The Storyteller | Mary Vee

I’ve spent years learning about the writing craft from classes, conferences, and resources books, benefitting from honing my skills. Like you, God has blessed me with experienced writers who’ve helped me throughout my writing journey, each contributing a golden nugget that opened the door to the next step.  But there is one who was there when I started. He was there when you started too. His book has numerous new editions, has been translated into almost every language, and is a global bestseller. I believe you have a copy too.  Because of his writing expertise, his compassion, and willingness to help, his book has become an invaluable tool. A writer’s perfect resource with helps to meet our calling. And the author, well, he is available to everyone and anyone who asks. The one I am referring to is God, and his book is the Bible. Yeah, really! Let me show you how the Bible is your perfect writing resource. For this discussion, we are going to focus on the basic model of storyt...

  As told by… A non-existent witness by Mary Vee   From where I’m sitting. What an amusing statement. The very words practically qualify me as a judge.   Coincidentally, I am. I have been a circuit court judge for ten years and have listened to cases that would bend a dog’s ear and make a granny frown. The things people do and expect to receive leniency for boggles my mind.    Take, for example the case currently in my court. A woman driving a four-door Dodge ramped up her radio to hear the rest of a story on the Moth program aired on NPR when the semi-truck driver next to her leaned on his brakes creating a disturbing noise. She, of course, didn’t have his perspective of the road from high in the semi driver’s seat. A unique view, in this case, which enabled him to see what was to come.    The Moth story had so intrigued the woman, she thought nothing of what would happen next to her, but only what would happen next in the story. She sped up to get aw...

You might be wondering what a haboob is. I first learned about the word when my daughter Facetimed me from Arizona to show the bizarre weather in her city.  To her left, lightning pulsed in purple and pink clouds faster than a rock band's drummer beats the skin. To her right, a wall of sand. She had front row seats--hiding inside her apartment. A haboob only takes place when a thunderstorm collapses. Cold wind falls to the ground, scoops up desert sand, then, like a battering ram, bowls forward tossing sand into the air thousands of feet high. The length of the haboob can be miles long, and it will continue until it runs out of energy. How can writers use haboob as an ingredient in writing? 1. Like a story twist , a haboob appears unexpectedly, powerfully, dramatically. Every genre has a place of honor for the story twist. It is the zest. The points in the story (because there should be more than one) readers will remember long after the book is closed. The twist is the tablec...

Sometimes it’s good to sit down and read a   Newberry  Award winning book that hasn’t been read yet.   In a few word, this is how I would describe A Year Down Yonder :   Entertaining     Great World Building     Whimsical     Wonderful Characters     Witty     Realistic     Happily Ever After I took the above photo in my asparagus patch. It seemed fitting for a book review of this farming community story.   In this book review, we'll find out why A Year Down Yonder qualified for a Newbery Award .  What is the Newbery? The short answer: The best children's/young adult book of the year based on story in text. There is an award for the best children's/young adult book of the year based on illustrations. These books win the Caldecott Award. Only a special story, a story that breaks open a heart, mind, a lifetime of raising and stirs new thoughts can win a Newberry medal. Ahh, perhaps you, potential re...