Short and Sweet

“My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way.”  ~ Ernest Hemingway.

We writers love words, and we love to use the long, impressive words. But when we use too many of them, and ones that aren’t familiar and comfortable to the average person, then words just get in the way.

The words we really should be using most of the time are already known to us. Crisp, clear, accessible words in our writing bring joy to the readers even if they may not know why.

In this book you’ll see just what can happen when 69 Christian writers break their attachment to multi-syllable words and get back to the familiar words of childhood, simple words like brave, true, loyal, love, and joy.

Some of the stories you’ll find here are serious; some are not. Some might cause a slight smile or quiet chuckle to bubble to the surface; others might cause a laugh to shoot up like a grand old geyser. Some stories invite deep reflection; others just let you be. Some reveal much; others reveal little. Sometimes the creativity is subtle; other times it is easily seen.

In one way or another all of the stories are powerful. And with a few exceptions, their words are all one syllable.

Contributors: Sandy Aletraris, Karen O. Allen, Sharon Atwood, Kathleen Brown, Kay Camenisch, Ellen Cardwell, Larry Cheeves, Kae Childs, Karen Condit, Troy Dennis, Rosie DiBianca, Dolly Dickinson, Dr. W. Alan Dixon, Sr., Xochitl E. Dixon, Nicey T. Eller, Linda Finlin, Sharon Fincannon, Anne Grant, Joleen Graumann, Annette Griffin, Pamela Groves, Sara Hague, Bethany Hayes, Paul Aaron Hinton, Leah Hinton, Doris Hoover, Penny L. Hunt, Tina Hunt, Rev. Dr. Cureton L. Johnson, Katy Kauffman, Rich Kehoe, Liz Kimmel, Marilyn Klunder, Margaret Lalich, Don Lee, Cheryl B. Lemine, Sarah G. Smith Lewis, Kimberly Long, Eric Mueller, Alice H. Murray, Christi Naler, Suzanne Dodge Nichols, Eréndira Ramirez-Ortega, Colleen Shine Phillips, Shelley Pierce, Pamela K. Proudfoot,, Jennifer Saake, Nancy Reenders, Joanne Reese, Jane Reid, Reba Rhyne, Katherine Rice, Eleanor Richardson, Michelle Ruschman, Toni Armstrong Sample, Kevin Louise Schaner, David Alan Shorts, Grant Showalter, Debbie Sprinkle, Cordie Traber, Marilyn Turk, Beverly Varnado, Margery Kisby Warder, Cynthia Baughan Wheaton, Jan White, Kenneth Avon White, Toby Ann K. Williams, Joseph Yates