One Thing To Remember While Writing

Writers can repeat a line for emphasis.

Repetition for Emphasis: Do you see another word inside "repetition"?

I see the word "petition." When we repeat a line for emphasis, we petition. We call our readers that this line is important. It carries special weight.

In the last stanza of Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," the line "And miles to go before I sleep" appears twice. The last three lines in the poem are:

"But I have promises to keep, /
And miles to go before I sleep, /
And miles to go before I sleep."

Likewise, in "A Christmas Hymn" by Richard Wilbur (who won the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry twice), the line "And every stone shall cry" is written twice in every stanza. The poem has four stanzas of eight lines each. Otherwise, we see one phrase, "And every stone shall cry," eight times in a 35-line poem. Not counting the three stanza breaks as lines (35-3), that's 25 percent of the entire poem.

I've never seen that before.

Plus, the epigraph (that suggests the poem's theme) is Luke 19:39-40, where Jesus proclaims that stones will cry out if His disciples do not speak.

Needless to say, "A Christmas Hymn" begs us to carefully observe the stones throughout Wilbur's biographical sketch of Jesus' life on earth.

Whether God uses inanimate objects (like literal stones that split after Jesus died) or God uses unlikely people to proclaim His message (like those cast as metaphorical "heavy, dull, and dumb" stones), God's Word will go forth.

And Little Rock American Christian Writers may rest assured: When writer's block hits (and we can hardly write a line, much less repeat a line for emphasis), God sees to it that what we can't get on paper still gets communicated if it falls within His sovereign will, even if God uses stones.

Why is that?

God has promises to keep. God has promises to keep.

Want to write your personal story and have it published?

(The following is written by LRACW member and noted author Tricia Goyer.  It is used with permission. Come and learn from Tricia in person on May 21st at the LRACW Writers Conference.)

 Here's how to do that in less than 100 words:

Check out the book "A Story is a Promise." It's a GOOD one to get you started!

Then look over other books and try to find one that you like the format of.

Next, write YOUR story in the same format. Publishers like the same type of formats. The stories are different, but there's no need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to format.

Finally, write your story out, and then find a critique group or hire someone to edit it for you.

Then submit it to publishers via the information you find in The Christian Writer's Market book!

Tricia

April 12th Meeting

If you are interested in writing, I hope you will be at our meeting tomorrow at FamilyLife.  We will be talking about the writers conference, doing critiques, and discussing member benefits.

If you've been planning to write that great novel, biography, or devotional, come and join us.  We want to encourage you along the way and learn from you too.


--Bonnie J. Sterling, LRACW President