Articles & Resources
Writing insights, book news, teaching resources, faith, music, and creative projects.
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How I Wrote 50,000 Words in Seventeen Days
Michael D. Young explains how planning, a 9,424-word sprint, protected writing time, and a next-draft list helped him write 50,000 words in seventeen days.
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Why Write? Six Reasons to Become a Writer
Six enduring reasons to become a writer, from creative freedom and flexible practice to serving readers and building a creative career.
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Learning from 9/11: Heroes, Grief, and Hope
Michael D. Young reflects on September 11, singing in The Tabernacle Choir’s tenth-anniversary special, and lessons about courage, grief, evil, and hope.
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The Three Gifts: A Flash-Fiction Parable About Compassion
Three knights choose strength, cunning, or compassion for a dangerous journey—and learn why no useful gift is strongest when it travels alone.
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Depicting Immorality vs. Amorality in Fiction
A practical discussion of depicting wrongdoing in fiction while acknowledging harm, consequence, moral complexity, and character agency.
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The Hidden Sun Review: Medieval Intrigue Without Magic
A reader-and-writer review of The Hidden Sun, a medieval political-intrigue novel built around family legacy, symbolic names, and an invented world without magic.
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On Tour with The Tabernacle Choir: The Colonial Williamsburg Flash Mob
Michael D. Young recalls touring the East Coast and Canada with The Tabernacle Choir and participating in a flash mob in Colonial Williamsburg.
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How to Celebrate Other Writers Without Comparing Yourself
Practical ways to handle comparison, learn from another writer’s success, measure your own progress, and contribute to a healthier creative community.
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Three Lessons from My First Book Signing
Michael D. Young shares three lessons from early book signings about reader assumptions, valuing creative work, and finding the ideal audience for an unusual…
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Portrait of a Mother: Writing a Mother’s Day Story Across Stereotypes
Michael D. Young reflects on writing the Mother’s Day story Portrait of a Mother, crossing gender stereotypes, and creating tenderness without sentimentality.
Michael D. Young 