Andy Unedited
Exploring Books, Life, and Writing
Coming up with a great idea can be hard enough. Getting the idea adopted can be even harder. Why do some innovations change the world and others go nowhere? The reasons are many. In Originals Adam Grant highlights one factor in the story of the American suffrage movement. Lucy Stone launched the women’s rights movement …
How do you keep readers reading? How do you pull them through a chapter or article or blog without them getting bored or distracted? Fiction writers aren’t the only ones who can use a mystery to keep readers engaged. Nonfiction writers can also withhold a key piece of information—the whodunnit! It’s what I call the …
Years ago some Jewish friends invited us to their Seder meal for Passover. Their home was prepped and we, along with other Jewish and Gentile friends, enjoyed the full three-hour event. My wife, Phyllis, thought, what a great thing! Why can’t we share some of our Christian heritage in the same way? So began our …
How can you get a publisher’s attention when you are an unpublished writer only beginning to build a platform? Writers know editors and agents are looking for people who not only are good writers but who are well-known, are experts in their field, speak to hundreds, or get thousands of hits on YouTube. Is there …
Today marks the official release of my new book, Write Better. To give you a taste of what’s in store, here is an excerpt from the preface. Two of my sons, Phil and Dave, ran cross-country in high school. These grueling three-mile races were not on perfectly flat, machine-fabricated ovals but up hills, over ruts, …
Groups which gather regularly to encourage people in their writing, can sadly turn into something less than encouraging. Writing can be intimidating in the privacy of our own rooms. But when others are called together to point out the errors, shortcomings, weakness, or plain lameness of our writing, we all may cower. I have found …
Last time Alan Fadling shared his thoughts on an unexpected form of writer’s block. Having written one book, authors often find major hurdles in finishing a second, especially if the first was successful. In working on Write Better (due out October 2019), I also asked Jen Pollock Michel about her experience with what I call …
In working on Write Better (due out October 2019), I asked some other authors about their experiences with writer’s block, especially one unexpected form. Having written one book, authors often find major hurdles in finishing a second, especially if the first was successful. I call this Second-Book Syndrome. I couldn’t fit all of Alan Fadling’s …
When we think about writing or being creative in some way, we often suffer from negative messages echoing in our heads. “No one will think this is good.” “What makes you think you can paint?” “Who will want to read this.” “You don’t have what it takes.” “Your brother is the talented one.” “You can’t …
The paradoxes in the Christian faith are many. Christ is fully God and fully human. God is Three and God is One. The Bible is God’s Word but written by humans. Jen Michel is fully aware of these in Surprised by Paradox. But instead of doctrinal paradoxes she focuses on those surrounding how we live …