By Ane Mulligan Description serves more purpose than simple describing a place or person. It can enhance or detract from a scene. It can be used to deepen characterization or confuse. Here’s some questions to ask yourself as you write: 1) Will the description draw my readers into the scene? 2) Can they picture it? Can you picture it? 3) …
Satan Hates Your Writing (A Defense Strategy)
by Natalie Monk “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12 Haters gonna hate. And Satan is a hater. He hates your writing style, your blog, your book, your agent, your publisher, your librarian, your favorite football team… …
3 Things Writers Can Learn From Volleyball Players
By Beth K. Vogt My youngest daughter plays volleyball. Well, she doesn’t just “play” volleyball – she competes year-round, first on her high school varsity team, and then on a club volleyball team. This girl is all about volleyball – kind of like writers are all about writing. After watching dozens of high school games this fall, I realized volleyball …
When a Writer Has Only One Month to Promote
By DiAnn Mills What puts you behind in marketing and promotion your novel? Perhaps you’ve been hit with health problems, personal issues, unseen travel, or maybe you didn’t know how or when to pre-launch a book. Don’t despair! The following eight tips will help tie up the date with a big, green bow etched in dollar signs. Even if you …
What About All These Novella Sets?
By Lee Carver From the author’s POV, is this a train I should hop on? What is the dollar payout, the time investment, and the publicity value? Novella sets are being released with increasing frequency, often only as e-books due to their length. If five to seven authors contribute 20,000 to 30,000 words each, a print cannot be economically produced. …
ACFW New Releases: December 2016
December 2016 New Releases More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website. Contemporary Romance: Bella Natale! by Marianne Evans — An aspiring American artist and the widowed, Italian owner of a premier art gallery meet and fall in love in Florence when he champions her work, but there are her American family’s expectations …
It’s Christmas, but the Writing Must Go On!
By Sharlene MacLaren In the words of my friend when expressing dismay, Yikes-Bikes! The manuscript for my next full-length novel is due to my editor in a matter of weeks, and I’m nowhere near finished with my first draft. Further, it’s the Christmas season, and what on this beautiful planet was I thinking on that lovely spring day when I …
Our Intrinsic Value and Voice
By John Tucker Many people from all walks of life identify themselves by the work they do: dentist, engineer, lawyer, or writer. But all of our work, talents, skills, and giftings are extensions of who we are. Our intrinsic value as persons comes from our Creator and dwells in our spirit. It is out of our spirit that we do …
“Repeat Reads”: How to Write Books Your Readers Will Read Again and Again
By Vikki Kestell I wrote in my last blog that producing great Christian fiction is, as Gollum said, “Tricksy.” I discussed redemptive fiction, the art of writing characters who encounter Jesus in organic situations. IMHO, redemptive storytelling is the most powerful and effective method of presenting the Gospel. In this follow-on article, I want to discuss the phenomenon of “repeat …
Coming Together
By Rondi Bauer Olson During this Thanksgiving season, many of us are visiting with relatives. Maybe you’re eating leftovers, or you’ve snuck away for a few moments by yourself. In any case, coming together to thank God for our blessings is not only important for families, but can be wonderful for writers, too. Last summer I signed up for an …