One of the most frequent questions I get asked about teaching is, don’t you get tired of teaching the same things year after year? The answer is a resounding No. I never get tired of it. In fact, the repetition is part of what I enjoy about my job. I am in my 22nd year as a professor of English …
Pretend Someone is Watching–and Other Tips to Help Your Writing
A couple weeks ago I wrote a post that compared the discipline of running to the discipline of writing. That struck a nerve with some readers who have never even put on a pair of running shoes. I am following up this week with three more crucial disciplines from running that help me as a writer. Unless I follow these …
Forty-Seven Different Endings? Some Lessons from Hemingway about Revision
For the past several weeks my students and I have been immersed in the novels of Ernest Hemingway. I have had the pleasure of teaching a course on him and William Faulkner this semester. In most literature courses, we study only the final, published drafts of novels and other works of literature. That gives us the chance to enjoy the …
When Life is Unfair, Can I Know God is Good?
Our guest blogger this week is Jim Davis, author of the upcoming book, Why Me? (And Why That’s the Wrong Question). I met Jim earlier this year at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. He was part of a wonderful group of writers who took part in a practicum I taught there, and he was working on a book …
Five of the Eighteen Reasons I Write (by William J. Torgerson)
Editor’s Note: This post is the third in a series that features former students of mine who have become professional writers. I asked each of them to focus on the topic, “Why I Write.” Today’s post is by Bill Torgerson, whom I first met when he was one of my writing students at Olivet and who is now an award-winning screenwriter, …
Why I Write (by John Small)
Editor’s Note: This post is the second in a series that will feature former students of mine who have become professional writers. I asked each of them to focus on the topic, “Why I Write.” Today’s post features my friend and former student, John Small, whom I met during my early years of teaching at Olivet Nazarene University in the …
Thanks for “Pieces of Heaven” Birthday Book Launch!
Today is my birthday, and I wanted to take a moment out of our regularly scheduled blog content to thank my wife and friends for the birthday book launch they sponsored for my new book, Pieces of Heaven: Recognizing the Presence of God. They asked friends to help celebrate my birthday and the release of the book by doing one …
This is How I Know I’m a Writer (by Michael Clark)
Editor’s Note: This post by Michael Clark is the first in a series that will feature former students of mine who have become professional writers. I asked each of them to focus on the topic, “Why I Write.” Dr. Michael Clark has had an inspiring journey as a writer. He has worked professionally as a journalist, a high school English …
Is Literature Necessary? (Part 4) “Consumed by Story”
Note: This is the fourth in a series of posts that will consider the question: What does literature have to offer (if anything) that no other art form or media (such as video games, social media, movies, TV shows, etc.) can match? To view the first post in this series, scroll down or click here. To view the second post, scroll down or …
Is Literature Still Necessary? (Part 3) “Disrobing Its Allure”
Note: This is the third in a series of posts that will consider the question: What does literature have to offer (if anything) that no other art form or media (such as video games, social media, movies, TV shows, etc.) can match? To view the first post in this series, scroll down or click here. To view the second post, scroll down …