The analysis was conducted by ProWritingAid, an online writing assistant service, and based on a list of 100 literary fiction novels collected using reader-rated lists of the best books per decade. It found that while first chapters are crucial gateways to the story, establishing the main characters and the world in which they live, readers are becoming more impatient for a plot to develop. (Farber, The Times)
Read MoreGrok, the AI chatbot on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, says it is now limiting image generation and editing capabilities to paying subscribers, amid a backlash from officials and users after the tool was used to create sexualized images of people without their consent. (Craw, The Washington Post
Read MoreChristian author Philip Yancey said in an emailed statement to CT that he had engaged in an affair with a married woman for eight years and would retire from writing and speaking. (Belz, Christianity Today)
Read More“Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire, is now part of the growing list of books banned in the state’s K-12 schools. That list stands at 22 titles after three new ones, including “Wicked,” were added at the start of the new year. (Harris, KUER)
Read MoreIn the months after the conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated, the college-focused organization he left behind, Turning Point USA, has expanded its reach into hundreds of high schools, rousing gripes and accolades along the way. (Salhotra, The New York Times)
Read MoreChinese authorities are widening a crackdown on Christian groups, this week detaining church leaders in southwestern China as officials across the country intensify a campaign to root out religious organizations beyond the state’s control. (Spegele, The Wall Street Journal)
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