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. …
Story Chasers: A Twelve-Step Program for Not Becoming a Successful Writer
by DiAnn Mills We fiction writers chase our stories like toddlers on a sugar-high. I’m one of them. I can dream and plan and plot all day long. Yet sometimes I get sidetracked. For writers who live and breathe their addiction but have a problem staying on task, I’m offering a twelve-step program call Story Chasers (SC). These are writers …
Be a Critter-Getter
By Linda Robinson If I were forced to choose only one blessing I’ve gleaned from my membership in ACFW, it would be hard. After much thought, I would have to say it occurred when I chose to become a part of Scribes, their critique group, which resulted in an even greater blessing. While submitting chapters and critiquing others’ submissions, a …
The Wait
by Ian Acheson We writers wait a lot. I expect for most of us the production process of drafting a manuscript is an active one, however, there will be times we will be waiting for feedback from others before we proceed to the next stage. When we’ve completed the manuscript we can expect to wait a lot. Critique groups, editors, …
Who Knows What When
by Cathy Gohlke Access to information affects the motivations, actions, and consequences borne by every character we create. This truth came boldly home to me while writing Saving Amelie, a story set in Nazi Germany during 1939 and 1940. In writing about a society controlled and censored by a dictatorship and rife with propaganda, it was difficult-sometimes overwhelming-to determine who …
Lean on Me: Why Fellow Writer Friends are Important
by Tamara Fickas Writing is solitary work. The idea of a hermit sitting at his computer/typewriter pounding out word after word has been around a long time. I sometimes think that’s what appeals to me about writing. As an introvert, I love the idea of writing in solitude. When I lived in Oregon, I used to drive through the Columbia …
Color Me Purple: Help Others Take an Interest in Your Work
by Debra Koontz Roberson Remember this children’s nursery rhyme? I never saw a purple cow I never hope to see one But I can tell you this right now I’d rather see than be one. Being different may be a horrible thought when you are a child or teenager, but it’s essential when you’re a grownup marketing yourself and your …
Hero or Villain?
by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD, MFA I have a friend who writes cozy mysteries. Her favorite quip when she gets annoyed with someone is to say, “Be careful. I may put you in my next novel.” My friend’s comment provokes some interesting philosophical questions: • If my friend were to put me in her novel, what kind of character would I …