by Janice Thompson Likely you’ve heard the old expression, “Women are from Mars, men are from Venus.” It’s so true, isn’t it? While we may have common goals, our methods of getting there are quite different. Add the various personalities/temperaments to the mix and you will see the potential for both hilarity and adventure. As writers, we must remember that …
Writing Road Potholes
by Linda Robinson Recently, while waiting for my editor to finish the first pass of my third book-to-be, my doctor informed me I needed major surgery. Given only six days to prepare for six weeks of incapacitation, my mind went berserk. I had a book signing and other events scheduled and would miss our church’s Easter cantata and special Sunday …
Facts in Fiction
by Lynn Hobbs Remember the wildfires of Texas during 2011? I lived through them as did many of my friends. When the fires came within two miles of my home, I had to evacuate. Later, after fire lanes were dug and officials cleared everyone in my neighborhood to return home; I carried important belongings with me for weeks in the …
Writing Spaces
By Ane Mulligan Where we write, at least to me, is paramount to creativity. I prefer my office or nook to be neat and organized. My muse likes my writing space neat and only comes out to play when it is. It’s hard to keep a nook clean, though. Where can you keep all the things we writers need? Unfortunately, …
That time I found maple syrup in my bed (aka Deadlines and the Beauty of the Undoable)
by Melissa Tagg Recently I’ve been in the throes of deadline life. And it’s been…interesting. I’ve had deadlines before. As a former reporter, they’re really not anything new to me. But I’ve never faced one quite this tight. Or this, um, challenging to my daily living and common sense abilities. Examples of things I’ve done in the past few weeks …
Christian Novels and Things that Go Bump in the Night
By D.L. Koontz “Christian authors should never touch this topic!” “Thank goodness – something fresh that isn’t afraid to push the edge.” “Clearly this author doesn’t know her Bible.” “I love how she wove spiritual truths throughout the story.” You probably guessed by now that these disparate comments were written about the same book – my novel, Crossing into the …
The Writer’s Journey: When Free Climbing is a Team Sport
by Dani Pettrey In my latest novel, Silenced, my lead character Kayden McKenna has a passion for solo free-climbing. If you’re like me, when you first hear the term “free-climbing”, you picture a lone climber with zero fear (and very little sanity), hanging by their fingernails from a 90 degree angle on a cliff face, with no anchors or ropes. …
Boost Your Productivity with Four Top Tech Tools
by Laura McClellan As a not-yet-published newbie novelist, I don’t feel qualified to advise on writing techniques. But I am a diehard tech geek, always looking for tools that will help me be more productive. I thought I’d share four digital tools that have been indispensable to me as a writer. In no particular order, here are my current top …
Finding Satisfaction In Him
by Becky Wade “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” – John Piper My pastor shared the above quote with the congregation recently. How it struck me! So often, I seek to find satisfaction in things that are fleeting, things that are of this world. I’m continually tempted to look for satisfaction in the …
Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About
by Cynthia Ruchti Like many authors, I wrote several novels before writing the first one that would be picked up by a publishing house. When working on what would become my debut novel, I didn’t-couldn’t-envision the path ahead. Celebrating this month’s release of my third full-length novel, fifth fiction work, eighth book in the past four years, I think back …