by Kathy Harris Fear. It can paralyze. And no one knows that better than a writer who is filled with self-doubt. We may sit down to put words on the paper, but nothing comes out. Or, even worse, we may not sit down at all. If you’ve ever had this happen, you’re not alone. Almost every writer will deal with …
Introvert’s Conference Survival Guide
By Leslie DeVooght As we prepare for the ACFW conference, I wanted to share my tips for introverts attending for the first time. Two years ago, I attended my first Christian writers’ conference, and like many writers, I was scared to death. Being an introvert in a crowd of hundreds of strangers seemed like a cruel joke, but everything I …
Battling the Self-Doubt Virus
By Laurel Blount When I was in college, the local water supply became contaminated with a particularly unpleasant parasite. Soon the infirmary was jammed with moaning students, all of us dealing with the tummy bug to end all tummy bugs. Because the illness was linked to the water system, nobody was immune. Pretty much everybody got it. See where I’m …
Surviving the Sophomore Slump
By Laurel Blount When I sold my debut novel A Family for the Farmer to Love Inspired in August of 2015, I was over the moon. I had finally stepped through the golden door of publication, and I felt sure from now on I’d be dividing my time between signing books, signing contracts and signing royalty checks. But then my …
Writely Dividing
By Kathy Parish Come with me into a very small Sunday School room in a small country church. There are no catchy posters decorating the walls. There are no reference books and no dry erase board as a teaching aid. For we have traveled back in time to 1961. There are one or two fifth graders in the class, taught …
Be a Branch, Not the Vine
By Tracy Popolizio Jesus instructs us in John 15, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without …
Courage in the Battle
By Sarah Sundin The writing life takes courage. Courage to declare yourself a writer when the world tells you to do something “useful.” Courage to set your words before strangers. Courage to speak to professionals who could make your dreams come true or dash them to pieces. Most writers are sensitive souls, and courage does not come naturally to many …
Naysayers In Your Life? One Way to Deal With Them
By Patricia Bradley Today Justice Betrayed, my seventh book with Revell (9 books altogether) releases, and I’m super excited. It’s my “Elvis” book. I mean, you can’t write about Memphis and not have an Elvis book! It also has scenes set in Elmwood Cemetery, the oldest active cemetery in Memphis. Oldest, active cemetery. There’s just something about those words that …
Writers and People Who Write
By JPC Allen There is a difference between writers and people who write. One of my favorite writers, Patrick F. McManus, brought this home to me in his humorous essay, “People Who Hunt”, from the book Kerplunk! Mr. McManus writes that hunters and people who hunt are two different species. People who hunt love the sport, but they have other …
Goals You CAN Achieve
By Cindy Patterson I’ve been thinking about Goal Setting and how it could change the success of many aspects of our life. Especially writing. But where do you start? Where do you WANT to see yourself tomorrow, in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years? The biggest challenge in setting goals is Fear Of Failure. What if it doesn’t work? What if …