“Books don’t change people, paragraphs do—sometimes sentences.”

This famous quote from author and long-time pastor John Piper highlights the transformative potential of prose. Piper added, “One sentence or paragraph may lodge itself so powerfully in our mind that its effect is enormous when all else is forgotten.”

But what makes one paragraph so transformative and so unforgettable? The answer is two-fold: the supernatural power of God and good writing. Writers can’t control the former, but we can practice the latter.

Each month Benjamin Vrbicek, the managing editor for Gospel-Centered Discipleship, looks closer at one paragraph from a GCD article to highlight some aspect of what makes for good writing. He points out what made the writing in the article work so well and how we, as fellow writers, can incorporate more of that writerly goodness into our craft.

SEASON III

APRIL 2024:
Minimize Logical Indicators and Intensifers
(S3:E4)

This month I use an article by GCD regular contributor Tom Sugimura called “Unless the Seed Dies” to talk about the principle that good writing minimizes logical indicators and intensifiers. Tim Challies shared the article in his A La Carte on March 19, 2024 and called it “a sweet bit of writing.”

I draw heavily from a few pages in Verlyn Klinkenborg’s book Several Short Sentences about Writing (pp. 118–19). I also mention Lara d’Entremont, a GCD staff writer, and her new book A Mother Held: Essays on Anxiety and Motherhood.

MARCH 2024:
Anticipates Questions
(S3:E3)

This month I use an article by GCD staff writer Tim Shorey called “Christian Displays of Affection” to talk about the principle that good writing anticipates questions.

In the video I play a section of an episode of the Home Row podcast where J.A. Medders interviews Justin Taylor (here). The interview is about a list Taylor compiled of fifteen pieces of writing advice from C.S. Lewis (here). I highlight a recent essay by Jen Pollock Michel called “Why ‘Lone’ Artists Need the Church” where she helpfully anticipates questions. I also mention the book The Christian Writer’s Manual of Style.

FEBRUARY 2024:
Puts Readers There
(S3:E2)

This month I use an article by GCD staff writer James Williams called “Fighting Bitterness with Beauty When Prayers Go Unanswered” to talk about the principle that good writing puts readers there.

In the video I mention an article by Marvin Olasky, a former editor for World, called “A Wrinkle in Journalism History.” I also discuss the different types of Bible commentaries. But I mainly discuss this month’s writing principle from a chapter in Roy Peter Clark’s book Murder Your Darlings: And Other Gentle Writing Advice from Aristotle to Zinsser. It’s a chapter about anticipating the needs of readers (Ch. 22).

DECEMBER 2023:
Prefer the Concrete
(S3:E1)

This month I use staff writer Chrys Jones’s article “The Local Church Helps Rid Me of Morbid Introspection” to talk about the principle that good writing prefers the concrete over the general, especially in applications.

I also mention Tim Wilson’s article “13 Pieces of Unconventional Preaching Advice,” Timarie Friesen’s interview with Hannah Anderson titled “What to Review for Authentic Storytelling,” and Roy Peter Clark’s book Murder Your Darlings: And Other Gentle Writing Advice from Aristotle to Zinsser.

SEASON II

JULY 2023:
Avoid Bullet Points
(S2:E6)

This month I use staff writer Tim Wilson’s article “13 Pieces of Unconventional Preaching Advice” to talk about the principle that good writing avoids bullet points.

I also mention Tim Shorey’s article, “My Warfare Against Worry”, Tim Challies “Blog Post” vs. “A La Carte,” and the books Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, Roy Schwartz, Style: Toward Clarity and Grace by Joseph M. Williams, and The Storm-Tossed Family: How the Cross Reshapes the Home by Russell Moore.

APRIL 2023:
Discernment and Perseverance
(S2:E5)

This month I use staff writer Tim Shorey’s article “Not Every Good Idea is God’s Idea: Faith Reflections from a Cancer Oven” to talk about the principle that good writing comes from discerning and persevering authors.

I also mention a number of books about the writing craft and the writing life.

FEBRUARY 2023:
Foregrounds Punch
(S2:E4)

This month I use Timothy Wei’s article “The Speck You See in Their Eye Might Be the Exact Log in Yours” to talk about the principle that good writing foregrounds punch.

I also mention the book Blogging for God’s Glory in a Clickbait World by John Beeson and me, as well as Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz.

DECEMBER 2022:
Answers Questions
(S2:E3)

This month I use the excerpt from Stephen Morefield’s new book Always Longing to talk about the principle that good writing answers questions. The excerpt appeared on our website under the title “Always Longing: Book Launch.” Morefield’s book can be found on Amazon and the GCD website.

I mention our GCD Mentoring Cohort and a number of articles: “How I Review a Book“ by Tim Challies, “Start Here: A Beginners Reading List” by Adsum Ravenhill, “Reader Q&A: What should I do if I can’t focus & it seems God’s Word isn’t sinking in?” by Jana Carlson. I also mention and Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology and our GCD Writers’ Guild.

NOVEMBER 2022:
Seeks Publication
(S2:E2)

This month I use my article “11 Tips for Getting Published Online” to talk about the principle that good writing seeks publication.

I also mention the article by Tim Challies “6 Reasons for You to Consider Writing,” as well as the books Seasons of Sorrow also by Tim Challies and Brett Lot’s book Before We Get Started.

OCTOBER 2022:
Pitches Professionally
(S2:E1)

This month I use Timarie Friesen’s article “Publishing Truths and a Lie: An Interview with Benjamin Vrbicek” to talk about the principle that good writing pitches professionally.

I also mention my article “When My Church Was Washed with Butter,” Lara d’Entremont’s article “How God Humbled Me through a Church I Didn’t Agree With,” Jed Ostoich’s pitching advice in “The Editor’s Desk (Don’t Freak Out),” and my favorite novel by my favorite fiction author Anthony Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See.

SEASON I

FEBRUARY 2022:
Kick Strong
(S1:E10)

This month I use Emily Pilkington’s article “When the Nest May Never Be Empty” to talk about the principle that good writing kicks strong.

I also mention an article in The Atlantic called “How I Demolished my Life,” Marion Roach Smith’s book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life, Jack Hart’s books Wordcraft: The Complete Guide to Clear, Powerful Writing and Storycraft: The Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction, and Jared Wilson’s book Love Me Anyway: How God’s Perfect Love Fills Our Deepest Longing.

JANUARY 2022:
Mess with the Bull & Give a Knuckle Sandwich
(S1:E9)

This month I use Chrys Jones’s article “Christmas Is for Misfits” to talk about the principle that “good writing messes with the bull and gives a knuckle sandwich.”

I also mention Maya Angelou’s book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and writings of Flannery O’Connor, specifically her short story “Good Country People” in the collection A Good Man Is Hard to Find.

DECEMBER 2021:
Tension
(S1:E8)

This month I use Lara d’Entremont’s article “Where Doctrine Meets the Desolate” to talk about the principle that good writing needs tension.

I also mention Timothy Keller’s article “Growing My Faith in the Face of Death” and my article, “Bending the Covid Bow of Bronze.”

NOVEMBER 2021:
Authors and Editors Working Together
(PART II OF II)
(S1:E7)

This month is PART II of a pervious conversation about the principle that good writing results when authors and editors work together for the benefit of readers.

I mention Carol Fisher Saller’s book The Subversive Copy Editor, Second Edition: Advice from Chicago (or, How to Negotiate Good Relationships with Your Writers, Your Colleagues, and . . . Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing) and The Copyeditor’s Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications.

OCTOBER 2021:
Authors and Editors Working Together
(PART I OF II)
(S1:E6)

This month I use Aaron Warner’s article titled “Dear Church Member, Don’t Amputate Yourself from the Body of Christ” to talk about the principle that good writing results when authors and editors work together for the benefit of readers.

I also mention Carol Fisher Saller’s book The Subversive Copy Editor, Second Edition: Advice from Chicago (or, How to Negotiate Good Relationships with Your Writers, Your Colleagues, and . . . Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing) and my own recent collection of essays, Shephard & Sheep: Loving and Leading in a Local Church.

SEPTEMBER 2021:
Climb Up and Down the Ladder of Abstraction
(S1:E5)

This month is the fifth installment of a new feature on the Gospel-Centered Discipleship website to coach writers. Each month I take one paragraph from a GCD article to highlight some aspect of what makes for good writing. I’ll point out what made the writing work so well and how we can incorporate more of that writerly goodness into our craft.

This month I use Glenna Marshall’s article titled “She Is Broken, She Is Beautiful” to talk about the principle that good writing climbs up and down the ladder of abstraction.

I also mention Roy Peter Clark’s book Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer and Jack Hart’s Word Craft: The Complete Guide to Clear, Powerful Writing.

AUGUST 2021:
Limit the Use of Be-verbs
(S1:E4)

This month I use Brianna Lambert’s article titled “God’s Word Isn’t Your Gas Station” to talk about the principle that good writing limits the use of be-verbs (is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been).

I also mention Russ Ramsey’s memoir Struck: One Christian’s Reflections on Encountering Death and Helen Sword’s The Writer’s Diet: A Guide to Fit Prose.

JULY 2021:
Tailor Prose to a Particular Audience
(S1:E3)

This month I use Jen Oshman’s article, a letter written to her daughter who recently graduated from high school. The article is titled, “From Mom and Dad to Our Grad.” This article illustrates the principle that good writing tailors prose to a particular audience.

I also mention Ivan Mesa’s Before You Lose Your Faith, Dane Ortlund’s Gentle and Lowly, the Gospel-Centered Disciple Writers’ Cohort, and Roy Peter Clark’s How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times.

JUNE 2021:
Leverage the Power of Allusion
(S1:E2)

This month I use David McLemore’s recent article about guilt and grief over our sin, “In the Darkness, Jesus Is My Light,” to talk about the principle that good writing leverages the power of allusion.

I also mention Russel Moore’s recent newsletter “Atheists, Anger, & Alcohol” (Moore to the Point, May 17, 2021) and Douglas Wilson’s book Wordsmithy: Hot Tips for the Writing Life.

MAY 2021:
Extrude Life through Truth
(S1:E1)

This month I use Lauren Bowerman’s recent article about her struggles with infertility, “How Infertility Revealed My Idolatry” to talk about the principle that good writing extrudes life through truth.