Doing Big, Crazy Things

ACFWAuthors and writing, Encouragement, Faith, Fear/Doubt, marketing, writing 3 Comments

By Sara Davison Have you ever made the spontaneous decision to do something you know is crazy but that you also know is absolutely the right thing to do (but it’s still scary)? That’s how I felt a few weeks ago when I decided I was going to release a book, The Color of Sky and Stone, this November that …

Make Them Believe

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Encouragement, Faith, tips, writing 8 Comments

by Tanara McCauley @TanaraMcCauley Long Beach, 1997. I sat in a movie theater with a friend doing something I’d never done before in my life: ugly crying in public. I couldn’t pull myself together, and the frustration of trying made me cry even harder. My only consolation was that my friend didn’t let me cry alone. At the conclusion of …

Average, But Obedient

ACFWACFW, Advice, Authors and writing, Encouragement, Faith, Fear/Doubt, writing 9 Comments

by Heidi Gray McGill How do I stand out and reach the top in the Christian Indie world when I’m average? There are authors with English degrees and years of experience under their belt. Others don’t need to choose between paying for an editor or rent. I have a decent number of followers on social media, but Twitter and TikTok …

When Dreams Age

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Encouragement, Faith, writing 12 Comments

By Tanara McCauley @TanaraMcCauley I attended my first writer’s conference over a decade ago. I don’t know how I learned writer’s conferences were even a thing, but I remember packing up my work-in-progress and flying to Denver with a mini entourage of husband, young kids, and in-laws all cheering me on. Although already in my mid-thirties at the time, I …

God’s Inspiration and The Butterfly Effect

ACFWACFW, Advice, Authors and writing, Encouragement, Faith, writing 5 Comments

By Darlene Corbett @darlenecorbett.com Remember the Butterfly Effect? For those who forgot or are unfamiliar with its origins, here’s a quick reprisal: In 1963, the scientist Edward Lorenz proposed a startling idea. He suggested that the slight movements of a butterfly’s wings could create tiny changes in the atmosphere, causing a greater impact later. Many scientists viewed this as outlandish, …

Writing…for Such a Time as This

ACFWAuthors and writing, Faith, Friends of ACFW, writing 2 Comments

By Terry Overton @TerryOverton6 There is no question our world needs books by Christian authors. We are called through the Great Commission to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. Christian authors may teach the Gospel through stories of redemption. A review of books by Christian authors reveals redemption is incorporated into romance novels, …

Living the Story of America Rising

ACFWAuthors and writing, Encouragement, Faith, Friends of ACFW, writing 1 Comment

by Christine Sunderland @Chrisunderland As Christian storytellers, are we affecting our culture for good? Are we using the talents that God has given us? Are we making a difference? We live in an increasingly polarized culture, both national and international. As we watch civilization collapse around us, what part can we play and what responsibility do we own, for the …

What is that to You?

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By Sara Davison As writers, I believe we wrestle with many of the same issues: self-doubt, lack of confidence, times of being blocked creatively, discouragement. Most of us also have a tendency to compare ourselves to other writers, worrying more about what they are doing or achieving than focusing on our own lives and work. Peter struggled with this. When Jesus …

The Practice of Perseverance

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Encouragement, Faith, Perseverance, writing 4 Comments

By Lisa Kelley @LisaKelleyWrite Waiting to be published can be daunting as well as disappointing. I closed out 2022 empty. I had semi-finaled in a writing contest but didn’t progress. One judge suggested I shouldn’t have made it to the semi-finals. I had a manuscript rejected, and I’d finished my fifth novel only to discover, after one of those hard …