A story is one of the best ways to convey a message or implant a truth in the reader or listener's heart. Almost no one will read a poorly written story. The author leads the amateur writer into an understanding of how to write profitably, showing the basic techniques used by the Holy Spirit in conveying the greatest message man will ever hear.

Contents

• Publisher's Preface
• Author's Introduction

• 1. The Writer and His Message
  • I. Introduction
  • II. The Writer
  • III. The Message
  • IV. Conclusion
• 2. The Reader
  • I. Introduction
  • II. Exploding Some Myths
  • III. Aim for the Heart
  • IV. Characteristics of Readers
  • V. Three Ways to Lose Readers
  • VI. Conclusion
• 3. The Short Story
  • I. Introduction
  • II. What Is a Short Story?
  • III. Elements of a Christian Short Story
  • IV. Parts of the Short Story
  • V. Stories: Fact and Fiction
  • VI. Conclusion
• 4. Style
  • I. Introduction
  • II. Clarity
  • III. Vocabulary
  • IV. Three Things to Work For
  • V. Three Things to Avoid
  • VI.
• 5. Grammar
  • I. Introductions
  • II. Parts of Speech
  • III. Punctuation
  • IV. The Sentence
  • V. Paragraph Building
  • VI. Conclusion
• 6. Imagery
  • I. Introduction
  • II. Figures of Speech
  • III. Conclusion
• 7. Emotions
  • I. Introduction
  • II. The Basic Emotions
  • III. Right and Wrong Use of Emotions
  • IV. Emotion Versus Emotionalism
  • V. Accomplishing the Task
  • VI. Conclusion
• 8. Characterization
  • I. Introduction
  • II. Approaches to Character Portrayal
  • III. Requirements for Story Characters
  • IV. The Status of Story Characters
  • V. Making Characters Come Alive
  • VI. Juvenile Characters
  • VII. Developing a Convincing Character
  • VIII. Building Plot From Character
  • IX. Conclusion
• 9. Producing the Story
  • I. Introduction
  • II. The Basic Outline
  • III. Detailed Planning
  • IV. The Actual Writing
  • V. When the Writing Is Completed
  • VI. Conclusion

• Sources Consulted
• Outline of the Book
• Index