Want to read along?
If you are already a member of the Brilliant Writer Merry Band, then you’ve already seen this.
If not, then here it is, for you:
If you’re an avid reader and dedicated writer…have you noticed that it’s getting more and more difficult to find really good writing nowadays?
The kind of writing that stays with you, really makes you think, and genuinely leaves you better than you were before you read it?
I mean, there’s still popular, gossipy, prolific, persuasive, smooth, and exciting written content being produced today, but most of it is forgettable, and doesn’t really help you in the long run…
Quick Story
Over the holidays, my family and I spent some time re-watching the old Pride & Prejudice series by Jane Austen and discussing the music of JS Bach.
Both Austen and Bach are long dead, but their works have lived on for centuries beyond them.
Clearly, these two writers — one novelist, one composer — created works that were seriously brilliant, at the deepest levels. That’s how they were able to stand the test of time.
So that got me thinking about what these two, and other creators like them, have in common.
Of course, both Bach and Austen lived in times when there were fewer distractions compared to the modern era…but so did millions of other people, even millions of writers. So how come those people’s works are forgotten, but Austen & Bach’s works survived?
Both creators also were highly intelligent, deep thinkers, which you can figure out from examining Austen’s well-crafted novels or Bach’s complex musical compositions. But other people in their generations were also undoubtedly good enough at their craft to create complex productions as well, and yet they are lost to history, while Austen and Bach are not.
So what else did these two have in common?
Here’s my theory:
Both were solidly steeped in the Bible and Biblical worldview, and that laid the foundation for their creativity.
- Austen was a devoted Bible-and-sermon reader, and it greatly influenced her thinking and writing.
- Bach was a church composer who studied the Bible (particularly the Chronicles in the Old Testament) in part to inform his music-making and composing.
In other words, the reason why Austen’s and Bach’s works stood the test of time while so many novels and creative projects in this age feel fluffy, insignificant, forgettable is because the former were grounded on a solid metaphysical foundation while the latter tends to float with whatever whims the creators come up with from day to day.
In my Scylighter Schema* for analyzing written content, I argue that there are three layers to every piece.
- CRAFT: All the easiest-to-notice surface features like prose, grammar, style, etc.
- CONCEPT: Promises & payoffs, how well the writer executes the their chosen form/genre.
- CORE: The worldview of the work. The grand underlying thesis that the creator wants the reader to takeaway.
Most writing books focus on the first two layers when they try to teach “how to write better,” but few ever touch on the third item.
But that third item is what gives any creative work its staying power — what fundamental worldview or truth are you illuminating with your writing? And how can you illuminate anything if you don’t have a deep understanding of unshakeable truth the way Bach and Austen did?
The Plan
Which is why, for 2025, I’m starting a Brilliant Writer Bible Reading Project (yes, the name’s a bit lame, but I decided to opt for clarity over cleverness for now…if you have any suggestions, however, I’m all ears!)
The idea is to read through the entire Bible in a year, and take notes on the overall content, looking particularly for anything that might be beneficial for brilliant-writers-in-training.
I’ll be posting the Bible analyses articles at the start of each week (Sun/Mon).
It will be similar to the Detailed Book Analyses that I’ve been sending out in the last part of 2024, but a bit different because for this Reading Project, I’m not going to be critiquing the Bible but purely learning from it.
Invitation
Thing is, I know this isn’t necessarily for everyone, so joining is by self-selection only.
In other words, if you’d like to follow along, email me (NOTE: don’t comment, send an EMAIL to sarah@beabrilliantwriter.com) and I’ll send you the link to the place where I’ll be posting the Bible analyses articles at the start of every week (Sunday/Monday).
It will be similar to the Detailed Book Analyses that I’ve been sending out in the last part of 2024, but a bit different because for this Reading Project, I’m not going to be critiquing the Bible but purely learning from it.
So if you also want to be the kind of writer who develops a stronger philosophical / teleological foundation for your future work, and/or you’re just curious about how I’ll run this Bible Reading Project, send me an email and I’ll send you the link.
If not, no worries:
In 2025, we will continue our regular deep-dive analyses of successful fiction and nonfiction books to see how they work…and what we can learn from them.
If you want to follow me on that adventure, just keep an eye out on Medium, or join the Merry Band using the link below:
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