By Mary Lou Cheatham I am an auditory learner. Not just any auditory learner, but one with ADHD. I’m a compulsive multitasker with the need to have some concurring physical motion in order for my brain to work creatively. Perhaps some other writers share such a mindset. When I was forty, I returned to college and became an RN. It …
Authors as Midwives
by Linda Brooks Davis Ever labor over a character and wonder if you’ve birthed a hero, a monster, or a puppet? As a grandmother in her 70th year of life, memories of the birthing process are vague to say the least. But even after 45 years, I recall snippets: the discomfort of a growing belly and the physical changes that …
How Do You Talk?
By Bonnie S. Calhoun I have found a home in YA (Young Adult) and one of the important elements of writing successful young adult stories is the dialogue. They do not speak as we adults do! Listen to the kids, and how they talk, listen to your teens with the text speech…IDK. Dialogue is nothing more than having a conversation. …
How to Handle Criticism
By Donna L.H. Smith I hope to bring a fresh perspective to a sensitive subject. As writers, we’re regularly critiqued, edited, and otherwise told to change our text. It can get downright discouraging if we don’t have the proper attitude toward it. If we have rejection issues (like I do), it can feel personal, when it’s really not. It’s about …
Relatable Characters
By Ane Mulligan Is your character one you either like or at least relate to? Nobody truly likes Scarlet O’Hara, but nearly everyone relates to her on some level. The protagonist needs to have relatable or endearing flaws and quirks. Does the characterization remain constant? After the peak of the character arc, the character may become sensitive to their main …
Recovering the WOW!
By Ian Acheson As December progressed I began to meditate upon a word for 2016. Last year, my word was ADORATION. I’ve loved taking a few moments at the beginning of a day reflecting on a characteristic of God.1 Over the past couple of years I’ve felt the Lord calling me to want more of Him. So much of my …
Mirror, Mirror: Using A Character’s Surroundings to Show & Not Tell
By Hannah Conway Show, don’t tell. I’m sure we’ve all heard that before. Some of us may have even rolled our eyes a time or two upon hearing those words from a critique partner, or editor. I may, or may not, have rolled my eyes…no judging. Show. Don’t tell. Um, hello, it’s a novel. We HAVE to tell some things. …
Unlocking the Doors
By Donna Schlachter Do you sometimes feel, in trying to get your book published, that you’re rattling at one locked door after another? Perhaps you’re struggling to find an agent, or maybe you’ve been submitting directly to publishers and gotten nothing except rejections. Or worse, silence. It’s okay. We’ve all been there. Some of us are still there. And we …
Writing Through Grief
By Darlene L. Turner “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help” (Psalm 121:1 KJV). I stare out the living room window, my vision blurring and tears forming. I shuffle into the kitchen and peer out the back window. Perhaps the view from there would be different and change my situation. It didn’t. My …
10 Things That Steal Our Writing Joy
By Edie Melson I’m a member of several writing groups, and I’m always amazed at the different reactions people have to similar situations. For instance, one writer might leave a critique session in tears, questioning whether or not the call to write was real. Another writer might have just as challenging a critique and leave energized because she now has …