by Telena Tanara Contreras The Arizona summer is an early arriver. In late March a dry breeze descends on the valley to give spring its notice; and a mere month later Queen Summer herself follows behind a procession of scorching rays, ridiculous temperatures, and dramatic dust storms to begin her ruthless reign. Come May, the people are done. Snow birds …
Food Fight!
by Rachel Hauck Boy, doesn’t that title just make you sit up and take notice. I woke up thinking about this today. Food. Writing. Diet Coke. Writing. Chips. Writing. Diet Coke. Writing. Tea. Writing. Water. Water. Water. To undo the chips and Diet Coke, of course. Writing. After returning from a fantastic writer’s retreat, I resolved to cut back on …
What was the Question?
by Beth K. Vogt “I start with a question. Then try to answer it.” – Mary Lee Settle (1918-2005), author The best way to start a novel is with an Inciting Incident, right? The event that changes the main character’s life – shoves them out of their normal world – and sends them on a journey. But there’s something that …
Social Media Isn’t Just about Networking
by Laurie Alice Eakes I have no scientific or statistical data to backup what I’m about to proclaim and explain. What I have is personal experience and three years of observation. Four years ago, I joined Facebook. A year ago, I joined Twitter. Somewhere in there I signed up for Linkedin and Goodreads and probably other social media sites I’ve …
Keeping the Reader in Mind
by Ruth A. Douthitt I teach writing to middle grade students here in Phoenix, and am amazed at their creativity when it comes to writing stories. As a writing teacher, I use a plotting diagram as well as an outline. I also remind my students to keep me, the reader, in mind as they write. Now I have 70 stories …
When is Fiction Not Fiction
by Charlotte Snead His Brother’s Wife, published in October 2012 by Oak Tara, springs from the heart of one who has walked the halls of Walter Reed and seen our brave warriors. The dry places where they fought are only one battlefield. The daily war for month after month, even year after year, to regain their ability to walk, to …
Dealing with Discouragement
by Ian Acheson Jenny* was running late. She grabbed the first seat inside the door, and acknowledged the teacher standing on the opposite side of the room. He welcomed her, unfazed by being interrupted. We were sharing our homework. A 250-word piece on “Daring to Kick the Universe”. We soon got around to Jenny. She prefaced her work by sharing …
The British are Coming
by Christine Lindsay The British are coming! They said this when the Beatles arrived in New York, and they’re saying it again with the recent success of Downton Abbey. Recently an editor of one of the largest US publishing houses says to expect the British invasion in the Christian world of fiction. With my series Twilight of the British Raj …
Seven Ways To Avoid Burnout
by Becky Wade Think back. Have any of your favorite authors simply stopped writing? Some may have retired at the end of a long career. But others likely quit writing because of burnout. It happens! I happened to me once. And it’s something that can stall or derail the dreams of any writer at any time. What precautionary measures can …
Three Steps to Publication – Guaranteed!
by Lillian Duncan All stories have a beginning, a middle, and end. If you want to get published you need to write the BEST BEGINNINGS, MARVELOUS MIDDLES, and EXPLOSIVE ENDINGS. Succeed with those three easy steps and you’ll have a contract before you know it. OK-maybe they aren’t all that easy to master. It took me years to learn the …