A worthwhile read on the power of creative writing, and its connection to the spiritual. A must-read for inspiring authors who seek to go beyond the status-quo and bring back the art of inspired writing that not only entertains but challenges and changes the heart of the reader.

This is one of those books I wanted to stop reading early on. But I'm glad I didn't. It got better and better as I read, and appealed to me more and more.

It's divided into three parts: Humble Listening; Loving Argument; Keeping Time Hopefully.

(1) Humble Listening laid the important groundwork of how we relate to other writers and to our readers: through humility. It is applicable to any endeavor, not just writing. It stressed that the moment of writing is about more than just us. "Writing in fact is a dependent activity."

(2) Loving Argument was my least favorite of the three segments, but it did contain value. I particularly benefited from its call to find a new metaphor for arguments other than "war." For not only argumentative writing but for any writing, my favorite metaphor suggested is that of the banquet.

"Our writing would be a feast, welcoming and enlivening to our readers. Yet we must recognize that a reader is also a kind of host. Readers receive our writing, bringing it into their homes, giving it their time and attention. The challenge of charitable writing, then, isn’t simply to be a good host. It is, at the same time, to be a good guest."

(3) Keeping Time Hopefully, the last segment, is my favorite because it focuses on slow writing and liturgies of writing. The authors view slow writing as "a multi-step procedure that plays out according to rhythms of activity, contemplation, and rest." Even in this, we are not alone when we write. Writing can be a collaborative effort if we so allow.

Learning to create and give our words to the world is a spiritual process. This book aids us in doing that with humility, acceptance, and intentionality.

The authors remind us that as writers, we are composing two works: a work of learning and a work of prayer.

My thanks to Net Galley and InterVarsity Press for the review copy of this book.

Charitable Writing
Cultivating Virtue Through Our Words
by Richard Hughes Gibson; James Edward Beitler III
InterVarsity Press
IVP Academic
Christian
Pub Date 15 Dec 2020


I am reviewing a copy of Charitable Writing through InterVarsity Press in Netgalley:


Charitable Writing is a writing guide, but not in the typical sense; this book examines how we think about writing as well as how we go about it. In both respects, the conceptual and the practical, this book argues that our spiritual commitments can and should provide bearings for our academic and professional work.


This book reminds us that; Writing is a social and rhetorical activity • Writing involves making ethical choices • Writing speaks to situations through recognizable forms • Disciplinary and professional identities are constructed through writing • Writing enacts and creates identities and ideologies • All writers have more to learn.



We are reminded too that to recognize that writing not only can be but also should be a hospitable practice has profound implications for Christian writers. To write hospitably requires that we use words and genre conventions that our reader will recognize and understand. To write hospitably requires that we take the time to edit our writing so as to make it approachable. To write hospitably requires that we actually think about who are readers are in the first place. Above all, to write hospitably requires that we recognize writing as a gift.




Charitable Writing reminds us that our words carry weight, but unfortunately in today’s climate our words are often laced with harsh judgments and vitriol rather than careful consideration and generosity. But might the Christian faith transform how we approach the task of writing? How might we love God and our neighbors through our writing?


What this book isn’t is a style guide, but what it does is offers a vision for expressing one's faith through writing and for understanding writing itself as a spiritual practice that cultivates virtue.



I give Charitable Writing five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

I highly recommend people of all backgrounds read this book. Seeing hostility every day in the online world and poorly argued polemics that is more of an attack on the other person is exhausting. We would all do well to consider what we write, and before that, how we read. The authors do a wonderful job encouraging and providing ideas how to engage in the act of writing in a way that glorifies God. They do not tell one how to write something which is grammatically sound or a masterpiece. Rather, they desire those writing to do so honorably, with charity (love). I would recommend this book to anyone who so much as comments on social media, so pretty much everyone.

I think it is a good idea to gift this book to anyone who you know loves to write. Anyone who wants to leave a message of true and virtue in the world. This title captured my attention because I use to think about tangible things when I hear the word Charity. But charity means love, so I started thinking: I can definitely love through my words, so I took it, I´m glad I did. Everything we "eat" with our brains has an effect on us. I hope and pray many could make a pact with their writing and decide to cultivate just pure, lovely and true. I liked how the author makes a connection between spiritual instruction and writing instruction. I know God loves words, he leaves us the Bible, so we must take care of what we leave through our own words. My favorite part of the book it is when the author defines Humility and how it reshapes or writing practice. I don´t want to spoil you. Get the book. Just one quote:

"God has endowed us with profound capacities to learn, to ponder, to hypothesize, to reason, to understand. These powers apply to a range of fields and areas of inquiry—not least the knowledge of God himself! To recognize this is to realize that delighting in our thinking, delighting in our nimble intellects, may be a godly pursuit. To cultivate humility in regard to our ideas does not, in G. K. Chesterton’s words, require that we become “too mentally modest to believe in the multiplication table.”15 Rather, such humility liberates us. As Dow observes, “Because intellectually humble people value truth over their egos need to be right, they are freed up to admit the limits of their own knowledge. This freedom naturally produces a teachable spirit and the habit of humble inquiry that are at the heart of sustained personal"

One of the best books on writing I’ve ever read. The authors are clear in their mission: to encourage writers to obey the double commandment in Matthew 22:37-40—to love both God and reader. They remind us that writing is an opportunity for prayer as well as an opportunity to grow in virtue. It does read academic (the authors are both professors), but I love how they brought in writers and artists from different centuries to illustrate their message. This will be a book I come back to in the future. “Writing charitably is nothing less than the work of a writing lifetime. We are a people of the threshold; we are pilgrim writers.” I couldn’t agree more. I will need these truths again.

We have been told that love is the greatest. The Bible says so. Our culture also asserts that. We all believe so. We are taught to love our neighbour. We all want love but the truth is, love is often more easily said than done. This applies equally to the field of writing. Authors Richard Gibson and James Beitler helps us understand what it means to apply the expression of love in our writings, via charitable writing. Being a Christian is not just about speaking or living out the good news in public. It is also in how we write and express our love in writing. It is also a way of spiritual formation. It is discipleship. It is using our writing to paint the art of love. The central theme of this book is that "charitable writers listen humbly, argue lovingly, and keep the time of writing hopefully." Without going into the details of how to write or not to write, the focus is on the "big picture," to imagine, to relate, to respond, and how to express our neighbourliness in our writing. In other words, we write not for the sake of writing but for the purpose of showing we care and we love. These can be done through applying "spiritual threshold concepts," which are concepts to help integrate academic disciplines, including the discipline of writing. They engage the wisdom of ancient as well as modern writers to help us along. Through imitation, we learn from the practitioners in the past. Through practice, we apply the process over and over again to solidify the habit. This dual rhythm of imitation and practice are incorporated into the three key parts of the book. I appreciate how the authors remind us once again that writing is not only social and spiritual, it is also communal. The best way to integrate all of these is to begin with humility. Using art and images to supplement this manual about writing charitably, the authors show us the significance of our humble words. It begins with "humble listening." This is most appropriate because charity begins with humility. Being charitable needs to begin with us receiving charity from others. We are reminded that while most writers would write alone, there are wise companions that we can tap upon. Nicolas Frances calls writing a social activity. We cite others. We build upon the works of others. There is also the spiritual component to it when writers pray before writing.
In Part Two, Gibson and Beitler teach us about responding to what we hear or read. Recognizing the importance of this and how to develop "loving argument" in our writings, this part of the book is the longest. The authors allocate six chapters to help us formulate and develop this critical aspect of writing. They remind us of the double command. Loving God must be reflected in our love to fellow humans; and our love for fellow humans cannot be divorced from God's love. With this "law of charitable writing," we learn about crafting arguments that move away from "war languages" toward the dance metaphor as well as an invitation to a conversation. Both are great alternatives to the typical confrontations we see daily on social media or competing news networks. Going back to the great love chapter in 1 Corinthians 13, the authors expound on the meaning of agape as a way of life. From here, the authors gives us the banquet metaphor that invites one to join in the feasting. This helps us see writing beyond solo efforts and to make space at the table.

Part Three reminds us about learning to pace ourselves appropriately. Slow writing enables us to humanize our words instead of rushing something off hastily to press. Whether it is prewriting, drafting, or rewriting, we learn that crafting good words need time. At the same time, we need to beware of our tendencies to either procrastinate or to be perfectionists. They conclude with a chapter on writing as a liturgy.

My Thoughts
This book is targeted at the writing audience. Both authors are professors of English at Wheaton, so it is natural that their immediate concerns are students of writing. By clarifying upfront that this book is not about the technical aspects of writing but the principles of charitable writing, we get a better sense of where this book is heading. There are several ways to benefit from this book. The first is the reminder about having humility as a starting point. This is hugely important because all charity needs to begin with a recognition that we don't exist for our own sake. We exist because God first created us, blessed us, and called us to a particular purpose. Writing may not necessarily be everyone's core calling, but it is definitely a common expression of love. This is of paramount importance in an age of hasty texts and rapid tweets, both of which could ignite controversies and noisy debates. Humility helps keeps any quick tempers down. It also keeps us grounded to know that we are not always right and others are not necessarily wrong. Secondly, the authors rightfully spend more time developing the principles of arguments. We do not write opposing views like some kneejerk reactions to opinions that differ from ours. If people are different, we need to learn to appreciate the diversity of opinions that expand on particular meanings. We should not straitjacket any alternative pointers as necessarily against us. Words are important. Don't use counter-arguments or pushbacks strategies in our response. Use invitation to expand on the meaning or an encouragement to join in a conversation. Our first response often sets the tone for the rest of the dialogue. This leads me to the third point: leave room for alternative perspectives. This means we avoid making dogmatic statements that force people to choose between black or white. Like the proverbial blind men touching the different parts of an elephant, we need to humbly accept that in any topic, there is likely more than two opinions. The spectrum of opinions are much bigger than two colours. The way forward in charitable writing is to learn from both the past as well as the present. Like the authors, there is much we could learn from the ancients like the desert fathers, the medieval folks, and the spiritual masters. Writing is about discipleship. Writing well brings credibility and honour to both student and teacher. Listening humbly enables the Holy Spirit to work within our hearts. Writing slowly keeps us in step with our humanness. Writing charitably gives glory to God.

Thanks to Gibson and Beitler, these three principles of humility, loving argumentation, and keeping time hopefully could be distributed to many more writers and budding writers to be. For anyone curious about what it means to write, read this book. For anyone interested in writing, purchase this book. For anyone passionate about writing, buy a second copy to give away.

Richard Hughes Gibson (PhD, University of Virginia) is associate professor of English at Wheaton College. He is the author of Forgiveness in Victorian Literature: Grammar, Narrative, and Community. With designer Jeremy Botts, he codirects Manibus Press, an occasional publisher of artists' books.

James Edward Beitler III (PhD, University of Michigan) is associate professor of English at Wheaton College, where he is the director of First-Year Writing and also coordinates the Writing Fellows Program.

Rating: 5 stars of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of InterVarsity Press and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.