Category Archives: Writing Itself

The art and craft of writing

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Quoting Jonathan David Whitcomb

Posted on September 29, 2022 by Jonathan Whitcomb

I don’t often write more than 200 words without mentioning modern pterodactyls, but this is different. I now quote myself and hope you enjoy at least some of it, whether it’s funny or thought provoking or just entertaining. If you … Continue reading →

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The Quality or Mercy: is it Strained?

Posted on April 20, 2013 by Jonathan Whitcomb

I’ve not read The Miracle of Father Kapaun; keep that in mind. I’ve read mostly from the Amazon “Look Inside” excerpts for this nonfiction biography of a war hero. Let’s examine the technical quality in one brief excerpt, remembering that the quality of ideas, the … Continue reading →

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Book Recommendation: “Writing Tools”

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Jonathan Whitcomb

I recommend Writing Tools, by Roy Peter Clark, for many reasons, one of which is the first chapter, “Begin sentences with subjects and verbs.” Don’t call me a hypocrite, if you’ve read something I wrote before 2012. I didn’t know any … Continue reading →

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Peer Review

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Jonathan Whitcomb

I just received a dog-eared nonfiction book from an associate, a man who has more field experience, in cryptozoology, than I have. I learned much, but not from the content of the book itself: I am the author. I learned from the hand-written … Continue reading →

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The Final Version . . . I Think

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Jonathan Whitcomb

When is the editing really completed? The words of my sacrament hymn (what I originally thought would be only a song) “Through my Savior” began to form in the late 1980’s, with occasional revisions, every few years. The music was likewise revised, … Continue reading →

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Truth-Versus-Error and Truth-Plus-Error

Posted on March 23, 2011 by Jonathan Whitcomb

Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, understand your choices involving truth and error in human characters and in human beliefs. Consider a balance between extremes, not to ever compromise the truth but to perceive and elucidate, sometimes separate and label, the truths and … Continue reading →

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