By Cynthia Herron For readers not familiar with Christian fiction there’s the preconceived notion that if it’s Christian it must be wimpy. Or boring. Or something. For example, a friend once asked why I wanted to write for the Christian market and not the secular one. It was actually something I’d thought about a lot. “Well, a Christian is who …
Please Don’t Get Out of My Head
By Victoria Buck When I was a child I had an imaginary friend named Lobby Lou. She seemed real. After a year or so I outgrew her and she stopped playing with me. But did I lose the ability to concoct a friend? I’m sure I didn’t because a transhuman lives in my head now. Or at least in my …
In Celebration of Technique
By Michelle Arch A curious thing seems to be happening in MFA workshops and critique groups. Criticism regarding spelling, grammar, and punctuation is considered hypercritical and offered only with considerable apologies for nitpicking. “Your editor will catch and correct those problems” seems to be the widespread assumption, which disregards entirely the fact that, as unpublished, amateur writers, we don’t yet …
Never Too Old to Learn
By Martha Rogers Since I began writing from Deep POV, my writing has become tighter and much more efficient with much less telling and more showing. This proved once again that I’m never too old to learn more effective techniques for my writing. I refuse to be bound by “I’ve always done it that way” because a closed mind to …
Make Me Care
By Kathleen Y’Barbo Now that I commute for my job, I love listening to podcasts. I can thank my daughter for this habit, as she’s the one who told me I should give them a try. Most of the time, I listen to writing-related podcasts. My list isn’t particularly long, but I do have a few favorites. Joanna Penn’s The …
Never Underestimate the Value of a Power Edit
By Dianna Booher My most valuable learning experience in graduate school also happened to be my most humiliating. Having read the first hundred pages of my master’s thesis, one of my thesis directors, a literary prize-winning novelist himself, handed back my novel with downcast eyes and mumbled something about “needs to be tightened.” One line of his review of my …
Writing the Spiritual Coming-of-Age Story for Teens
By Rondi Bauer Olson I was raised in a very conservation Christian denomination. Conservative, of course, means different things to different people. For me it meant rules. Lots and lots of rules. I had to wear a dress. I couldn’t watch TV or go to movies. And I couldn’t read novels. Or, at least, I wasn’t supposed to. There was …
The Poetry of Faith
by Christine Sunderland Christian writers of all genres – fiction, nonfiction, poetry, prose – have an especially rich inheritance of words and images. Whether we come from liturgical traditions or simpler ones, reformed or not, we are steeped in the poetry of Scripture and the symbols of our faith. We understand incarnation and resurrection. We grapple with the profound mysteries …
Sometimes Real Life Can Become a Novel
By Ane Mulligan The second book in my Chapel Lake series, Chapel Springs Survival,came from a real life event-and became a mother’s retribution. Insert creepy music and evil laughter. The day started out normal, boring even. Then I got a phone call from our eldest son. “Hey, Mom. I emailed you some pictures. Take a look and call me back.” …
Where Would My Characters Be?
Loretta Eidson “I’m off to play golf with the guys.” My husband yelled from the front door. I ran to the top of the stairs so he’d know I heard him. With the golf bag hung on his shoulder, he waited for my response. “Okay, have a good time. I’ll be hanging out with my friends.” “Your friends? Who?” His …