WRITING ADVICE: A PARABLE – “[A] story…[that] teaches…without…a lecture.”

In the November 2006 issue of THE WRITER, John K. Borchardt made the point above in his article, “Harness the Power of Metaphors”. I’d like to expand on that a bit today.

One of the fifty-eight parables of Jesus is The Prodigal Son.

One of Aesop’s thirty-five fables is The Tortoise and the Hare.

Summarize both and think of one situation you’ve either experienced yourself or seen reflected in a movie, expanding on the fable or parable above.

There is a collection of FORDYCE’S SERMONS.

There is the EGYPTIAN BOOK OF THE DEAD.

Summarize both and think of one situation you’ve either experienced yourself or seen reflected in a movie, expanding on one of the books above.

The moral of this story is: write short, write powerful.