By Dana Mentink “We are not the father of time. We are the children of time.” – Ilya Prigogine, Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, 1977 Did you ever notice how the older we get the faster time goes? Seriously. Sometimes I think time is not marching but galloping! Now I know what you’re thinking. Nobody has enough time, Dana. Get …
Seasoning the Seasons
by Christine Sunderland We are told that we, as Christians, are to be the salt of the earth. We are, therefore, to season our world, add flavor by spicing it with the love of God. The root of season is the Anglo-French season, to bring to a desired state. The same “desired state” became our calendar season, with the root …
Please With a Tease! Using Social Media to Tease Your Readers
by Janice Thompson So, you’ve written the book of your heart. Now you need to get the word out. How do you do so without appearing pushy? Easy! One thing I’ve learned over the course of seventeen years in the publishing business: Readers love to be involved in the process. They enjoy the interaction and the feeling that they’ve somehow …
Trusting Your Gut
by Suzanne Woods Fisher A few years ago, I was staying in a nice hotel-very safe, oriented to business clientele. As I went into an elevator, a hotel employee came in behind me. He waited until I pressed a button for my floor, then he smiled, as if that was just the floor he needed. Something just didn’t seem right. …
Story Chasers: A Twelve-Step Program for Not Becoming a Successful Writer
by DiAnn Mills We fiction writers chase our stories like toddlers on a sugar-high. I’m one of them. I can dream and plan and plot all day long. Yet sometimes I get sidetracked. For writers who live and breathe their addiction but have a problem staying on task, I’m offering a twelve-step program call Story Chasers (SC). These are writers …
Stick with the Story
by Jill Elizabeth Nelson Any novelist who has spent much time in the fiction-writing world has probably heard the term “sagging middle.” Sags develop when a story loses momentum and begins to meander or bog down. I’m of the opinion that the issue usually isn’t so much a single sag as a number of sags, clustered or scattered throughout. Envision …
Lean on Me: Why Fellow Writer Friends are Important
by Tamara Fickas Writing is solitary work. The idea of a hermit sitting at his computer/typewriter pounding out word after word has been around a long time. I sometimes think that’s what appeals to me about writing. As an introvert, I love the idea of writing in solitude. When I lived in Oregon, I used to drive through the Columbia …
Color Me Purple: Help Others Take an Interest in Your Work
by Debra Koontz Roberson Remember this children’s nursery rhyme? I never saw a purple cow I never hope to see one But I can tell you this right now I’d rather see than be one. Being different may be a horrible thought when you are a child or teenager, but it’s essential when you’re a grownup marketing yourself and your …
Keeping Your Hero Honest
by Rebecca DeMarino In writing fiction, you need a strong MC and if you are writing romance you will need two, and one of them better be a hero. Readers of romance want their heroes to not only be strong, but handsome, loveable and yes, heroic. And if it’s Christian fiction our hero better be strong in his faith, if …
Houston-The Most Diverse City in the US
by DiAnn Mills I love Houston. It’s home, and that makes it the most special place on the planet. Oh, I know you’re thinking of cowboys and oil wells, Texans and Astros. And those things are true. But Houston appeals to many people groups. According to the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University, Houston ranks as the most …