By Shirley E. Gould During this season of thanksgiving, we enjoy a feast of turkey, dressing, casseroles, corn, cranberry sauce and croissant rolls. Mashed potatoes with gravy and sweet potatoes complete the display. It’s a time of family gatherings, parades and football games. While it brings a halt in our writing schedule, it is a prime opportunity to gather fodder …
Why Mentors Matter
By Lisa Jordan When I became serious about writing and joined my first writing organization, I was paired with my first mentor. Even though I understood the basic fundamentals of writing, I needed help with advanced techniques to strengthen my craft. Also, I wanted someone who understood the publishing industry. Having a mentor helped because she understood where I was …
Being Thankful and Giving Back
Howdy! Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and has come much faster than I could have imagined. Where has this year gone? With the coming holiday, I find myself reminded of how thankful I am for so many things. Family. Friends. A wonderful writing community like this one, filled with people of faith who share the dream of being published. …
Blessings in Conflict
By Kathy Harris If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough. — Meister Eckhart Everywhere we turn this time of year, we’re reminded to be thankful. Whether it’s a warm and fuzzy television commercial, a not-so-gentle nudge delivered from the pulpit, or a magazine article on the Top Ten Tips …
“Drawing” on Your Creative Resources
by Betsy Lowery As a writer whose nonfiction offerings lean more toward deep ideas than toward useful application, I’m happy to offer to my ACFW community a very simple and concrete idea. In chapter 9 of The Wrong Type of Love (unfinished sequel to my first and unpublished novel, A Stranger’s Promise), a couple of young musicians need some inspiration …
In the Baking of the Bread
by Marianne Evans My family has this thing about homemade, fresh-baked onion bread. It’s a staple that’s been passed from my grandma, to my mom, and now, to me. I love being the one to carry on the tradition of baking bread because, as I’ve often joked with my kids, it’s a sure-fire way to get them to pay a …
Don’t Quit Your Day Job–Part II
by Elizabeth Musser A year ago (October, 2015), I wrote a post called ‘Don’t Quit Your Day Job‘. Here’s the second part of that post, giving a very personal account of how my day job inspired my newest novel. In the summer of 1984, I, along with dozens of other missionaries working throughout Europe, gathered for a conference in an …
LIFE HAPPENS – But what about your deadlines?
By Pat Bradley If you are a writer, published or unpublished, you have deadlines. True, they might be self-imposed, but they are still deadlines you take seriously. And since you can’t schedule emergencies, what do you do with those deadlines when you have to deal with a serious illness or something unexpected that can’t be put off? I found myself …
Unpublished and on Social Media as an Author? Why?
By Tamela Hancock Murray It’s hard to get through a week without seeing at least one article on platform. Well, here’s yours for the week! We agents ask authors for a platform, but I have found that unpublished authors wonder how and why they should show a professional presence on social media. That question is understandable. Without a book, what …
ACFW New Releases: November 2016
November 2016 New Releases More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website. Biblical: Slender Reeds: Jochebed’s Hope by Texie Susan Gregory — In a deadly race to save her son, a young slave woman dares defy the most powerful man in the world. (Biblical from Barbour Publishing) Contemporary Romance: Crazy Woman Christmas by …