Why Short Stories? Plus A Poem & Garden Chat

 

Why Short Stories?

Dear Readers,

Welcome back to the blog. Why short stories? I have asked myself that question quite a few times. Why write  short stories when you could do something much more impressive, like write a novel or a non-fiction book?

1) Short Stories are just that: short. They take much less time to write and to read. Yet they can still transport the reader to another world and make you fall in love with, or at least relate to their characters.

2) Short Stories make good platforms for getting your message across whether subtly or more obviously. Many short stories contain a moral or lesson, or perhaps just a comment.

3) Short stories are often fun to read as they are fast paced and use words economically.

4) Short stories are less likely to cause the Christian reader to neglect his/her Bible. You may not have thought of this, but as enjoyable as novels are, they take a great deal of time to read, with the result that we may neglect Bible reading, prayer, and chores. This was true for me when I was younger. I've always been a bookworm. After I became a Christian I continued to gobble up books. The problem was, I hardly read my Bible, as the novels and non-fiction books appealed to me more. They seemed easier to read, and were often exciting. I'm glad to say, that I no longer struggle in this area. I still read, but not nearly as much, and my Bible gets priority.

5) They are great fun to write. Short stories have given me great enjoyment and satisfaction as a writer. Writing longer stories or non fiction  undoubtedly gives the writer a wonderful sense of achievement and satisfaction too. In my opinion however, short stories are the most fun.

6) Jesus told short stories. They are powerful. Novels would not have gotten His point across in the same way would they?

So there you go. Just a few thoughts on why short stories are great. Why do you like short stories?

Visit my books/links page to view all of my books on Amazon. There are three short story compilations, as well as stand alone short stories. For those who prefer longer stories, I have written novelettes and novellas. You will also find poetry books and two short devotionals on the page.

Link

Summer's day at the river

Slow Down

When we go rushing

through our day,

we run around,

forget to pray

Slow down and smell

the gentle bloom

and stop to hear

the lilting tune

When we rise late

and race around,

no opened Word,

no peace is found

Slow down, slow down

and you will hear

His guiding voice

so sweet and dear

Copyright: Alison Lawrence

Lessons From My Garden

The first lesson I have learned from my garden, is just how lazy I can be. I want flowers and healthy veg, but I'm not always willing to put the work in that's needed. If I want results, I'm going to have to "go to the ant," as Solomon said in Proverbs and learn from its ways.

The second lesson impresses itself on me now as the temperature rises  heading into Summer. My garden can't survive without water. And just like my garden, I can't survive without God's refreshing daily presence in my life. 

Then there's the aspect of food. Vegetables especially, need good soil and compost. I have a bin for compost, and I make a kind of tea for the plants by steeping plant matter in water. I store this 'tea' in a covered bucket. It gets more potent as time goes on. Daily feeding from God's Word is vital in our lives. Just like plants, we can't thrive without it.

Here are a couple of links to videos about homemade plant food:

One

Two

Another lesson I've learned, is that I can't just do nice work in my garden. I also have to do the donkey work of weeding, digging beds, raking, and bagging up the mess. Such is life. We need to do the hard stuff too. Preferably without grumbling.

Walking By The River: 

My first poetry volume.

You may enjoy this honest yet uplifting volume of poems. These poems were written over a number of years, and I was very excited to get them into one place. In fact, Walking By The River is the first book I self published. You will find non rhyming as well as rhyming poetry. The poems speak of hope, faith, and family.

E book ($2.99)

Paperback ($8.99)

Link

Thanks for visiting. :)

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Keep smiling and shining.

God bless,

Alison