By Lillian Duncan I thought I’d give my two cents worth of advice to new and/or unpublished writers today. So here goes: Practice! The only way to get better at something is to practice! I just read that it takes 10,000 hours to become proficient in a skill-any skill! That’s a lot of practice. And that means you must be …
Tripping Over Legos
By Cynthia Ruchti Novelists hope their proposals, contest submissions, and manuscripts elicit the response “This is no amateur!” and we want much more, of course, like how the piece moved the reader or editor or judge emotionally which is different for different people, and I’ll get to that later, but for now let’s take a look at how novelists can …
The Writer’s Life
by Henry McLaughlin The writing life is many things. It’s a calling, a mission, an opportunity to change people’s lives for the better. And it is all those things. But it’s something else as well: Writing is a JOB. Over the course of my life, I’ve worked several jobs. Many years were spent in state government trying to protect children. …
Building the Faith of a New Generation
by Cathy Gohlke My life has been changed through stories-especially the stories of Jesus, and writers who, Divinely inspired, penned on parchment the very breath of God. I never worry that the Bible, essential and timeless, will go out of print or vogue-it’s the bestselling, essential, Holy Book of all time. But, I’m concerned that new generations will lose or …
Getting in Touch with Your Inner-Psychopath
by C. Kevin Thompson At the Academy of Achievement,1 Sue Grafton spoke to a group of college-age attendees, encouraging right-brainers in the crowd to consider a life in the Arts. As I listened to this presentation, I was struck by how similar writer’s lives are in so many ways. No matter how fledgling or how established, it seems all writers …
Top Ten Things I Learned about Business Success from Binging on Real Housewives
by Traci Tyne Hilton When I have a hard time getting words on the page, I don’t make the wisest decisions. That said, I’ve watched a lot of the Real Housewives of Everywhere this summer. And you know what? I’ve learned an awful lot about how to succeed in business! 10. Don’t be afraid to look foolish. The Real Housewives …
Time Marches? No, it Sprints!
By Dana Mentink “We are not the father of time. We are the children of time.” – Ilya Prigogine, Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, 1977 Did you ever notice how the older we get the faster time goes? Seriously. Sometimes I think time is not marching but galloping! Now I know what you’re thinking. Nobody has enough time, Dana. Get …
Seasoning the Seasons
by Christine Sunderland We are told that we, as Christians, are to be the salt of the earth. We are, therefore, to season our world, add flavor by spicing it with the love of God. The root of season is the Anglo-French season, to bring to a desired state. The same “desired state” became our calendar season, with the root …
Please With a Tease! Using Social Media to Tease Your Readers
by Janice Thompson So, you’ve written the book of your heart. Now you need to get the word out. How do you do so without appearing pushy? Easy! One thing I’ve learned over the course of seventeen years in the publishing business: Readers love to be involved in the process. They enjoy the interaction and the feeling that they’ve somehow …
Trusting Your Gut
by Suzanne Woods Fisher A few years ago, I was staying in a nice hotel-very safe, oriented to business clientele. As I went into an elevator, a hotel employee came in behind me. He waited until I pressed a button for my floor, then he smiled, as if that was just the floor he needed. Something just didn’t seem right. …