Dipping the Quill Deeper: Write Like John. Edit Like Estienne?

by Eva Marie Everson @EversonAuthor

Jesus wept.

Have you ever stopped to really think about that tiny verse of Scripture found in the book of John (11:35) or why it stands as the “shortest verse of the Bible”? I think I may know, but I’ve had to “noodle” on it for a while. 

When John wrote his recording of the gospel message, he didn’t separate the work into chapter and verse. He just wrote. In the 13th century (think about that . . . the 13th century!), Stephen Langton, the archbishop of Canterbury, separated the sentences and paragraphs into chapters. Two hundred years later, Rabbi Mordecai Nathan divided the Old Testament scriptures and then, another hundred years after that, Robert Estienne separated the New Testament into verses. 

So, what made Estienne think to take those two words—Jesus wept—and separate them from the rest?

The Queen of Two-word Paragraphs

Years ago, an editor said to me, “You’re the queen of two-word paragraphs.”

Really, now?

This was meant to be a compliment and I took it as such. But, like many of you, I remember the adage taught in 7th grade English & Grammar. “Paragraphs must be comprised of at least three to five sentences that run along the same thought.” 

Two-word sentences were typically frowned upon in those days, so imagine if I had turned in an essay with a two-word paragraph. I would have been told to make corrections and, knowing me, I would have brought the verse in John to the table for debate. And, I could argue, at least Estienne made sure of a noun and verb.

The purpose of the two-word (or three-word) paragraph is to force the reader to stop and think. To grasp at the emotion therein. Just this past week, I wrote a paragraph in my current WIP with only three words. 

[Name here*] was dead. 

I want the reader to gasp. To feel the pain of this particular character’s sudden death. I want it to hit the reader as hard as it hit the POV character. So I set it apart.

And I believe this is why Estienne did the same. Jesus’ friends, Mary and Martha, were hurting. Gut-wrenching hurt. Their beloved brother was dead and had been for days. Both sisters believed that had Jesus been there, Lazurus would not have died. Even though Jesus expressed to Martha that Lazurus would “rise again” (11:23), she misunderstood His promise. Jesus then assured her with, “He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” Then He asked a most profound question, “Do you believe this?”

In other words, do you believe Me?

John tells us that in seeing Mary cry (the Greek John used here denotes wailing) and those who were with her doing the same, He became “deeply moved in spirit and troubled (11:33c, emphasis mine). 

One cannot stand in the midst of such pain and heartache, in such overall emotion, without feeling it, too. Jesus also knew He was running out of time for those who heard His teachings to get His teachings. To understand Who He was and is and always shall be. That He alone has control over life eternal when we trust—when we believe—in Him.

When we believe Him.

And so He wept. And this is not the same word as the one John used before. This is weeping, which I believe comes from somewhere even deeper than the grief associated with death. It’s simply altogether on another scale. John made a special effort to drive a specific point. Then, centuries later, Estienne pulled those two words away from the rest and said, “Let’s drive it even further.”

Do You Do the Same?

Bible lesson aside, do you do the same with your work? 

Years ago, I read a novel with a final scene that nearly crushed me—as it well should have. I had gone to bed but, unable to put the work down, I propped up with a few pillows, had a low light nearby, and read while my husband slumbered beside me. As I came to the final paragraphs, I slipped out of bed and went to a far room in the house because I knew that when the crying began, it wasn’t going to be pretty. 

Now that’s some good writing.

When you are writing or editing your manuscripts, do you look for those impact lines on the reader? Fiction or nonfiction, books or articles, your goal should be to move those who read your work. Sometimes, far from their comfort zones. We want our readers to gasp and sigh, to laugh and cry—blubber, if necessary—at all the appropriate times. Therefore, choose your words carefully. Separate your work in just the right places. 

Write like John. 

Edit like Estienne. 

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*I’ve deleted the name so as not to give anything away. 

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Eva Marie Everson is the CEO of Word Weavers International, the director of Florida Christian Writers Conference, and the contest director for Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. She is the multiple award-winning author of more than 45 books and countless articles and blogposts. She is also an award-winning speaker and a Bible teacher, a recipient of the Yvonne Lehman Award (2022), the AWSA Lifetime Achievement Award (2022), and the ECPA Gold Medallion (2023). 

Eva Marie is often seen at writers conferences across the States. She served as a mentor for the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild and taught as a guest professor at Taylor University in 2011. She and her husband make their home in Central Florida where they enjoy their grandchildren. They are owned by a cat named Vanessa.

Eva Marie's latest book, THE THIRD PATH JOURNAL, is a companion to her book, the AWSA Golden Scroll Book of the Year, THE THIRD PATH. The Third Path looks at 26 of the questions God asked in the Bible, then makes them personal to the reader. The premise of the book is currently her most asked for continuing workshop at writers conferences.