What is the best way to approach a writing task, whether as a professional writer or a student? Do you procrastinate until the last minute and then start writing on page one and hope for the best? Or is there a better approach? My friend and APU colleague, Tom Allbaugh, confronts that problem in a very helpful guest post this …
Pretending to Be Moses: Why Writing Biblical Fiction is Hard
Who am I to take on the voice of Moses, or Joseph, or Joshua, or other people whose stories are told in the Bible? That question was foremost in my mind when I was asked to write six chapters for an innovative small group curriculum series that brings to life significant figures from the Bible by telling their stories through …
Poetry and Conversation with Katie Manning
Most poets are thrilled when one of their books of poems is published, but Katie Manning, an outstanding poet who also teaches in the English Department at Azusa Pacific University, gets to experience that joy three times this year, as three of her chapbooks are being published by three different publishers. This success did not come easily. She has been …
Fiction or Non-Fiction: Which Is More Rewarding to Write?
I have written four novels and four non-fiction books. People have often asked me which type of book I prefer to write. I recently read an article in the New York Times in which novelist and non-fiction writer Sally Koslow answered that question about her own writing. She wrote, “While I’m writing, whatever genre I’m committed to becomes my favorite.” …
Why I Took My Students to a Murder Site
The most recent field trip in my Honors California Literature course was to a nearby murder site made famous in an essay called “Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream,” by Joan Didion. On October 7, 1964, Lucille and Gordon Miller were driving home from the Mayfair market after midnight on a sparsely traveled road called Banyan Street in Alta Loma. …
Teaching and the Joy of Repeating Oneself
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 …
Some Thoughts on That Planet Made of Diamond
Imagine a planet made of diamond. It exists. According to National Geographic, this planet, which has been given the unimaginative name “55 Cancri e,” is twice the size of earth but has eight times its mass. At least a third of the planet is composed of pure diamond. I am endlessly fascinated by astronomy and the discoveries that are being made …
The Lake Isle of Innisfree
I am happy to welcome guest blogger Michael Bruner, a popular and gifted Honors professor at Azusa Pacific University. Michael was born and raised in the Philippines to missionary parents. He moved with his family to the US when he was ten and received his B.A. in English from University of Washington in 1988. He received his M.Div. from Princeton …