By Angela Beach Silverthorne Someone asked me why I loved to write. So many words ran through my mind, but one stood out. CHOICE. I feel a need to write about the cost of choice, to show readers strategies that lead to success or failure. Life choices are complicated and serious. I’m not talking about picking your favorite flavor of …
Questions from a Young Writer
by Ann H. Gabhart Recently I was interviewed by a young high school girl with dreams of writing the same as I had many years ago at her age. Selena hoped I might reveal some magic path to being a successful writer. I don’t think there is any magic. Instead blood, sweat and tears accompany the writing journey, but joy …
Hold the Dream Lightly
By Lorraine Beatty Dreams are funny things. They can sustain us, they can torment us or they can rip our hearts to shreds. But we can’t live without them. As writers we dream of that first contract or that perfect agent who will find us that top publisher. But sometimes dreams take a long time to materialize. Sometimes not at …
Even the “Big Dogs” Struggle
By C. Kevin Thompson I picked up a copy of Lee Child’s debut novel, The Killing Floor. It was his first Jack Reacher novel. Originally published in 1997, this edition (the fifth edition in 2012) is a mass paperback and contains “a new introduction by the author.” It was this intro that inspired me to keep on keeping on. Child …
The Ministry of Christian Fiction
By Renee Blare Have you ever wondered about your ministry as a Christian author? Is it make-believe stories? Does it lie with ideas in your head? Or with success? Is it a ministry or a career, both? I’ve thought about these questions a lot. For many reasons. How do we walk the fine line between author and Christian…without offending someone? …
Everything I Need to Know About Writing I Learned from a Tom Hanks Movie
By Tamara D. Fickas It’s no surprise to those who know me that I’m a huge Tom Hanks fan. This started with a little known sitcom from the late 70s called Bosom Buddies. At that time, Tom looked like a guy at school I had a crush on. The Tom appreciation lasted even as the crush didn’t. Over the years, …
Staying Dependent
By Ian Acheson A couple of recent online discussions made me reflect on my writing journey. At the same time, I had been reading Exodus 33 where Moses on being commanded to leave Sinai demanded of God that he wouldn’t go anywhere without His presence. Let’s have a look at the passage: “Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say …
Be Still
By Gabrielle Meyer Recently, I learned that one of the publishers I write for is closing their historical line. It was a blow I didn’t see coming as I watched my well-laid plans crash at my feet. After working for five years to get where I was, it felt like I was back at square one. I’d faced rejection letters …
The Way of Words
By Christine Sunderland Christians know that when the Word was made flesh, mankind was changed forever. Just so words that move from speaker to listener, from writer to reader, are also incarnate creations, fleshed with sound and sight. Christ the Word of God, the expression of God, took on human form. Christ was and is God’s love letter to man. …
The Mary I Didn’t Know
By Diana Wallis Taylor Mary is a common name, but the most important person named Mary, was the mother of Jesus. What was there about this young girl from a simple village called Nazareth that made the God of the Universe choose her to bring His son into the world? The Scriptures say that man looks on the outward appearance, …