Writing A Compelling True Story: Fiction Tools For Non-Fiction

Writing A Compelling True Story: Fiction Tools For Non-Fiction

The third book of the Omega Trilogy, Great White Throne, is in my editor’s hands. I’m trying to keep it out of my mind, so I can look at it fresh in a few weeks. The best way to do that: start something new.

So that’s what I’m doing, and this new story is powerful and good. It has great characters and big ideas. But it’s quite different from my novels. Mainly, it’s not fiction.

Switching gears from fiction to true story presents some challenges. Here’s what I’ve learned so far.

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Living Revelation: Understanding The End Times Mystery

Living Revelation: Understanding The End Times Mystery

This is the last of my four posts about Revelation. This is where I give all the answers. Here’s how we got here:

  1. The bestselling book of all time has a crazy last chapter;
  2. Theories about that chapter’s mysteries can be dangerous; and
  3. Stories shouldn’t offer definitive answers, but we need more of them.

Now let’s find out what it means to live in revelation.

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Prejudging Revelation: Why The Left Behind Series Invites More Stories

Prejudging Revelation: Why The Left Behind Series Invites More Stories

With over a dozen books, the sweeping Left Behind series has sold over sixty million copies. It has spawned movies. Even a recent Nic Cage sighting!

But the books arent just a story. Theyre based on author Tim LaHayes premillennial view. Many have embraced that view after reading the books. Thats the power of story. The thing is, there are other stories to tell. Lots of them.

Revelation draws competing theories (check out my first and second posts on this wild old book). It also draws stories. And even if no human will ever get it right, these stories can help us. 

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Impending Revelation: The Millennium In A Nutshell

Impending Revelation: The Millennium In A Nutshell

If I swore to you that the end of the world is coming in 2066, would you care? How about if it’s coming tomorrow? Would you change your New Year’s resolutions?

Nope. You probably wouldn’t. And I would never swear to such a thing. Predictions about the end have proven wrong a thousand times over, so we don’t believe them anymore. No one “knows the hour.” 

So, what do you think about the Millennium? Let’s look into it.

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Unpacking Revelation: A Wild Old Book Ripe For Modern Stories

Unpacking Revelation: A Wild Old Book Ripe For Modern Stories

What makes a bestseller? The story has to be gripping. The characters have to be real. And the words have to let all kinds of readers find meaning  something that matters for their own lives. 

Maybe that's why the endings of so many great books are open to interpretation. They guide readers toward their own conclusions. This might help explain why the bestselling book of all time has such a crazy final chapter. 

This is the first of a four-part series on that wild old book: Revelation.

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