By Deborah K. Anderson (Original version published in CFOM, December 2011) If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. ~Henry David Thoreau I’ve always marched to the beat of my own drum, at least I …
To Market, to Market to Buy a Fat Pig…
by Crystal Laine Miller “…Home again, home again, jiggedty-jig!” How many times did we sing that song as kids? And we caught many product commercials on our three-channel TV that we noticed from singing the interesting jingles. Well, guess what? Authors have to market their product too, in interesting ways. Here are a few tips from a well-read reader-me. First, …
ACFW Rewind: Learning by Teaching
(Editor’s Note: Today, ACFW re-runs a worthwhile post from the past, in this case June 2012, in what we call the ACFW rewind, highlighting previous posts that deserve a second look. ) by Rachel Hauck At the ACFW conference in Houston ’03, I watched the bubbly and newly published Susan May Warren dash off to teach a writing workshop one …
The Write Stuff
by Michelle Arch As an MFA student, a short fiction writer, an aspiring novelist, and a literary blogger, I reflect frequently on the issues of universality and marketability in relation to art. Whether composing a chapter of my novel, a short story, or even a mere blog post, questions of significance dog me: What is writeaboutable? What merits the deconstruction …
Get moving!
by Myra Johnson January is speeding swiftly away, and (if I were to hazard a guess) so are many of our New Year’s resolutions. So to help us get back on track, I’d like to talk about . . . well, actually I would rather NOT talk about . . . the dreaded E word. Not E-mail. Not Edits. Not …
Too Much of a Good Thing?
by Sherri Stone As a relatively new and pre-published writer I have spent my first year in ACFW trying to soak up and follow every last drop of writing advice I’ve received from my fellow members this year. Frankly, I’ve found it tremendously overwhelming. My problem has been that of many beginners: 1) I didn’t know enough to ask intelligent …
Critique Partner Matchmaking
by Melissa Tagg This past year has been one of dreams-come-true for me. Only dream that hasn’t come true? A proposal from Tim Tebow. Um, I guess he was too busy playing football. (Playing being a relative term, in this case. Yeah, I might need to work on my grudge against the Jets!) But one of the coolest things that …
Days of Silence
by Dr. Richard Mabry God made a promise to an old and childless Abraham that someday he would be the father of many nations. Fourteen years after that, Isaac was born to Abraham and his wife, Sarah. Did you ever wonder what happened during the prolonged period of waiting the patriarch endured? Did Abraham worry because he was getting older …
Mapping out the New Year
By Tina Radcliffe With the New Year comes reflection and evaluation as we map out the course for the year ahead. In order to reach your goal you must have a map and you have to plan. Come on. When was the last time you started a long road trip without checking the oil, the tires, gassing up and buying …
What Writers Do on Summer Vacation
by Mary Ellis I’m occasionally asked by readers how I spend my vacations. Touring Europe with a rail-pass? Spending a month meditating in the mountains of Tibet to prime the creative well? Or perhaps relaxing on a secluded beach somewhere tropical, unspoiled and complete with spa facilities? Actually, many writers I know use vacations to research their next book or …