by Suzanne Woods Fisher @suzannewfisher I was wandering through Costco the other day when I spotted an old friend. She was hurrying down the aisle, moving away from me, and I had this odd feeling she’d seen me first and didn’t want to get caught in a conversation. My first thought was, “Hey! That’s my trick to avoid talkers!” My …
Three Word Pictures to Describe my Writing
by Dwight David Croy My writing thought life is best described as a percolator, puzzle, and a microscope. Time is needed to think, think, and think before writing. A percolator cannot be rushed but it is working on that perfect cup of coffee. My generation is from the “Java Jive” sung by the “Ink Spots.” Most words in that song …
Write More Than Fiction to Sharpen your Writing Craft
By Cindy Ervin Huff We are fiction writers, weavers of stories that share messages of hope with the world. But there are times when our bucket of story ideas goes dry. These are the times we can turn to writing non-fiction using our fiction skills to add interest to those projects. I’m assuming you are in the Word daily and …
Three Ways Theater Elevates Your Writing
By Tisha Martin We’re familiar with the Shakespeare quote, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” For six years, I worked in college theater, behind the scenes as costume production assistant. What a thrill assembling costumes, makeup, and hairstyles to fit a character’s persona and then to watch the actor become that character on …
Do Readers Care about Point of View?
By B.D. Lawrence @BDLawrence3 Lately, I’ve read a lot of books with different variations of point of view. There are the traditional private eye novels that are always first person. I’ve read third-person point of view. No surprise. There are novels with multiple first-person points of view – by chapter. Multiple third-person points of view, usually by chapter, but not …
The Guidance of the Master
by M.D. House @real_housemd None of us is perfect. All of us need correction (some of us more often than others). Without it, we would stop learning and improving, and even begin regressing. Such has been the case throughout the history of mortal mankind. Our eternal adversary seeks every way possible to hinder and reverse our eternal progress. That includes …
Why Does a Story Work?
By Cynthia Herron @C_Herronauthor Did you ever set out on a road trip or a vacation and somewhere along the way miss a turn and realize you were lost? Maybe that’s why I don’t drive in big cities (says the woman who recently moved to a suburb of a Midwest city that boasts an 800,000+ population). Turning around in the middle of …
The Problem with Fantasy
by Scott T. Barnes Christians writing fantasy literature face one unique challenge that most writers do not: how to deal with religion and spirituality in a made-up world? I provide here only partial answers and reflections, and would love to hear your opinions on this important topic. ‘Fantasy’ fiction comprises books as diverse as The Lord of the Rings; The …
The Essentials of a Well-Layered Opening
by Terri Reed When I first started on this writing journey, I attended many workshops where the speaker said to start your openings with dialogue. Other speakers touted that opening with action was best, while still others said setting is the way to go. Personally, I’ve opened books, scenes and chapters with a variety of different approaches. I don’t believe …
Dream Big, Dear Writer
by Susan Lyttek @SusanLyttek Lately, I’ve been doing a series on my personal blog about Dreams and Memories and how God works in each of them to grow and develop us. When we dream and remember the way God would call us to, we become not only better Christians, but better writers. Having taught many generations of beginning writers, I’ve …