by Susan A.J. Lyttek @SusanLyttek In my latest YA series, the Portal Watchers, the prophet Nevv takes the three watchers under his tutelage. Ne-tel, Bern and Garth are all about half Nevv’s age and have barely an iota of his experience. But he doesn’t lord that over them. Instead, he reaffirms what they do have—the dinosaurs and the mission to …
The Big Finish
By Darlene L. Turner @darlenelturner Every writer loves to type “THE END” on their latest work-in-progress, but the process to get to those final pages can be daunting. Can I get an amen? We tend to write and rewrite the first few chapters to make them perfect, but do we labor as hard on our endings? Let’s take a look …
Top 5 Things NOT to Do When Self-Publishing
By Desiree Future @Desiree_Future As a self-publisher of two Christian romance novels, I’m sharing with you the top five things not to do when self-publishing. It is my hope, you will learn from the mistakes that I’ve made. Do not underestimate how much work it takes to self-publish a book. As a self-publisher, you take on the responsibility of running …
The Mysteries of God in the Fantasy-verse
by M.D. House @real_housemd The modern world is awash in fantastical speculations about a multi-verse. In part, this is driven by natural human curiosity and creativity, but it has also become another off-ramp for those who still contend, despite advancements in modern science, that God (or an intelligent designer) can’t exist and that life popped into existence through random processes. …
How a Troublesome Manuscript Was Saved
by Glynn Young Hold on to those unfinished or problematic manuscripts. You never know when they’re due for a rebirth. You pour everything into creating a manuscript. You type “The End.” You smile and give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back. It’s done. You finished it. You set it aside for a few days, and then you reread it. …
The Clock is Ticking
by Angela Hunt No matter what you write, no matter where you write, no matter how you write, you struggle with the same thing I do: time. How do we find the time to create great works of literature while juggling all the other things we have to do? And to top it off, once you realize that your LIFE …
On Becoming a Main Character
by Lori Domingo @LoriDomingo22 It’s safe to say that regardless of your chosen genre, when you write your story, someone’s life will be completely upended. Something will happen that will lead to change in this person – usually for the better, but sometimes possibly not so much. Some event, person, relationship – whatever it may be – will be what …
The Author’s Stir Fry
By Kathy Maresca @so_tweet Have you ever taken a look at a menu and asked the server to hold a particular ingredient? Sometimes it’s possible, but other times the mix has been prepared and cannot be separated. Let’s consider a stir fry entree. It’s nutritious and well balanced, looks fabulous and smells great. But the sensational Asian spices, rice, chicken, …
Make Them Believe
by Tanara McCauley @TanaraMcCauley Long Beach, 1997. I sat in a movie theater with a friend doing something I’d never done before in my life: ugly crying in public. I couldn’t pull myself together, and the frustration of trying made me cry even harder. My only consolation was that my friend didn’t let me cry alone. At the conclusion of …
Goal Oriented or Deadline Driven
By Marguerite Martin Gray Are you goal oriented or deadline driven? I would like to say deadline driven is purpose driven, but it is not all the time. I have always been an over achiever in school, work, life. That has landed me in places where I look around and wonder “Now, what do I do to sustain this?” For …