tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18628978.post2398496814305691902..comments2024-02-18T10:19:46.501-08:00Comments on Matt Mikalatos: How to Make a Point Without Being Preachy (with examples)Matt Mikalatoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279070118483678882noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18628978.post-9210700422365457922010-10-01T03:21:42.288-07:002010-10-01T03:21:42.288-07:00What a wise, thought-provoking, and insightful pos...What a wise, thought-provoking, and insightful post. Thanks for sharing.Miscellanniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00217118810915147656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18628978.post-70210927220586677042010-09-28T18:09:53.653-07:002010-09-28T18:09:53.653-07:00Christy's right! I've been to NYC. There...Christy's right! I've been to NYC. There ARE gators & rats in the sewers!!! Rats as big as gators and gators as big as rats!!! :O<br /><br />And thanks for this mini writing workshop. :)pongboynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18628978.post-43213927443469974242010-09-24T08:17:04.301-07:002010-09-24T08:17:04.301-07:00I wish a lot of the writers I have read would take...I wish a lot of the writers I have read would take your advice! <br />But, I would like to make it clear - There ARE alligators in the sewers of NY. Big ones. Just an FYI.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00541970842040312439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18628978.post-3046554891872699002010-09-24T03:20:57.338-07:002010-09-24T03:20:57.338-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Culbert Reporthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05273579048486030680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18628978.post-83283804715331542762010-09-24T03:20:02.926-07:002010-09-24T03:20:02.926-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Culbert Reporthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05273579048486030680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18628978.post-83956379030299202192010-09-24T03:19:27.782-07:002010-09-24T03:19:27.782-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Culbert Reporthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05273579048486030680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18628978.post-36235889241656790312010-09-24T03:17:51.408-07:002010-09-24T03:17:51.408-07:00Great stuff, Matt. And a heck of a comment by Nat...Great stuff, Matt. And a heck of a comment by Nate Wilson.<br /><br />I particularly appreciated what you wrote about creating worthy opponents. You referenced the Brothers Karamazov in another bullet, but I find it remarkable what Dostoevsky has done with these 4 characters. I believe the reader can find himself in each of the brothers to some degree, certainly appreciating various ideas and qualities of each individual. Dostoevsky has masterfully crafted each one to represent a piece of himself or his surrounding world, thus making each character a genuine and believable hero, rather than one obvious hero among 3 straw-men arguments.<br /><br />I once recommended this book to a skeptic friend of mine looking for good literature about God. I was hoping he would stumble upon Alyosha's mystic conversion process, or Dmitri's insatiable and impossible need for forgiveness, but instead, he concluded that the book was helpful because he found himself in Dostoevsky's own voice and real hero, Ivan the disbelieving intellectual. Oops. Needless to say I've stopped recommending the book. Just kidding, of course, but I do so appreciate the ambiguous nature of Dostoevsky's hero. Although I do not think Dostoevsky's personal belief system is limited to one character (singularly Ivan,) I do find pieces of him and all of us in each brother. That is the genius of his work - it is so much like life. Dostoevsky captured the thoughts of his time, a feat not easy to undertake. Rarely does one central hero sum it all up in an accessible 4 point sermon; rather, we struggle along in a world where everything's messy, often mistaking Ivan for Alyosha and vice versa. We can't easily distinguish different heroes in life, so why should we in literature? Worthy opponents are often more than opponents - that's when the application gets tricky and the reading gets good.<br /><br />I'm curious what you might say to help me along in my writing. I just don't know where to begin. Did you being Imaginary Jesus with the idea of Imaginary Jesus? With the characters or imaginary Jesuses? With your personal story? With the plot line? I feel like I have all of these characters in my mind, proverbially "all dressed up with no place to go." How can I bring some motion to my story? Or should I start there and add characters later? Any beginning tips?<br /><br />Also, I did not see a bullet point devoted to avoiding Ewoks as a mechanism for Deus ex machina. Wanted to provide you with the opportunity to do so now if you like.Culbert Reporthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05273579048486030680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18628978.post-77201213970329129362010-09-23T18:26:05.630-07:002010-09-23T18:26:05.630-07:00@dirtywhitecandy That's a good distinction. I...@dirtywhitecandy That's a good distinction. I had a writing instructor who said there's nothing wrong with spending a lot of time working on your theme and what your story "means" but to do it on a different day than you write the story so you don't end up putting essay notes in the fiction. I like the way you say it here.<br /><br />@drumboytwo56 Well, McClaren mostly writes essays. So he's allowed to be preachy. But you're right, he doesn't always make his point clearly. It's like he needs the opposite essay. :)<br /><br />@Nate Wilson Ha ha. Nice one. I'll see what I can do next time.<br /><br />@vvdenman.com Look forward to seeing you around! <br /><br />@June G Imaginary Jesus explores a couple of things... how can we know if we're in relationship with the real Jesus? Where is God when we experience pain? How can we be in relationship with someone who is (physically) absent? There are lots of questions in the book, and an attempt at some answers, or at least resolutions. How about you? What's your story about?Matt Mikalatoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13279070118483678882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18628978.post-76137723305125266992010-09-23T16:06:04.076-07:002010-09-23T16:06:04.076-07:00Dropping by from Rachelle. You've given me goo...Dropping by from Rachelle. You've given me good points to consider as I work on my own story which has spiritual overtones. I've been worried about the whole "sounding preachy" thing and your post helps me to get a handle on it. I'm still working it out. What is the theme of your book Imaginary Jesus. What message were you trying to convey?June Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08570382577796763370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18628978.post-9734976365422859012010-09-23T10:54:53.184-07:002010-09-23T10:54:53.184-07:00Great points, and your humor drew me to keep readi...Great points, and your humor drew me to keep reading. Thanks for sharing your refreshing knowledge. I'll be back to see you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18628978.post-14176647804938611322010-09-23T07:37:02.274-07:002010-09-23T07:37:02.274-07:00You make some fantastic points here, Matt, though ...You make some fantastic points here, Matt, though I don't know if I can believe them. You come off a little preachy. Maybe if you'd let a skeptic say these things for you...Nate Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09690171790664252309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18628978.post-49134798508720029242010-09-23T06:40:33.301-07:002010-09-23T06:40:33.301-07:00Matt,
Send this list to McLaren and tell him to r...Matt,<br /><br />Send this list to McLaren and tell him to re-write some of his work. Not only would it be 33% shorter, he might actually get to what his opinion or answer should be. ;-)<br /><br />-AaronAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18628978.post-91473418121361576312010-09-23T06:02:26.091-07:002010-09-23T06:02:26.091-07:00Great tips in this post (I came to you via Rachell...Great tips in this post (I came to you via Rachelle and tried to leave a comment there, but blogspot ate it. So you get it instead... )<br /><br />Novels need something to lift a simple story into universal territory, but as you say there are all these pitfalls - especially when people ask 'what's your novel about'? The way I tackle it is to say, your novel has two 'abouts'. There's About with a capital A - your themes, concerns. And 'about' with a lower-case a, which is who the characters are and what they are doing.Roz Morris aka @Roz_Morris . Blog: Nail Your Novelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10088813423467048081noreply@blogger.com