Sunday, July 7, 2013

What I learned from the Bible about writing Part 3: Progressive Revelation

"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter. But the glory of kings to search out a matter." 
Proverbs 25v2

The story of the Bible--God's story--stretches from the first chapter of Genesis where the world is born, to the last chapter of Revelation where He brings it all to fruition.

The world of a novel is born on page one and at the epilogue, we say goodbye to characters we have come to love.

Between stretches the mystery that keeps readers turning pages. Not like a dead body type mystery, unless that's your genre, but the questions that arise about the characters and the situations they're in that make you want to find out what happens to them.

In his book, The Art of War for Writers, James Scott Bell says,
"Reveal your plot incrementally. That means leaving mystery inherent and unfolding things progressively."

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