Trevin Wax

The Preacher is Not an Answer Man, but a God-lover

Trevin Wax — Sat, 18 May 2013 08:58:07 +0000

Some delicious quotes from Preaching by Calvin Miller:

Preaching is an art in which a studied, professional sinner tells the less studied sinners how they ought to believe, behave, and serve.

Preaching cannot afford to opt for being cute when it ought to be visceral.

Many preachers below the Mason-Dixon Line still yell a lot, which often accomplishes little more than to clothe weak sermons with volume.

No reasonable book on the subject of preaching can begin with what is said. The force of preaching must begin with who’s saying it.

The world is too sick to be healed by a preacher’s congenial placebos. Merely to build a big hospital is a lame dodge for practicing real medicine.

The world comes to church looking precisely for a sense of significance, and we who preach tell them week by week that God loves them. It’s a truth we tell to give them that sense of significance for which they sought us. But it is a truth that can only be told by those who sense that the preacher also loves them. There is not the slightest chance that they will get hold of the first truth, unless they feel the second.

Only the truly otherworldly have earned the right to speak of the other world.

The preacher is not an answer man. Preachers are God-lovers.

Great preachers are positive purveyors of the wonder of God.

God has a word for us, not an opinion. The kingdom of God is not a discussion club. The church doesn’t gather on Sunday to invite opinion. It gathers to hear the Bible—the Word of God—the wisdom of ancient saints and martyrs comes down to the current calendar after a march of centuries.

Doctrines are the high-voltage center of the faith. Doctrines are the faith.

Sermons that are only about the practical things of this world are often too bound by this world to help them. And this world is too weak to heal what is wrong with most people’s lives.

The best of sermons have never been a belch of information or piety. Good homiletics are wellness reports that take seriously the cure of souls.

The noblest of prophets should feel before they advise.

Preaching Christ is the purpose and intent of the sermon and comes from a preacher whose life is captive to the momentary presence of Christ.

The best preached sermons don’t try to write the Bible on the lives of their hearers, they write their hearers into the Bible.

The pastor who doesn’t care for people has missed the heart of God.

Sermons grow robust in the soul of the listening servant. The best prophets listen before they preach—they reason before they rage.

All application comes to rest on the hearer as one basic conundrum. Shall I be the lord of my life or shall I have a Lord for my life?

Surrender is the only option when God is the only subject.

Propositions give you the information you need to build a life on, and stories motivate you to want to build such a life.

Pain itself does not make us preach well, but it builds a sensitivity that does make our particular emotional experience speak to that of the whole. Only weathered wood makes singing violins.

Where there is real preaching, the sermon is always reminding the flock that the church doesn’t just get together to be told how to live more morally but to remind itself that the church is on a mission.

For those who preach, the most important question for the preacher is not “What shall I say in this sermon?” but “What do I want to happen?”

Trevin’s Seven

Trevin Wax — Fri, 17 May 2013 08:04:04 +0000

Links for your weekend reading…

Kindle Deal: Which Bible Translation Should I Use?: A Comparison of 4 Major Recent Versions. $4.74.

Douglas Moo, Wayne Grudem, Ray Clendenen, and Philip Comfort make a case for the Bible translation he represents: the NIV 2011 (New International Version), the ESV (English Standard Version), the HCSB (Holman Christian Standard Bible), and the NLT (New Living Translation) respectively.

1. Justin Holcomb – Why the Rising Awareness in the Church Should Encourage Us

2. Texas Prosecutors Investigate Gosnell-like Center in Houston

3. Adam Jeske – How Social Media Made Me a Better Person

4. Jackie Hill – Love Letter to a Lesbian

5. Eric Geiger – Why Aren’t More People in Your Groups?

6. Barnabas Piper – Writers Don’t Let Go

7. Fifteen TV Plot Points That Angered Viewers

Friday Funny: Men Experiencing Labor Pains

Trevin Wax — Fri, 17 May 2013 07:58:29 +0000

These two men are part of an experiment in which a machine simulates labor pains and gives them a taste of a woman’s pain during childbirth.

The Crazy Culture of Complementarianism

Trevin Wax — Thu, 16 May 2013 08:09:31 +0000

Right beliefs do not always lead to healthy cultures.

I’ve been watching the discussion about complementarianism – “new wave” and “old wave.” It’s interesting to see how new and old waves interact with each other, build on one another, correct each other, and warn each other.

As I read the comments on some of these posts, I wonder if there’s an aspect in this conversation that has been overlooked. It’s not about the specifics of complementarian viewpoints, but the kind of culture that sometimes grows up around complementarianism. It’s a culture that goes beyond the books and pamphlets that affirm godly manhood and womanhood in an age where gender distinctives are often minimized; instead, it is a culture of silent or exaggerated expectations that crush people who color outside the extra-biblical lines.

When I say the culture of complementarianism seems “crazy” at times, I mean two things, one good and one bad.

Good Crazy

First, there is a level of craziness that comes from being outside the mainstream of American life. Just quote Ephesians 5 on television today and you’ll look crazy, but this is a craziness that we should embrace.

The image of men and women, equal before God, embracing their unique roles, where men graciously lead their wives in love, and women willingly lay aside rights and power to graciously submit to their husbands – this is a picture of the gospel. Husbands and wives, in fulfilling their different responsibilities, shine light on different angles of Christ’s work. Christ, though equal to the Father, submitted to His will. In love, He gave His life for His Bride.

Furthermore, complementarianism isn’t the only (or main) aspect of Christianity that seems crazy to a lost world. There’s our belief in absolute truth, in salvation apart from works, our affirmation of Jesus as the only way to God, our belief in eternal hell, and our view of sexuality. We’ll always be tempted to tone down the crazy, but once we shave off the distinctive edges of Christian truth, we trade the power of the gospel for a bowl of postmodern porridge. There’s an element of “crazy” in complementarianism that ought to be embraced and celebrated in the same way we embrace the craziness of the gospel itself.

Bad Crazy

But there’s another kind of crazy that we shouldn’t be so crazy about. It’s the craziness that sometimes grows up in the culture of complementarianism. I’m talking here about culture, not the beliefs.

Culture is a lot harder to pin down and define, and yet culture communicates, sometimes more than our statements. In some churches that affirm a complementarian view of manhood and womanhood, a culture develops that goes beyond the complementarian beliefs into a skewed version of manhood and womanhood that we did not discern from the Scriptures, but from previous generations of American culture.

Some examples…

Last year, I wrote a blog post intended to encourage stay-at-home wives (like my own), and I got a lot of emails from puzzled men and women who felt I had overlooked the guilty consciences of working moms. I quickly discovered there are a number of people who are sensitive to this discussion because they’ve endured scorn and judgment for having a dual-income home. Here is a sample:

My wife has been a working mom for the first years of our marriage, and although we expect to bring her home from work upon the arrival of our next child at the end of this year, she’ll probably keep working on a very part-time basis. You can imagine in our environment that we often face explicit or implied criticism/judgment that she is a working mom.

Notice the reference to the environment of their church. The idea that it is never appropriate for a wife to work outside the home is not something you’ll see in the best scholarship of complementarian thinkers and leaders, but it is an expectation that grows up in the culture among some complementarian churches.

(As a side note, in the Romanian villages I served in, the idea of women seeing their role as either inside or outside the home didn’t make sense. Families did whatever it took to put food on the table, which meant the women were just as active outside in the garden and fields as the men were. The kitchen duties were split, depending on whatever item was going to be cooked. The man was the head of the household, but the roles were not as specific or limiting; neither were these activities extrapolated as timeless specifics for everyone everywhere.)

There are other elements of crazy culture we should be aware of:

a reticence or hesitance to affirm and celebrate women’s contributions in local church ministry, particularly contributions that are more up-front and visible.
a warped vision of manhood that focuses on calloused hands and physical labor and ignores other kinds of work.
the assumption that marriage is always better than singleness, so that singles feel like their identity is wrapped up in not having a spouse.
unwillingness to celebrate any evidence of gospel ministry or fruit among those with a more egalitarian viewpoint.
an unexpressed expectation that the godliest women have quiet and introverted personality types, and cannot be assertive and outgoing.
a competitive tendency that leads to unhealthy individual comparisons and rushed judgments, rather than extending grace to one another.
a spectrum of “holy” and “holier” choices with regard to a child’s education (from public school all the way to homeschooling).

I could go on.

The human heart is constantly seeking to justify itself. Too often, we as Christians are trying to one-up each other by grasping for a sense of superiority over our brothers and sisters because of the extrabiblical laws we’ve created and now keep.

It’s the culture of complementarianism that needs to be renewed and restored. Because there’s nothing crazier than taking a beautiful picture of the gospel and making a new law out of it.

Worth a Look 5.16.13

Trevin Wax — Thu, 16 May 2013 07:05:18 +0000

Kindle Deal of the Day: How Do You Know You’re Not Wrong?: Responding to Objections That Leave Christians Speechless by Paul Copan. $3.49.

In today’s postmodern world, believers more than ever before are faced with a host of objections to Christianity. Expert apologist Paul Copan describes these objections as “anti-truth” claims and with “How Do You Know You’re Not Wrong” he provides a helpful resource with thorough, biblical answers to such regularly used objections…

Tony Merida – The “Dilemma” of Christ-centered Expository Preaching:

Essentially, expository preaching attempts to explain and apply the biblical text in its context. This poses an interesting dilemma for Christian preachers. How is one to preach Christ where he may not seem to be present in the text? In asking this question, two assumptions are being made…

Winston Hottman – The Gospel and the (Im)perfect Marriage:

No matter how good our marriages are, as the most intimate relationship two human beings can share, marriage functions like a spotlight on our hearts by enabling us to see our selfishness from the up-close perspective of another person. It exposes us. And, consequently, it has a way of demolishing the pretensions of our self-confidence.

Thom Rainer – The Importance of Launching New Groups:

Most church leaders want their churches to grow, and for the right reasons. They want new people to encounter God, grow in their faith, and join God on His mission of serving others. But there is often a wide gap between a church leader desiring to grow and the church possessing a mentality of multiplication.

Tim Tebow Knows “Who Holds My Future”

Less than two weeks after the New York Jets released him, quarterback Tim Tebow told a crowd of about 3,000 at a Michigan college that his main goal is to impact lives, whether on or off the field.

The Legacy of Keith Green: A Conversation with Matt Papa

Trevin Wax — Wed, 15 May 2013 08:45:43 +0000

Matt Papa is one of the leaders in the renaissance of new worship songs coming out of the gospel-centered movement. He serves on staff as a worship leader at The Summit Church in Durham and his latest release is This Changes Everything.

We had lunch a few weeks ago and wound up talking about Keith Green. Afterwards, we decided to take the conversation to the blog.

Trevin Wax: What first attracted you to the music of Keith Green?

Matt Papa: The thing that first attracted me to Keith’s music was the thing that attracts me to all music: passion. When Keith sang, you got the sense that he needed to. When he played the piano, you got the sense that the piano would be injured.

Keith was sheer intensity, but it wasn’t just the music. The only thing that eclipsed his musical intensity was the almost-awkward intensity of his lyrics. He was A. W. Tozer behind a piano – blunt, abrasive, cutting – but the prophetic fire in his bones was always set to a melody that somehow made the medicine palatable. He had that “thing” all real prophets have: the anointing to offend with enough grace to keep you listening.

Trevin Wax: For the uninitiated, what five songs would you consider Keith’s best work?

Matt Papa: Here are my picks:

The Sheep and the Goats is a musical work almost in a class by itself.
Asleep In The Light gives a little taste of his intensity.
To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice is another dose of intense.
There Is A Redeemer is a timeless hymn.
Oh Lord, You’re Beautiful is a classic worship chorus.

Trevin Wax: Keith spoke out against the development of the Christian music “industry” from a financial standpoint. He foresaw the future of artists crossing over into secular music as well. Do you think Keith was right or wrong in his warning against CCM?

Matt Papa: I think he was probably right and wrong (and I’m not trying to be political here).

I think Keith was right because there is much that is disgusting about the modern Christian music industry. There are plenty of artists out there who hide their greed behind a trite Christian lyric. Keith was certainly not one of those. He once said:

I repent of ever having recorded one single song, and ever having performed one concert, if my music, and more importantly, my life has not provoked you into godly jealousy (Romans 11:11) or to sell out more completely to Jesus!

As many people know, Keith ran his entire ministry by faith – by the love offering. He would not allow money to “hinder” the gospel, and he spoke out violently against the future compromise (and demise) of the Christian music machine. There was a purity to Keith’s ministry that is unparalleled.

I think he was probably wrong in some ways, too.

Early on, Keith was somewhat of a legalist, as many of us tend to be early on in our faith. He expressed blood-earnest conviction about things which, later on in his life, he recanted when the grace of God began to tenderize his heart.

The music industry could have been one of those things. The existence of an industry in and of itself is not a bad thing: Christian music, Christian book publishing, etc. It is good that products are created that manifest the beauty of Jesus Christ and serve people. It’s also good that artists and writers are able to pay their bills. The danger exists because these industries are filled with sinners who can make success an idol.

Trevin Wax: Looking back at Keith’s life and legacy, what do you see as his strengths and weaknesses?

Matt Papa: Keith’s greatest strength was probably also his greatest weakness – it was the fire. Keith was so utterly convinced about everything. I’m sure it was that confidence that made his ministry so compelling. He was reckless, unafraid to offend.

I believe these qualities were used by God to awaken a generation. So many people I meet, still today, have been affected and are still encouraged by his ministry. But along with this certainty, he crossed the line into ungraciousness at times. He reminds me a lot of Peter.

Another virtue with (perhaps) a vice was his pioneering spirit. Keith and Melody had four kids. They had a traveling ministry and a magazine (newsletter). They went on mission trips, they started schools, they opened houses for drug addicts, and the list goes on and on.

So where’s the vice, you ask? One general oversight of the 1970′s was (in my opinion) a lack of involvement and connection to the local church. The “hippie” spirit was a pioneering, wandering one. I’m not sure where Keith and Melody landed on this issue, but my guess is their contribution to a local body was minimal.

Trevin Wax: Had Keith not died so young, where do you think he would have wound up? What was his trajectory?

Matt Papa: That’s a fantastic question, and one that I think about from time to time. My guess is that he would probably would have ended up on the mission field. Late in his life, Keith and Melody took some overseas trips, and Keith was really wrecked by the experience. He became a passionate mobilizer after these trips. I think they might have ended up serving outside North America.

Trevin Wax: No Compromise: The Life Story of Keith Green has been an influential book for many people. What is it about Keith’s story and music that continues to inspire and engage people?

Matt Papa: It was never the songs that made Keith’s songs so great. It was that he lived his songs. Keith was just as passionate behind the dinner table as he was behind the piano. He lived by faith – a wild journey of choosing to follow God and trust Him completely.

Leveraging his music ministry housing drug addicts, helping the poor, serving the least of these… Keith’s whole life was intense, and his songs were just the overflow, the soundtrack of his life. It’s ironic, but what makes his music so amazing, even today is that the music was nothing. Jesus was everything.

Worth a Look 5.15.13

Trevin Wax — Wed, 15 May 2013 07:15:32 +0000

Kindle Deal of the Day: Affirming the Apostles’ Creed by J. I. Packer. $2.99.

Noted Bible scholar and author J. I. Packer explains the meaning and implications of each phrase of this great creed. Each concise chapter serves as an invitation to dive further into the creed—and as a result, into the essentials of the Christian faith—by concluding with discussion questions and Bible passages for further study.

Mollie Hemingway – Who’s Worthy of More Coverage: Akin or Gosnell?

Don’t get me wrong, while I will fully agree with the New York Times that a politician saying something stupid deserves at least 250 breathless stories in a three-month span and that the country’s most salacious serial murder trial, that of an abortion doctor to boot, should only begrudgingly and weakly be covered after extreme pressure, I wonder if maybe there’s not room for slight improvement here.

Eric Metaxas – Raising Good Men:

Every parent knows that a young man needs to know what it means to be a man — and that he needs and wants heroes. But in about the same way that we’ve shrunk from saying what a man is, we’ve denigrated the idea of heroes in general. Deep down, all men want to live heroic lives. And unless I missed something, playing video games isn’t all that heroic.

Michael Patton – 12 Ways to Prepare Your Children For Times of Doubt:

Typically struggles with doubt do not start until one reaches adulthood as your children begin stand on their own two feet in many ways, including in their faith walk. But if you have helped them to understand that doubt is something that is common to all Christians, they won’t be scared to share their struggles when they arise later in life.

Does “Abba” Mean “Daddy?”

This intimacy and love between the divine Father and his Son is as true as the existence of God himself, for it is his very nature. But it is simply not true that Jesus’ use of the word abba means something a small child would utter in reference to his father. It does not mean “daddy” or “papa.”

KC McGinnis: What Does It Mean to ‘Judge Not’?

Last week, Twitter users met ESPN analyst Chris Broussard with a wave of criticism for his comments on NBA center Jason Collins’ sexuality. While thousands used their 140 characters simply to support Collins, some turned to Broussard—a known Christian—with the Bible. The verse they quoted comes straight from Jesus’ mouth and, at only nine characters, is endlessly tweetable: “Judge not.”

12 Favorite Steven Curtis Chapman Songs

Trevin Wax — Tue, 14 May 2013 08:24:16 +0000

I’ve recently rediscovered the music of Steven Curtis Chapman. His songs were the soundtrack to my teenage years in the late 1990′s, and I’m amazed at how many of his grace-saturated lyrics I can recall word-for-word.

There are lots of things I admire about Steven Curtis Chapman, but what impresses me most is the way the family responded when little Maria Sue died. Steven’s words to his son (who had been at the wheel) is such a model of overflowing grace that I choke up every time I read about it:

After being struck by the sport utility vehicle in the driveway of the family’s Williamson County home, 5-year-old Maria Sue Chapman, the youngest of the six Chapman children and one of three adopted from China, was rushed to a Nashville hospital, where she later died from her injuries.

In the GMA interview, Steven Curtis Chapman was asked to recall the words he spoke to 17-year-old Will Franklin Chapman as he was getting into his car to go to the hospital.

“I really don’t remember this,” the Grammy winner said. “It was actually Dave – Uncle Dave that told me. He said, ‘You rolled the window down and just, very loudly yelled really… with as much strength as you could muster and just said, ‘Will Franklin, your father loves you!’

“I just really had a deep concern in my heart that I wouldn’t lose two children as a result of this because I knew what Will was struggling with,” Chapman explained.

In GMA’s interview with Chapman’s three oldest children, Will Franklin described how the love and support from his family helped him get through the difficult time, beginning from immediately after the accident.

“I started running after the accident, you know, and started just running away from the house. And I remember Caleb (Will Franklin’s brother) was the first one to run and kind of just jump on me and hold me. And then Shaoey (one of the Chapman’s adopted daughters) was right there by him.

“To me, you know, that meant a ton,” Will Franklin continued. “I didn’t really want to be at the house, I just wanted to be away. And I was just freaking out.”

In honor of the SCC, I’ve gone through my collection of his CD’s and chosen my 12 favorite songs from SCC through the years. I’ve also been enjoying his new album, Deep Roots,
which features bluegrass takes on old hymns and some of his best songs.

12. The Great Adventure

The song was instrumental in showing me we are to live with reckless abandon to the God who has saved us by grace.

11. Not Home Yet

I love this song for its focus on the journey of the believer.

10. Long Way Home

Another “journey” song, this one is new and has a different kind of sensibility than the previous songs. Listen to “The Great Adventure” for a glimpse of SCC during his early career, and then listen to the settled-down reflections of the older SCC in this song. I love both songs.

9. Whatever

I was singing this song constantly the summer before God called me to buy a one-way ticket and move to Romania. Coincidence? I think not.

8. Much of You

If you were to take John Piper’s statement that “God loves us not by making much of us, but by freeing and empowering us to make much of Him forever” and make it into a song, it would sound like this…

7. I Will Not Go Quietly

I love the country-rock instrumentation in this song, as well as the stubborn conviction to live with God’s love on our lips.

6. How Do I Love Her?

One of the best, most realistic marriage songs I’ve ever heard.

5. Let Us Pray

A catchy tune with a memorable lyric that reminds us of the importance of praying spontaneously because God’s throne is open to us.

4. Cinderella

I’ve twirled Julia around to this song more times than I can remember.

3. My Redeemer is Faithful and True

One of his earliest songs and still one of his best.

2. God is God

Corina and I have always loved this song for the way it helps us rest in the sovereign goodness of God.

1. Lord of the Dance

Musically, this is my favorite of all SCC songs. It combines bluegrass and rock elements as it compares life to a dance.

What about you? What are your favorite Steven Curtis Chapman songs?

Worth a Look 5.14.13

Trevin Wax — Tue, 14 May 2013 07:17:00 +0000

Kindle Deal of the Day: Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting out of the Box by The Arbinger Institute. $2.99.

The book’s central insight—that the key to leadership lays not in what we do, but in who we are—has proved to have powerful resonances not only for organizational leadership, but in readers’ personal lives as well.

Alvin Reid on Student Ministry – From Moralistic Therapeutic Deism to Gospel-Driven Realism:

The much-debated topic of dropout rates actually fails to emphasize a more critical point, because even those who remain in our churches lack the missional drive to make gospel impact in their daily lives. In other words, how many who stay “in church” still “drop out” of active, daily, missional faith?

Ruth Bader Ginsburg believes Roe v. Wade was too sweeping:

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she supports a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion, but feels her predecessors’ landmark Roe v. Wade ruling 40 years ago was too sweeping and gave abortion opponents a symbol to target.

The Tim Keller Principle – How To Apply Your Message (Method #1):

Keller gives three different “methods” for preaching application: The 3 Spheres approach, the heart diagnostic approach, and the two thieves approach. I’ll start with the heart-diagnostic approach, which he picks up from Dick Lucas:

Trillia Newbell – Women, Don’t Waste Your Summer!

We are compelled by the love of Christ to run to Him and learn from Him even during the lazy days of summer. It is by God’s grace that we can pursue Him during our summer days. Let’s pray God helps us redeem our summer, not wasting it because the days are evil.

In case you had any doubt that Matt Carter is awesome, check out this video of him hunting with Colt McCoy as he catches a flying bird with his bare hands.

Why Writing Fiction Was Harder Than I Thought

Trevin Wax — Mon, 13 May 2013 08:54:57 +0000

When I decided to try my hand at writing fiction, I thought storytelling would be a refreshing change of pace. In many ways, it was.

I felt like I was going back to my roots – to the kid in junior high writing stories and sharing them with his friends in class. For years, I competed in creative writing competitions and enjoyed creating characters and the adventures that test and grow them. Moving forward with fiction was like going back. I relished the idea.

Then the writing process began…

I started Clear Winter Nights with the hope of teaching through story. My goal was to communicate biblical truth through an intriguing storyline and memorable characters. In this way, the book would include both fiction elements (a story and dialogue) and non-fiction elements (theological discussion and logical reasoning).

Sounds simple enough, right? I thought I’d knock out the project in the amount of time it took to write my other books. Little did I know, I was in for a rude awakening.

Here are two reasons why writing fiction turned out to be harder than I expected:

1. A Lengthier and More Robust Editorial Review

Four major publishing houses liked my initial proposal and sample chapters enough to make an offer. I chose Multnomah because, in early conversations, I sensed they would be heavily involved in the editorial process. They didn’t let me down. For almost a year, I received feedback from great fiction editors, readers, writers, and theologically savvy types who love the idea of a non-fiction writer branching out into new territory.

For a non-fiction book, the editorial stage is simple. You send the manuscript to trusted friends and advisors who then offer their feedback.

Did you mean to say this? I think you’re wrong.

Maybe if you said this in a different way, you can avoid a potential area of confusion.

I love this idea, but I think you could communicate it better if you did it this way…

Editorial comments for a Christian Living title focus on the strength of your argument and the persuasiveness of your presentation.

Fiction, on the other hand, adds another layer of complexity to the editorial process. People respond differently to characters and stories than they do to an outline that organizes truth in a linear fashion.

Initial impressions are much more subjective for a fiction book than for non-fiction. Second, third, and fourth drafts lead you to do more than tweak a sentence here or there. Sometimes, you’ve got to go back to the keyboard and scrap entire scenes, rearrange material, and introduce new people. Then there are the times you have to trust your instincts and ignore all the other voices.

2. The Complexity of Character Development

The initial idea for Clear Winter Nights was to put forth traditional Christian teaching in a compelling story, to make good points through characters and fiction. In other words, though I would never have articulated it this way, I viewed the story as the shell around the didactic, non-fiction elements at the center. The point was the truth; the vehicle was the story.

That approach didn’t last long.

Once I began to proceed with a didactic purpose, I found myself opposed at every point by my characters themselves. They seemed to rise up in defiance of my predetermined outline. They broke out of the constraints I had set for them. They resisted any attempt to be forced into conversations that didn’t fit their personalities.

As the storytelling process unfolded, some of my favorite scenes and conversations landed on the cutting room floor. Truths and arguments I had originally intended to express through these characters didn’t fit their personalities. The characters outgrew my initial vision, leading to more and more revisions of the story and dialogue. When my familiarity with the story kept me from seeing how the characters had grown, my editors stepped in to point out the discrepancies.

As an author, I could have chosen to ramrod my agenda through the book and cause Chris and Gil to say and do whatever I wanted. But in the end, I wanted the conversations to serve the characters, not vice versa. The more you come to know the characters you create, the less likely you are to make them nothing more than an agent of your own bidding.

I realize how confusing this must sound to those who haven’t written fiction. Are you saying, Trevin, that you don’t have final say-so over what your characters say and do? Not at all. I like how it all turned out. It’s just that, as you develop characters, you find their individuality leads to certain constraints and choices that differ from the initial expectations you had when you began the story.

Conclusion

I could continue listing reasons why writing fiction was harder than I thought. Several reasons deal with being aware of the basics of storytelling. I’ve already written about one of the most important discoveries here – the Point of View, so I won’t belabor the point.

In the end, Clear Winter Nights has been a labor of love and learning. Love for the characters and the truth they discuss, and learning for me as an author as I’ve been working to get better at a craft I neglected for too long.