By Terry Overton A google search for quotes about writing by famous authors will yield quotes from the likes of Winston Churchill, Earnest Hemmingway, Mary Higgins Clark, Stephen King, Maya Angelou, Agatha Christie, and J.K. Rowling, to name just a few. Some of the tidbits of wisdom these authors offer make us laugh while others are inspirational. Several of the …
December 2022 New Releases
December 2022 New Releases More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website Contemporary Romance: A Christmas Bargain by Mindy Obenhaus — When single mom Annalise Grant inherits a fledgling Christmas tree farm in Texas, she vows to do whatever it takes to make it a success. But when neighbor Hawkins Prescott claims some …
How to Engage with the Writing Community: Join an ACFW Chapter
By Jill K. Willis You’ve finally decided to write a novel. Yay! But you have so many questions about the publishing industry. What software do I use? Which editing guidelines are the standard? How many words should I write for my genre? You’ve taken your first step by connecting with the American Christian Fiction Writers. You may even have joined …
The Smell, Taste, Sound, and Feel of Christmas
By Lisa Schnedler My novel, Bentonsport: A Christmas Story, is about two people, from two eras, who meet two weeks before Christmas. When I sat down to write this novel, I did not plan for it to involve time travel. I intended the story to reflect the emotions I had experienced when I moved from the city I had lived …
Build a Boat and Let it Rain: Faith in the Writing Life
By Patti Richards Music has always been a huge part of my life. Seasons have songs that become my anthem at just the moment I need them. That happened recently with a song called, “Build a Boat,” by Colton Dickson. I was running errands a few weeks back (my daughter got married at the end of October, so there were …
Writing Contests
By Mel Hughes Many people write stories or journal entries that stay in a notebook or occasionally get read to a friend. But authors need to publish in order to get their words out to a wider audience. It’s easier to publish books now than ever before. But how do you get people to read what you wrote? There are …
When You Face Too Many Ways to Open a Novel
By Glynn Young How many openings can a novel have? Let me count the ways. I’d never experienced the problem of too many ways to open a novel. Five novels, and five fairly straightforward beginnings, meant that I never struggled over how to open a story. Somehow, I always knew, and it wasn’t an issue. Until now. I began to …
Scattering the Seed
By Nancy Ellen Hird The Bible calls Satan the accuser of the brethren. And it is true. I’ve heard that sly, nasty voice—many, many times. I’m sure you have too. He wants to throw us off our game. He wants to convince us to leave the field—sit on the bench with our hands folded and our mouths shut. Well, I …
Common Writing Obstacles: TIME
By Henry McLaughlin Over the next few blogs, I’ll be exploring some of the most common obstacles every writer faces at least once in their career. I’ll begin with the obstacle of time. “I think I’ve got a book in me if I could only find the time to write.” We’ve all heard this statement from would-be writers. We’ve probably …
The Benefits of Going Bold (And Putting Fear Behind You)
By Kathy Harris I’m extremely blessed as a writer. There is only one finished manuscript collecting dust under my bed. I wrote it, to the best of my recollection, in about six months. After submitting it—and attending my first ACFW conference—I quickly found out that I had a lot to learn. My second manuscript took six years to complete. Ditto …