In this video clip, Randy Alcorn answers the question, "Why did you write your book If God Is Good?" 

Minor characters come quickly, usually, as they may have only a few distinguishable features. You usually don’t need to develop them too much, though you can certainly make them memorable. Major characters are different, because they must be complex, with depth and substance. You don’t want them to disappear when they turn sideways. The bad guys must be in some ways sympathetic, the good guys must be flawed.

Question from a reader: I am an 8th grade student and my teacher has assigned us a reading project about any book of our choice. I have chosen to read your book Deadline. I am not the kind of person who enjoys reading very much, but your book has really caught my attention. As part of my assignment, I would like to ask you how did you come up with the idea for this story?

If you love to write and long to get published, here are a few tips to help you along your path toward publication.

Something to watch for is whether you're tending to go over-the-top in your persuasion. 

In college I wrote to an author I admired asking some of these same questions. He wrote back and said, “Be prepared for an apprenticeship of years.” He was right.

One example would be the problem of evil and suffering that plagues Ollie in my novel Deception. 

The present wrong is because of a combination of people’s ignorance (i.e. lack of omniscience) and injustice. But here’s the good news: God is neither ignorant nor unjust. He knows exactly what’s going on here.

My writing is a ministry, because ministry is service, and every aspect of our lives is to be a service that glorifies our Lord.