By Patricia Collier I pray for each book I write: before, during, and after I finish it. The first book in my series, The Hornet’s Nest, seemed pretty much “follow the expected path for my characters.” Then I prayed about what I had written. I felt a nudge to make a change to the story path. I even consulted my …
From To-Do to Ta-Da!
By Sarah Sundin We work hard to craft excellent novels. We nurture relationships with editors, agents, and fellow writers. But one common way writers undo years of reputation building is by missing deadlines. We don’t want to do that! So how can we avoid missing deadlines, little and big? How can we wrestle that overwhelming, overflowing to-do list into submission? …
Stretch Your Brain for Creativity
By Terry Overton As a new writer curious about the craft of writing, I aspired to learn all aspects of writing fiction. Authors’ voices, writing styles, and uniquely developed characters are fascinating. How was Hemmingway’s writing different from Fitzgerald or Austin? How are the styles of contemporary fiction authors different from writers of years past? How can authors have such …
Common Writing Obstacles: Perfectionism
By Henry McLaughlin Perfectionism is the bane of many a writer, even experienced ones. Each story must be perfect or it’s no good. There’s no middle ground. There’s no forgiveness for ourselves. We don’t allow for the fact we’re human, we’re frail, and, despite our pride, we don’t know it all. Perfectionism plagued my early years as a writer, and …
Worthy Words: Prophetic Plots
By Christine Sunderland We are in the season of prophecy, of Advent, in which Old Testament lessons foretell the coming of the Messiah in Bethlehem, and also envision the Second Coming, the Apocalypse, the End of Days when Christ returns “in a cloud with power and great glory.” (Luke 21:25+). A third “Advent” is the coming of Our Lord into …
What Derails Your Writing Dream?
By Tara Johnson “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.” ~Thoreau Each year, I meet countless people who tell me they dream of writing, but only a fraction of them take the first step to begin. Why? Here are the most common excuses: Fear of failure Writers fail all …
Why We Write
By Terry Overton A google search for quotes about writing by famous authors will yield quotes from the likes of Winston Churchill, Earnest Hemmingway, Mary Higgins Clark, Stephen King, Maya Angelou, Agatha Christie, and J.K. Rowling, to name just a few. Some of the tidbits of wisdom these authors offer make us laugh while others are inspirational. Several of the …
Build a Boat and Let it Rain: Faith in the Writing Life
By Patti Richards Music has always been a huge part of my life. Seasons have songs that become my anthem at just the moment I need them. That happened recently with a song called, “Build a Boat,” by Colton Dickson. I was running errands a few weeks back (my daughter got married at the end of October, so there were …
Scattering the Seed
By Nancy Ellen Hird The Bible calls Satan the accuser of the brethren. And it is true. I’ve heard that sly, nasty voice—many, many times. I’m sure you have too. He wants to throw us off our game. He wants to convince us to leave the field—sit on the bench with our hands folded and our mouths shut. Well, I …
The Benefits of Going Bold (And Putting Fear Behind You)
By Kathy Harris I’m extremely blessed as a writer. There is only one finished manuscript collecting dust under my bed. I wrote it, to the best of my recollection, in about six months. After submitting it—and attending my first ACFW conference—I quickly found out that I had a lot to learn. My second manuscript took six years to complete. Ditto …