WRITERS' BLOCK

                                                                WRITERS’ BLOCK

We've started a wee Christian writers’ group called WRITERS’ BLOCK. We meet once on month at The Park, Oasis Church, Bray Park. I usually start us off with prayer and a reminder from God’s Word what we’re up to, then read a short but relevant message to hopefully help inspire our discussions.

The Word of Words

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        “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1-2). “God … has in these last days spoken to us by His Son” (Heb. 1:1-2 abbr.). “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” (Rev. 22:13). “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.’” (Matt. 12:35-37).

Jesus is God’s first Word and He is God’s last Word to human beings. He is the beginning and the end of the alphabet. Therefore, not only is Jesus the King of kings and the Lord of Lords, He is also the Word of words. Thus, every word and ever letter of every word used by humans somehow points to Jesus. Let us, therefore, as Christian writers, use our every word to His praise.

Get the Point

“And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and set in order many proverbs. The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright—words of truth. The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd. And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh” (Eccl. 12:9-12).

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Though Solomon here has preachers and preaching in mind, there is much we, as Christian writers, regardless of writing genre, can learn from these verses. The general principle for preaching and/or writing is that we ought to use pithy, short sentences punctuated by well-chosen words. Why? So “that good matter might not be spoiled by bad style” Matthew Henry.

We keep the reader’s interest if they get the point(s) (i.e., the goads) we are trying to convey (i.e., the well-driven nails). Between the Internet and a well-stocked library, we have many resources available. Though it can be “wearisome,” e.g., before attempting to write a novel, books by popular novelists can be consulted, paying close attention to writing style, use of words, sentence structure and length, paragraph lengths etc. However, the idea is not simply to emulate others but to utilise the personal gifts God, (i.e., the “one Shepherd”) has bestowed on us for His glory.

Audiovisual

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 In the old days movies had no sound. They were purely visual. Actors had to overdramatise to help get the message across. Films became more realistic with the arrival of the “Talkies.” Thus, the audiovisual was born. Though not a perfect analogy, we see something of this where king Belshazzar saw the dramatic writing on the wall. Visual. Daniel supplied the audio when he verbalised the visual, saying to Belshazzar, “[God] sent the hand that wrote the inscription” (Dan. 5:24).               

Without the audio, though the visual may be dramatic, such as a detached hand that was writing on a wall, its meaning is left to the viewer’s imagination. For example, take creation. The sun, the moon, and the stars in a clear night sky. Silent but dramatic! “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them” (Psa. 19:1-3). Without the audio, i.e., the Bible, creation’s meaning gets distorted in the eye of the beholder. However, as with audiovisual, i.e., creation with the Bible, creation’s true meaning is clear: God’s glory!

Hearing the Gospel proclaimed is the audio. Baptism and the Lord's Supper are the Gospel visualised, i.e., audiovisualised.

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When we write novels or screenplays, we are supplying audio to the visual. Whether describing something abstract, such as a floating hand that writes on walls, or describing something more concrete, like a starry night sky, we are painting pictures with our words. Whether describing something we have seen or creating something out of our own imagination, writers are doing audiovisual. Sculptors and painters say things visually by their art. Visual. Writers verbalise the visual. Whereas the focus of screenplay writers is more about visualising the verbal, novelists are about the business of verbalising the visual. Thus, both operate in the sphere of audiovisual.

Just as the Creator created creation for His own glory, we Christian writers “create” our novels and screenplays for God’s glory too.