by Mary Connealy My current release, Fired Up is about a doctor in frontier Texas. Because I’m really interested in historical medicine, I recently visited Fort Atkinson, a restored 1820s fort near my home. It had a doctor’s office. Of course it’s historically accurate for 182o and my book is set in the 1860s, but still, I was fascinated to …
Building Your Writing Career While Working Full Time
by Lisa Jordan For the past 15 years, I’ve owned and operated my own state-registered in-home childcare program. My days are very busy and extremely noisy, but I reap many incredible blessings. In 2011 I received my first publishing contract, so for the past two years, I’ve been juggling my day job with my night job. After dinner ends, I …
What Makes us Fall in Love with a Book?
By Judy Christie From the time I stepped into the visiting bookmobile in the second grade, I’ve been in love with choosing books to read. The first place I drove when I got my drivers license as a teenager was the public library. My idea of a fun day is an unhurried visit to a bookstore. As reader and writer, …
How to Keep That Conference Feeling All Year Long
by Melissa Tagg The annual ACFW is one of my absolute favorite times of year. It’s like Christmas meets my birthday meets all those fun college classes. (You know, versus the classes you HAD to take…like anything even remotely math related.) But once you return home, it’s easy to feel a little letdown. A little “Oh my goodness, do I …
Top 5 Tools for the Not-Yet-Published Writer
by Laura McClellan As a lifelong student of the writing craft, I’ve heard and read lots of good advice, tons of suggestions for essential tools for those of us who are working toward a career as a writer. I thought I’d offer my suggestions for the top five tools for pre-published writers: 1. A calendar. All the real experts, the …
The Beloved Character
by Phyllis Keels I used to have a hard time causing my main characters to go through hardship, suffering, or even to allow them to experience conflict or pain. That was before I understood its purpose. That was before I personally understood its purpose. Suffering is not pleasant and we usually avoid it at all costs, but sometimes it finds …
What A Writer Needs
by Dani Pettrey Every writer is different and every writer has different needs while writing. I always write with a piece of dark chocolate and a coffee drink (Mocha, Americano, etc.) at hand. I always write my first drafts longhand, and I’m pretty particular about the notebooks and pens I use. It got me thinking about what other writers need …
Why – Character Motivation
by Anne Greene Want to create unforgettable characters? Then find the WHY for what they do. Find the deep-down inner motivation that drives your character. Character Motivation is vitally important. Motivation engages the reader. Readers relate to character motivations. They make the character live in the reader’s minds. Motivation leads to the character arc. It’s the WHY of Goal Motivation …
GoodReads: An Author’s Friend, or Foe?
by Maureen Lang GoodReads was designed as a place where readers rule! Instead of trusting bestseller lists, readers can go to GoodReads to connect with other book lovers to share their favorites. In little more than a half-dozen years, the site has attracted 20 million members. Not only do readers there feel free to be honest, bold and sometimes blunt …
What’s in a Name?
by Ann H. Gabhart I’m at the beginning of a new story. I’ve written the proposal. I’ve named the main characters. No way can I write their stories without knowing their names. And just pulling a name out of a hat doesn’t work for me. I need them to have the right name. That’s not to say a character has …