In my capacity as the editor of a writing website I’ve just read a book called Charity's Child by Rosalie Warren. Now while The Crafty Writer is not a religious site and looks simply at the business and craft of writing, being a Christian is what defines me as a person, and my Christian world-view colours the decisions I make. Up until now that has not been much of a problem over on The Crafty Writer as the business and craft of writing in itself is neither ‘Christian’ nor ‘non-Christian’, but that was challenged with Charity’s Child. Continue reading ‘When churches go wrong’
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In this fifth session of our Writing as Worship and Witness series we will be looking at ‘prophetic writing’. For those of you who are uncomfortable or unfamiliar with prophecy in a charismatic context, I hope to explain that it’s not as wacky as it sounds, and for those of you who feel at home with the ‘prophetic’ I hope to explain that it is far more ordinary than we often expect. Continue reading ‘Prophetic Writing’
In this fourth session on Writing as Worship and Witness we will look at how writing can enrich your relationship with God. In the first session we explored how you can find your writing style. In the second, we looked at whether or not everything a Christian writes has to be overtly ‘Christian’. In the third session we considered how to use your writing to share God’s message with others. In this session we will overview how your writing aids you in your worship of God.
Continue reading ‘Writing as Worship’
In this third session on writing as worship and witness, we will be looking at how to use your writing to share your faith or experience of God with other people. I know last week I said that not all writing has to have a message, and that Christians should be free to write simply as an artistic expression without feeling forced to ‘use their gift for the Lord’. That being said, many Christian writers, myself included, do sometimes consciously produce work with a spiritual message. Continue reading ‘Writing as Witness’
In this second session on writing as worship and witness we will look at the pros and cons of message-based writing and whether Christians can or even should be involved in secular writing. Continue reading ‘Writing as worship & witness - What’s the message?’
This is the first session in my six-week course on Writing as Worship & Witness for Christians. This week we will look at:
You may do this course on your own or you might like to join up with other writers for discussion. Feel free to post comments or ask questions at the end of the post. Continue reading ‘Writing as Worship & Witness - what’s your style?’
We write because we were created to. Ever since the first scratchings on cave walls, people have tried to communicate their thoughts, stories and ideas through the written word. People of faith are no different. This six-week workshop is aimed at people who want to explore writing as part of their Christian walk. You can work through the material on your own or as part of a discussion group. And by all means post comments or ask questions at the end of each session. If you are not interested in Christian writing but would still like to develop your writing gift, visit my writing advice website The Crafty Writer where there is plenty of other material which you may find helpful. Starting on Tuesday 6 November, here on VeitchSmith.com we will look at: Continue reading ‘Writing as Worship & Witness’
Children’s books are often the battle ground of religious zealots with many Christians boycotting the likes of JK Rowling and Philip Pullman. In this article I argue that spiritual themes can be found in the most unlikely of places.
Once upon a time there was a father with many, many children. He had so many children that if you counted every grain of sand on every beach in every country in every century throughout time, you might, just might, remember them all. But unlike what you or I might do, this father did not forget his children’s names. He didn’t think Billy was Brian or Carolyn Kate; he knew them all by name. But more than that, he knew their secret names, the names that they should have been and perhaps might still hope to be. So he wrote these names on pretty white stones and kept them in a jar beside his bed, hoping for the day when each of his children would come and ask for theirs.
Continue reading ‘Children’s Literature and the Quest for the Divine’
Why is it that anyone who can string a sentence together (and even those who can’t) feel they must subject other people to their writing?
Now I know I’m on thin ice here (being one who not only subjects people to her writing but expects to be paid for it too!) but bear with me. Through this article I hope to save some deluded people from the pain of rejection and encourage those with real talent to venture out from under their bushel. Continue reading ‘Onward Christian Writers’
Welcome to my site - I'm Fiona Veitch Smith, a freelance journalist, author, playwright and writing teacher. This site contains thoughts and articles I've written on a range of topics. I hope you find them useful.
