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The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Writing Craft » Craft » Page 20

Craft

Worshipping Words

By Dan Balowon May 5, 2015
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Yesterday was a strange and eerie anniversary.  Six hundred years ago, on May 4, 1415 the body of Bible translator and Christian dissident John Wycliffe was exhumed from his grave in England, burned and his ashes were thrown into the river. And if that wasn’t weird enough, this was done over thirty years after his death.

It sounds like something from a Dirty Harry movie.

“You think this is over punk? Thirty years after you’re dead, I am going to dig up your body, burn it and throw your ashes in the river!”

There is no statute of limitations on anger.

Wycliffe had made himself a major pain to the Christian establishment and they hated him for it. But his true sin worthy of being dug up and burned was he led the process of translating of the Bible into English, with work done by “unlicensed laity” and was declared a heretic three decades after his death.

Over one hundred years later, William Tyndale translated the Bible into English for the first time and was arrested, hung and then burned at the stake.

I am not sure, but maybe from these two instances is where we get the concept of “overkill.”

More than seventy-five years following Tyndale’s death, the King James Version of the Bible was published (1611), which drew heavily on the translation work from Tyndale (some estimates set it at 75-80%), proving that time does heal some hurts.

Quite a number of years ago, I was working for a company involved with fund-raising for various non-profits. On one occasion, I took a phone call from a gentleman who wanted some information about a certain Bible ministry before he made a substantial donation in support of their work. (If I recall, it was $10,000)

Before sending his donation, he wanted to confirm the Bibles being printed and distributed were using the King James Version and not some other edition.  Did I mention that the ministry was sending Bibles to Russia? (Kind of a key point here)

Me: “No sir. We are sending Russian language Bibles to Russia”

Him: “Are they King James Russian-language Bibles?”

Me: (Trying not to laugh) “No sir, the King James Bible is an English translation and we are sending Russian-language Bibles to Russia.”

Him: “So, they are not the authorized version. Thank you for your help”. (Hang-up)

He did not make the donation. Evidently he expected Russian believers to first learn English, then learn 17th century English, and then, and only then, would they get a Bible.

I am not a Bible translation expert, but the King James Version is not an original source document of the Scriptures. Moses did not speak the king’s English. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New Testament was written in Greek and Aramaic. Maybe English was one of the many tongues at the tower of Babel, but I am only guessing.

Sometimes we worship words rather than The Word and sometimes worshiping words takes interesting forms.

I have to think one reason that most movies depicting Biblical events employ British actors speaking the king’s English is because the language is somehow more “spiritual” in most viewers’ minds because of the popularity of the KJV.

Every Christian has been in a prayer meeting when a regular person from the church has transformed themselves into a member of King James court when praying. Maybe they are worshipping the words rather than The Word or maybe it is simply habit.

When Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ released over a decade ago, a controversial element was the various characters speaking Latin, Aramaic or Hebrew with English subtitles. Gibson did that because the people in the original story spoke Latin, Aramaic and Hebrew. He dared to be accurate.

To conclude, we all have a choice of two options when communicating, and you need to choose one or the other, so choose wisely.

The first option is to have a lovely combination of words crafted by you and delightful in every way in your mind, saying exactly what you want to say without input or changes from anyone.

The second option is to communicate a message clearly with the help of a team of people who are thinking about how it will be understood.

The first choice focuses on you and your words. The second focuses on the reader and the goal. Deciding what is most important to you could mean all the difference to your writing career.

Worshipping words is a hollow religion anyway.

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Category: Communication, Craft, CreativityTag: Communication, words

A Definition of a Successful Artist

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon April 30, 2015
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Recently I witnessed an artist (not a writer) put work out to the public that I believe needed some polish. Some of my close family and I agreed that it shouldn’t have been released without being improved first. However, this artist was being cheered by intimate friends and family. I’m not positive all of these people actually like the art itself. I think many of them just want to …

Read moreA Definition of a Successful Artist
Category: Art, Awards, Craft, CreativityTag: Art, Career, Success

Tools from the Front Lines: Emotional Memory

By Karen Ballon April 22, 2015
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You’ve heard it over and over: Show, don’t tell. And that’s appropriate whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction. When you communicate emotions in your writing, when those emotions are vital to your scene or message, it’s more powerful to show them. Now, I’m not going to tackle the pros and cons of telling, or when and why it’s better to show. (I covered at that in a previous post, so go there …

Read moreTools from the Front Lines: Emotional Memory
Category: Craft, Creativity, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Emotional Memory, Writing Craft

Tools from the Front Lines: Quotations on Writing

By Karen Ballon April 15, 2015
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Okay, admit it, you love to read quotes about writing or writers. Especially if they’re from other writers. So do I. In fact, I keep a growing list of quotations that inspire me, or make me laugh, or make me think. And on those days when I’m struggling, or when I feel the right words are eluding me, I fix myself a cup of coffee, open up the list, and spend time just reading. So here, to get you …

Read moreTools from the Front Lines: Quotations on Writing
Category: Craft, Creativity, The Writing LifeTag: The Writing Life, Writing Quotes

A 40 Day Experience with Music

By Steve Laubeon April 6, 2015
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Last year I tried a musical experiment during the days of Lent (I wrote about it here). This year I attempted to do something similar. My musical choice was the “Suites for Keyboard” by George Frederic Handel. We are most familiar with Handel because of his famous “Messiah” oratorio. I did not realize that he also composed solo pieces for the keyboard. I am glad to have learned …

Read moreA 40 Day Experience with Music
Category: Craft, Creativity, Personal, Writing CraftTag: Creativity, lent, music

Your Conflicted Characters

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 5, 2015
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I am blessed to work with many talented authors with great ideas. Recently one of my clients, Renee Andrews,  submitted a wonderful chart outlining her characters’ conflicts. You may have seen similar charts before, but I especially like the way Renee laid hers out: [Character Name] INTERNAL EXTERNAL Goal — What? Motivation — Why? Conflict — Why not? Renee is a very successful author at the …

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Category: Craft, Get Published, Writing CraftTag: Characters, Writing Craft

Pets and Personality

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 12, 2015
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Do any of the characters in your novel have pets? When I read about pet ownership, the choice of animal and where they live may say a lot. The use of animals in a story can lend some wonderful texture to your character. It uses some common assumptions about various animals. A few examples: A large dog on a farm means a carefree, rambunctious animal roaming about the place, showing up on the back …

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Category: Craft, Creativity, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Creativity, Writing Craft

Valentine’s Creativity! [Plus a Giveaway]

By Karen Ballon February 11, 2015
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I love to laugh. I’m one of those people who goes into card stores and stands in the aisles, reading the funny cards and chortling. So when I saw some posts on Rejected Candy Heart sayings, I totally cracked up. You know what Candy Hearts are, yes? Those little sugar hearts with sayings such as “Be Mine,”  “Hug Me,” “Real Love”? We’ve all seen them, even exchanged them. In fact, I bought a box of …

Read moreValentine’s Creativity! [Plus a Giveaway]
Category: Craft, Creativity, HumorTag: Creativity, Humor

Personality Quirks

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 5, 2015
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We all have personality quirks. These are part of our charm. Some people may think that the fact I have named my three houseplants is a personality quirk. But what other modern living beings would put up with the monikers Perpetua, Magnifica, and Scholastica? When I ask my husband, “Did you water Perpetua?” he knows what I mean. We inherited a large peace lily from one daughter’s …

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Category: Craft, Creativity, Writing CraftTag: Characters

Suspending Disbelief

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 22, 2015
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After watching a television series about the life of St. Teresa de Jesus, my husband and I viewed the special bonus about the making of the film, in the early 1980s. One scene showed travelers, using conveyances common to the 16th century, moving toward several parked trucks. Another scene showed vehicles parked behind a village facade. An outtake showed St. Teresa speaking, with a contemporary …

Read moreSuspending Disbelief
Category: Book Proposals, Craft, Creativity, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Writing Craft
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