittlerose @wo…[Read more]

@hannah-olsen @vanna @zoe-wingfeather @cahndida-serkhaman @lightningmouse @anna-brie @hannah-krynicki @mas410 @ivy-rose @the-happy-bookaholic @belegteleri @writefury @hannah-c @jenali @hislittlerose @wordfitlyspoken @rolena-hatfield @hope @watersnail @sarah-h
People, we’re voting in the “which book to read topic” you might want to jump on over there. 🙂

Goody, now let me round in the other peeps. Hmm, let’s see.
@faithdk @hannah-olsen @vanna @overcomer @zoe-wingfeather @ingridrd
@adry_grace @cahndida-serkhaman @lightningmouse @anna-brie @hannah-krynicki @mas410 @gretald @ivy-rose @dbhgodreigns @the-happy-bookaholic @belegteleri @writefury @kate-flournoy @hannah-c @jenali @hislittlerose @wordfitly…[Read more]

Goody, now let me round in the other peeps. Hmm, let’s see.
@faithdk @hannah-olsen @vanna @overcomer @zoe-wingfeather @ingridrd
@adry_grace @cahndida-serkhaman @lightningmouse @anna-brie @hannah-krynicki @mas410 @gretald @ivy-rose @dbhgodreigns @the-happy-bookaholic @belegteleri @writefury @kate-flounoy @hannah-c @jenali @hislittlerose @wordfitlys…[Read more]

Goody, now let me round in the other peeps. Hmm, let’s see.
@faithdk @hannah-olsen @vanna @overcomer @zoe-wingfeather @ingridrd
@adry_grace @cahndida-serkhaman @lightningmouse @anna-brie @hannah-krynicki @mas410 @gretald @ivy-rose @dbhgodreigns @the-happy-bookaholic @belegteleri @writefury @kate-flounoy @hannah-c @jenali @hislittlerose @wordfitlys…[Read more]