SCENE AND SEQUEL In 1965, a writing teacher named Dwight Swain published a book that almost nobody read and almost everybody needed. It was called Techniques of the Selling Writer, and it contained one idea so precise that it should probably be taught in every writing programme in the world. It isn't. The idea is this: every piece of fiction is made of two types of passages, and only two. Swain called them Scene and Sequel. A Scene is when your character wants something, meets resistance, and fails to get it (Goal, Conflict, Disaster). A Sequel is what happens inside the character after that failure (Reaction, Dilemma, Decision). That cycle, repeated all the way to the final page, is the engine underneath every novel you couldn't put down. Writers resist this because it sounds mechanical. I know. But let me explain it better. The novels that keep you reading at two in the morning aren't random. They move in a rhythm, and Swain just gave the rhythm a name. The most useful thing about Scene and Sequel is what it reveals when one piece is missing. Stories that feel slow are usually all Sequel, all reflection and internal weather, with nothing going wrong. Stories that feel exhausting are usually all Scene, all disaster, with no space for the character to breathe or decide. The reader needs both. The momentum of a disaster and the humanity of a reaction. Take the last chapter you wrote and ask yourself: is this a Scene or a Sequel? Then ask what comes next, and make sure it's the other one. Hard question :) What does your current chapter feel like to you? 👇

I asked you where your faith sits in your writing. The responses were extraordinary. So today I want to show you something: how the greatest writers in history answered that same question — through their work. Writers who believed... and let it show. J.R.R. Tolkien was a devout Catholic. He didn't write a religious book, he wrote hobbits and wizards and dark lords. And yet his faith filled The Lord of the Rings with themes of sacrifice, redemption, and the eternal struggle between good and evil. Tolkien believed storytelling was a sacred act, a way humans participate in God's creation. He called it sub-creation. Every time you build a world on the page, you are, in his view, doing something divine. wow! Dostoevsky was Russian Orthodox, and he wrestled with God the way a boxer wrestles: hard, sweating, never sure who's winning. In The Brothers Karamazov, one brother's intellectual atheism is set against another's simple, devout faith. The famous "Grand Inquisitor" chapter challenges the reader with probing questions about free will and divine authority. Dostoevsky didn't write characters. He wrote confessions. Also worth mentioning: Flannery O'Connor, devoutly Catholic, who said "grace must wound before it heals", and meant it in every sentence she wrote. And C.S. Lewis, who wrote children's fantasy as a direct act of Christian faith. Now... Writers who didn't believe... and let that show too. Albert Camus was born Catholic and became an atheist. He became known as "the philosopher of the absurd", his philosophical essay The Myth of Sisyphus grappled with the question of why you should not give up on life, given that the universe has no inherent purpose. And yet Camus believed in decency, in human solidarity, in resistance. He found meaning without God, and that search became his greatest story. Ernest Hemingway was raised religious and walked away. He once wrote: "All thinking men are atheists." His prose reflects it, stripped of ornament, stripped of comfort, stripped of anything you can't see or touch. His characters don't pray. They drink, fish, fight, and try to hold themselves together in a world that offers no guarantees. There is a kind of brutal honesty in that which is its own form of spiritual courage.

Dear Heavenly Gracious Father, Today we come before You with thankful hearts, rejoicing in Your goodness and mercy. Your Word reminds us to rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances. Lord, help us to live out those words not only when life is easy, but also when challenges come our way. Father, thank You for the gift of this new day. Thank You for every breath, every blessing, every opportunity, and every reminder that You are working all things together for good for those who love You. When burdens feel heavy, give us strength.When worries try to steal our peace, give us faith. When uncertainty surrounds us, remind us that You are still on the throne. Help us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and not on our circumstances. Fill our hearts with joy that is not dependent upon what is happening around us, but rooted firmly in Your promises and Your unfailing love. Lord, bless our families, our homes, our friends, and all those who are struggling today. Bring comfort to the hurting, healing to the sick, provision to those in need, and hope to those who feel discouraged. May our words encourage others.May our actions honor You.May our lives reflect Your love and grace everywhere we go. No matter what this day brings, we choose gratitude. No matter what challenges arise, we choose faith. No matter what obstacles appear, we choose to trust You completely. For You are faithful, You are good, and You are worthy of all praise. In the mighty name of Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, we pray, AMEN. "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18To God be the glory yesterday, today and tomorrow. You.Are.Loved! 🙏 Stacey