by Glynn Young Something strange happened to me as I was writing my third novel, Dancing King. I fell in love with one of the characters. Perhaps “fell in love” is too strong. “Became fascinated with” might be more apt. It was a character who came seemingly out of nowhere, a minor character, in fact, one whose presence wasn’t crucial …
Genealogy of Faith
by Marianne Evans The genealogy of my faith life begins, like most people, at the feet of my mom and dad. They raised me to embrace my faith, but make it an individual, personal matter. They didn’t spoon-feed me doctrine or theology. Instead, they led by example, showing me integrity, heart, service and love in all that they do. Nothing …
7 Qualities to Look For in a Writing Mentor
By Beth K. Vogt Almost every writer I know is looking for a mentor – or was looking for a mentor at one time in their writing career. And yet, when asked what we’re looking for in a mentor, how many of us go beyond “I want someone to help me become a better writer” answer? We all want to …
Tips for Fighting the Dreaded Writer’s Block
By Amy Clipston Through the years I’ve found that my book projects fall into two categories—they either write themselves or writing them feels like having my teeth drilled. In other words, the characters either tell me the story or I push them through the story as if they were dead weight. My book Room on the Porch Swing, which releases …
Were You Called to Write?
by Kathy Harris How can I really know if I’m called to write? Haven’t we all wondered from time to time? Your answers to the following questions may help you decide. Do you write because you can’t not write? Do you love to play with words—to spin stories? Do characters and plots and scenes fill your head, sometimes to the …
What About Book Reviews?
By Nora St. Laurent A book review is a thoughtful discussion of a book’s content, style, strengths, value, limitations and recommendation for it (or not) for possible readers of a genre and/or subject. Here is an example of a possible compact review, “this book is a wild ride of adventure, romance and suspense. It would work well for a book …
Observations from a Writer
By Denise Hunter Most writers are observers by nature, aren’t we? We observe ourselves, we observe others, then we use what we observe in our writing. Like the other day. I was driving down the road alone and had to brake suddenly for a cat. What was my response to potential disaster? (Yeah, some people don’t consider a dead cat …
Killing Your Darlings
By Kariss Lynch “Quoting the great William Faulkner, in writing you must be willing to kill your darlings,” my hippie poetry professor imparted one class. I remember thinking he was crazy. If you really think a scene or a line is that great in your story, why in the world would you cut it? Over the years, I believe his …
Stuck
By Darlene L. Turner It’s every writer’s worst nightmare. That dreaded blinking cursor on a white screen. The thoughts and storyline just won’t come. We’ve tried hard in preparing our stories, but then when the rubber meets the road . . . the words become stagnant. At least this is how I’ve been feeling over the past while. I have …
How to Write a Novel
By Henry McLaughlin When I’m introduced as a writer to a group of non-writers I get a wide range of reactions. Some look at me as if I’m from another planet. Others back away as if they might catch a strange disease. In my early days, one person asserted I couldn’t be a writer because I wasn’t published yet. Made …