Bryan Davis's Blog, page 16

The Shack – A Review

[image error]I wrote this review a little more than eight years ago on a now-retired blog. Since a film adaptation of the story is on the horizon, I decided to post it here.

If not for the fact that this book has become a major bestseller, I would not be taking the time to do a review. If not for the fact that many people have been deceived by the insidious material in this book, I would not have bothered to finish reading it. If not for the fact that professing Christians are passing this book around and...

Critique Group – The Cup

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No killing kittens!

Don’t forget the critiquing guidelines. All I ask is that you post a comment about the submission below. Don’t feel like you have to critique the whole piece. Even a short comment on one aspect can be helpful.

If you want to submit a manuscript for critique, please read the guidelines as well as this list of common mistakes to avoid before submitting.

This post will stay active indefinitely, so you can come back and add comments at any time. If you are the writer who is b...

I am a Turner-Offer

[image error]I have decided to accept my station in life, as well as the fact that others are born for a different task. I am a turner-offer. As I walk through my house, I often find many lights turned on with no one in the room, so I turn the lights off.

It is such a common practice now, I find that I’m surprised to see a light actually in the off state as I go by. I just naturally reach for the switch, so if it’s already off, I have to stop myself before I accidentally turn it on. Please don’t advise me...

Killing Straw Men from the Authorial Pulpit

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Have you ever written a straw man in a story? He’s the opponent you set up for the purpose of easily defeating, usually in order to destroy a belief or opinion he holds that you as an author despise.

Let’s say that you hate onions (as I do), so the bad guy in your story is an onion farmer who decides that a law must be passed that all people must eat onions at every meal. You write him as being ridiculously vile, even maniacal. Then, your hero comes along and destroys him and his onion farm....

Critique Group – Keldaris

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But it should be a good hook, not a bad hook.

Don’t forget the critiquing guidelines. All I ask is that you post a comment about the submission below. Don’t feel like you have to critique the whole piece. Even a short comment on one aspect can be helpful.

If you want to submit a manuscript for critique, please read the guidelines as well as this list of common mistakes to avoid before submitting.

This post will stay active indefinitely, so you can come back and add comments at any time. If y...

Writing with Passion – Audio and Video

I  believe we should write with passion, which requires us to be passionate about the topic or theme of our work.

Below is an audio of a talk I did at the Montrose Christian Writers’ Conference – “Passion, the Fire that Cannot be Quenched.”

http://www.theauthorschair.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/PassionSpeech.mp3

Below is a video on the same topic at the One Year Adventure Novel conference:

Any thoughts?

 

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Critique Group – A Monster Saved Part 4

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ZOOTOPIA – Pictured (L-R): Nick Wilde, Judy Hopps. ©2016 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

And I am looking forward to listening to it. I’m all ears.

Don’t forget the critiquing guidelines. All I ask is that you post a comment about the submission below. Don’t feel like you have to critique the whole piece. Even a short comment on one aspect can be helpful.

If you want to submit a manuscript for critique, please read the guidelines as well as this list of common mistakes to avoid before submitting...

Time Echoes – The What and the Why

[image error]The Time Echoes Trilogy officially debuts this week.

This series is a rewrite of Echoes from the Edge, which was published by Zondervan in 2008 through 2009.

For those of you who have read the original series, here are the major differences:

The story is now told in first-person point of view (POV) instead of third person. I did this to gain a more intimate view into Nathan’s mind. Since the entire series has always been from his POV, this was a natural way to write the story. I removed a co...

Writing Q&A Number 12 – Prologues

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From Kari:

How long should a good prologue be?

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I receive questions about prologues quite often. Writers have differing opinions on whether or not a novel should have a prologue, and my own opinion has changed over the years.

In most cases, I now advise writers to avoid prologues. The reason is simple. If a prologue is more than three or four paragraphs, many readers will skip it. If the material in the prologue is necessary for understanding the rest of the story, then it i...

Critique Group – Dreams of the Adrogans

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Don’t forget the critiquing guidelines. All I ask is that you post a comment about the submission below. Don’t feel like you have to critique the whole piece. Even a short comment on one aspect can be helpful.

If you want to submit a manuscript for critique, please read the guidelines as well as this list of common mistakes to avoid before submitting.

This post will stay active indefinitely, so you can come back and add comments at any time. If you are the writer who is being critiqued, you...