by Terri Gillespie Have we slept through a harvest? He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son. Proverbs 10:5, TLV Crops and harvests. Commitments. Follow-through. Seeing a writing project through to completion. Sowing into our craft and reaping success in publishing. When we live these guidelines we are …
Writing What You Don’t Know—Research
By Gail Gaymer Martin Writers are so often told ‘write what you know.’ Yet sometimes ideas hit us that encompass things we do not know. This happens to me, and though I always research details in my books even if I have some knowledge, sometimes story ideas are far from my usual story line knowledge. Recently moving from Michigan to …
Lots of Digging…
by Kimberley Woodhouse I’ve talked a lot about research on my blogs for ACFW before. But as an author, that’s a huge amount of what we do isn’t it? I teach at a lot of writer’s conferences and groups about research and I get asked a lot of questions about it. How to streamline it… how to do it faster… …
In Praise of Reading
By Glynn Young I was an early reader. I don’t recall how early, but I do remember riding my red bicycle to the dime store when I was six, to spend 59 cents to buy Trixie Belden and the Secret of the Mansion. It was the first of many such trips, for more Trixie Belden mysteries, Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island, …
When to Invest in Your Writing Career
By Carol Alwood Writers have far too many decisions to make. I’m not saying we’re the only professionals bogged down by options and the pressing need for results. Other professions have too many choices to make too. Besides being a writer, I’m an elementary school teacher. They say teachers make 1,500 decisions in a day. This turns out to be …
Look Up!
by Elizabeth Musser Often when I see a musical, one song will resonate with me so that it replays itself ad nauseum in my brain for days and weeks and months afterwards. Such was the case when I watched the wonderful film Mary Poppins Returns back in February. Here we are at the beginning of May, and I’m still singing, …
Switching Horses in Mid-Stream
By Suzanne Woods Fisher After more than thirty novels about the Old Order Amish, all set in the same little fictitious town of Stoney Ridge, Pennsylvania, my editor called and asked if I would be interested in writing a contemporary women’s series. “Pick a spot on either coast,” she said. “And think of summer. Think of a place that calls …
Fiction—the Creative Sacred Place
by Terri Gillespie Fiction matters. Just as Jesus used parables to convey or hide a message for His chosen to discover, Christian fiction compels us to think and connect with our Creator. We develop stories that reveal who we are, the state of humanity, and the greatest theme of all, God’s love. As Christian writers, we pull from a sacred …
A Letter to the Lord on Instability and Endurance
By Elizabeth Musser Here I am, Lord, with the sun shining brightly outside the window, at last. The birds are chirping so sweetly, and our sheets are billowing in the wind as they hang on the line to dry. It’s good to be home in France, where I can still hang my clothes out on the line. I’ve been working …
Writing Dual or Split Time Stories
By Rachel Hauck In honor of my new book, The Memory House, I thought I’d blog about the process or technique of writing a dual time, or split time, stories. What is dual or split time? I’ve heard people use the term “slip time” but that’s not an accurate picture. Slip implies slipping through time. Time travel. In split time, …