by Becky Wade “Work, work from early till late. In fact, I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” -Martin Luther Every time I sit down to work on my novel, I’m acutely aware that I’ve taken on something so big that I’m going to fail. I know it, down to the …
More of Allen Arnold, Part 2
If you enjoyed learning about former Thomas Nelson fiction editor Allen Arnold in the October issue of ACFW Journal, here is the second of two blogs that contain more information from that interview. In this segment, reporter Christa Allan and Allen Arnold look at another side of Arnold. CHRISTA: What/who entertains Allen Arnold outside of the office? ALLEN: I am …
More of Allen Arnold, Part 1
If you enjoyed learning about former Thomas Nelson fiction editor Allen Arnold in the October issue of ACFW Journal, here is the first of two blogs that contain more information from that interview. In this segment, reporter Christa Allan and Allen Arnold explore the development of Thomas Nelson’s fiction line in more detail. CHRISTA: After working with advertising agencies like …
I Love to Live on the Mountain Top (at the ACFW Conference)
by Tina Radcliffe Coming home from the 2012 ACFW Conference in Dallas I was reminded of the Amy Grant song, because truly my spirit was soaring on the mountain top fellowshipping with the Lord and my writer friends. A recap of conference for those who couldn’t make it this year: Breakfast Praise & Worship Squeals of delight and hugs at …
Platforms Ain’t Just for Shoes
by Ane Mulligan In the court of publishing, if story is king, platform is queen. There are a lot of good novels so how do you stand out? By having a ready-made readership before you’re published. Editors look for Internet presence. When they Google your name, what do they find? I’ve spent a few years building my web presence. Google …
The Writing Carnival
By Kathleen Y’Barbo-Turner In a few days, I will be attending ACFW’s national conference. Other than the year I got married (2010), I have attended every ACFW conference ever held-including the tiny one in Houston in the early, early days of the organization. I can’t wait to see my writing friends, to meet with editors and my agent, and to …
Words, Camera…and Action!
by Bonnie Calhoun What comes mind when I say those words? Typically someone would think of a movie set in the oldun’ days. Someone had a tripod camera and a megaphone and a snappy board with numbers on it. I want you to try this when you’re writing an action scene. The idea is to get you to look at …
Writing Older Characters
by Lisa J Lickel It’s my birthday today! I’m fifty-one. Made it-yippee. I know, thank you, I don’t look it. But of course I can’t help thinking about age, my family, my friends, and my characters. Commercial and pop fiction isn’t only about sweet early twenty-somethings. The later thirties are not very interesting because we’re too busy with normal life. …
Conference Networking
by Danica Favorite Many people are focused on networking at conferences. Not that networking isn’t important, but I hope at this year’s conference, you’ll also remember the power of simply making friends. The most valuable industry contacts I’ve gained have not been from schmoozing, but from hanging out. One neat example happened six or seven years ago. At the time, …
I Wanna Hold Your Hand
by Eileen Key The calendar page flipped this weekend and we’re now down to hours ’til conference liftoff. People are running themselves ragged shopping, dieting, packing, …oh wait…maybe some are writing, preparing one-sheets, elevator pitches and polishing the proposals. After all this is a writers’ conference. The premier Christian writers’ conference at that. As a conference vet, a board member, …