My creative writing teacher Dr. James Tipton talked to us about using the five senses. He demanded using this tool made what he called a concrete scene.

Placing us in some place and time, even if it was fantasy, using the five senses could give you the feeling of really being there.

What's more I got a better sense of what he meant when I began reading his book Annette Vallon.

This is a historical fiction novel based on a read woman.

She helped save Lords in the French Revolution and smuggled people out of France who were enemies of Napoleon Bonaparte.

She seems to be a fascinating woman. What is amazing about his novel is the detail of the surroundings.

A sentience of description of people, even the feel of the fabrics of Lords coats and what they were made out of. But the detail isn't so overwhelming that it bores one.

Generally he likes to say, " You go from one concrete scene to another, there has to be purpose in a scene. One scene leads into the next and so on."

What he said he found out and I discovered on my own, is when you get into generalities in a scene, in a story, your story not only becomes boring to your readers but to you as the writer.

I hope this is useful to some of you out there.

Oh,and if I can suggest something, start reading poetry. In fact start writing it as well. Heck take a class on it.

I have found that when I write poetry, my short story writing blossoms like spring time flowers, when I stop it becomes rather bland. Just a thought.

As Paul Harvey would say,

Good day.

It's been some time since I have written, sorry about that.I'm finding myself dissatisfied with my writing. The world I have written is I find rather dull. Of course I have been reading Tolkien and frankly the man was much more well read than I am in the old myths and wrote the stories most of his life.
The advice I get from authors and also from books is keep writing so if you fell discouraged keep writing. I am. Even if you think your writing is utter excriment keep writing. Look there is only one way your going to get better practice. I'm writing this for my benefit as much as yours. Ok yeah, you've had some set backs, so have I.
Your setting stinks. Improve it. Heck use history. What are some of your favorite places and time periods? Ever thought of mixing them up? Would they fit with the genre your writing?
How about praying and telling God about it? That just came to mind. It's amazing how that is the last thing that comes to me when I'm in trouble.
I need to practice less self reliance. God call you to write? Guess what he won't call us to do anything that we can do on our own. We need to rely on him. And if you know he is calling you to write guess what? It's going to be the very last thing your going to want to do.
That has been my experience. Like the old Hymn " Fightings from without and within."

The enemy doesn't want to see your work suceed especially if its meant to help someone or point them to God. Keep the faith and remember what Philipians says,Phil. 3:13 Brothers,
I do not consider myself to have yet taken hold of it. But this one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead., I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which
God had called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
And also," Phil.4:8 Finally, Brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think on such things." (Moreover.) Whatever you have learned or recieved or heard form me, or seen in me- put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Epiphany

I talked to a friend at church the other day, he said the thought I should write about what I thought heaven would be like. I explained I was really trying to do backdoor evangelism with Sci-fi/Fantasy. He said I ought to do it just for me. You know he had a point. I think This is the beginning of something soon.