For all Centre for Lifelong Learning students who have been referred here for my non-fiction writing course, please head over to The Crafty Writer, my site aimed at developing writers – it’s jam-packed with articles and information on the business and craft of writing. In particular, check out my online non-fiction course for a taste of what I’ll be covering in the class.
You may find something of interest here on VeitchSmith too, but it’s much more of an eclectic mix of my articles and ramblings on history, culture, Christianity, health and more.
As a writer I believe that storytelling is one of the best ways to communicate the truth and fiction is not always the opposite of fact. Stories, whether fictional or otherwise, can help us view the world in a clearer way. Someone else who believes that is Raffi Shahinian. Raffi hosts a ‘blog carnival’ on his site Parables of a Prodigal World In it he presents a round-up of some of the most thought-provoking Christian writing on the web today. This week he has featured my ‘Tainted Gold’ Olympic article. So if you want to wile away an afternoon, drop by.
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’
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’
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.
Hope for the credit crunch