Rambling

The length of time it takes you to say something diminishes the potency of what you say exponentially.

Man, what does that mean?

It means to be concise in any conversation where you want to make a point. Think of it like the point of a needle. A multitude of words broadens the point until it is no longer a sharp, precise point, but a nub that doesn't penetrate.

Translated to writing: Write tight. Don't use an abundance of words to say something simple.

God is good.

That simple statement is potent. But a rambling monologue of how and why and where and when and such and such and more and more diminishes not the truth, but the power of the truth.

The Bible tells us to avoid empty chatter.

Translated to writing: Fenworth and Lady Peg are exempt from this rule because their meandering is part of their personalities.

Proverbs 10:20-22 (The Message)

The speech of a good person is worth waiting for; the blabber of the wicked is worthless. The talk of a good person is rich fare for many, but chatterboxes die of an empty heart.

Translated to writing: Your readers must be rewarded with a theme, a central truth, a takeaway that creates a desire to apply in their own lives an insight they've seen in your novel. If you hare a chatterbox author with nothing of substance to give your reader, your career will die.

And the Bible tells us to keep to the point.

1 Timothy 6:20 (The Message)

^20-21And oh, my dear Timothy, guard the treasure you were given! Guard it with your life. Avoid the talk-show religion and the practiced confusion of the so-called experts. People caught up in a lot of talk can miss the whole point of faith.

So say what you mean and mean what you say. The point is to express yourself in a few words. You will influence people more than if you babble on and on and on and on and on . . .

And the best advice is to back it up with action. Be a living example of the influence of Jesus Christ.

Translated to writing: Show, don't tell