by Lee Tobin McClain Why spend all that money going to an ACFW conference? Many reasons, but my main one is that it jump-started my writing career. Here’s how it played out: Five years ago, I attended ACFW in Indianapolis. I’d signed up for two agent appointments, a mentor critique, and a volunteer gig—basically everything possible. When I had car …
Speaking with an Attitude
By Elizabeth Musser How do we, as authors, handle the speaking opportunities given us? I was recently asked to speak at a women’s luncheon event at a country club. When the gal (I’ll call her Cindy) asked about my availability, I explained very clearly that I would be speaking about my newest novel, told her what my honorarium would be, …
Plotter or Pantster? Yes
By Suzanne Bratcher You’ve heard the debate: when you write, do you plan first or do you write from the seat of your pants? Until last week I was certain I was a plotter. Once I have the germ of an idea, I draw a story arc, divide the arc into three acts, divide each act into scenes, and list …
Take Me Out to the Ballpark
By Tamara D. Fickas I’m not a big sports fan. I don’t really follow any of the big sports teams, although I do sometimes root for a team based on being the underdog, or the favored team, or because I like a player. Despite not being into sports, I do love baseball. I managed the baseball team in high school …
Characters or Story: What Drives Your Writing?
by Glynn Young I was having an email exchange with a writer and poet who had just published a novel. Specifically, we were discussing how each of us wrote fiction. She had trouble, she said, with multi-viewpoint novels. Her stories tended to be character-driven, and especially lead character-driven. She said she found multi-viewpoint novels confusing. Multi-viewpoint novels are what I …
Truth in Fiction
By Melinda Eye Cooper When I was in the sixth grade, I entered an essay contest at school. The theme was What I want to be. I considered the topic for days and tossed around ideas about what to write. For the first time in my life, I asked myself the question, “What do I want to be when I grow …
Changing the Past
By Loretta Eidson Last Sunday, Steven Goudeaux, pastor of our East Memphis church, made several powerful statements during the morning service, but one, in particular, caught my attention. “You can change your past,” he said. I lifted my eyebrows and listened while I waited for his explanation. My curiosity piqued. There’s nothing too difficult for God, but how would Pastor …
Deadlines: Friend or Foe?
By Jan Drexler Whether self-imposed or contracted, deadlines are a real part of writing. And real writers need to know how to handle deadlines in the way that works best for them. Last fall, I had a tight deadline. I buckled down to work on it and was making good progress…until a family crisis intervened. I don’t know about you, …
The Writing Marathon
By Mary Lou Cheatham Everyone has a unique story. Each author travels at a different pace along the writing journey. The joy of running along in the pack may not be as exciting as winning, but what a delight it is to be in the race. The process has its own rewards which some consider better than the thrill of …
Let’s Go Back! Flashbacks and Making Them Work
By Cindy Patterson As writers, it’s our job to transport our readers into our stories so deeply, they feel as though they’re no longer reading. This is no easy task. We spend so much time working out our plots, scenes, conflict, and most important, creating our characters, that sometimes we want to spend more time in the history of our …