by Cynthia Ruchti One word started a seismic reaction in the late 1800s. “Gold!” When gold was discovered in the Klondike region of the Yukon, 100,000 men dropped everything and headed for the area. Only 30,000 to 40,000-far fewer than half-arrived. The rest were thwarted along the journey by conditions, ill health, the terrain, difficulties, dangers, and discouragement. It’s estimated …
What Bobby Flay Taught Me About Writing
by Beth K. Vogt Bobby Flay is a celebrity chef and restaurateur. Any books he’s written are filled with mouth-watering recipes, not imaginary characters and plot twists. But as I recovered from a deadline and a migraine – Could the two be related? – I indulged in a mini-marathon of television episodes of Throwdown! with Bobby Flay. Watching Flay create …
A Christian Writer’s Prayer
by Deborah Raney I will soon celebrate the 20th anniversary of the day I wrote the first words of the first prologue of my first novel. It has been a wonderful two decades full of adventure and surprises–and adjustments. Almost ten years into my pursuit of being a “real” writer, my job as a novelist had finally begun to be …
Building Your Platform
by Laura McClellan As an as-yet-unpublished writer, most of my time and attention is focused on actually writing-trying to finish my first manuscript. I read with interest, though, the many blog posts and articles about marketing, and understand the need to build a platform that will help persuade publishers to take a chance on me as a debut novelist. Like …
Sweet Spot for Writing
by Jennie Atkins Have you ever wondered how some authors can turn out novels as easily as baking a boxed cake? I know I do! They seem to throw in all the right ingredients, stir in a mixture of conflict, suspense and romance, and come up with a perfectly baked masterpiece. And they do it in record time. It almost …
‘Tis the Season-For Christmas Stories!
By Carrie Fancett Pagels Doesn’t every author dream of having a Christmas story in print? This year one of my wishes comes true when “Snowed In: A Northwoods Christmas” appears in Guidepost Books A Cup of Christmas Cheer, Volume One, Tales of Faith and Family for the Holidays. I certainly enjoy reading Christmas stories so I hope I’ve written one …
A Silent Abyss
by Michelle Arch Last month I published my 500th post on my literary weblog Archetype. When I created the site in 2009, I had recently begun the dual English and Creative Writing graduate program at Chapman University and wanted to maintain a virtual writing workshop or MAB (multi-author blog) for artistic experimentation. At the time, I was immersed in the …
A Tool for Your Writer’s Tool Kit: Observation
by Becky Wade Jane Austen was a genius with story in so many ways. One particular skill that I marvel over? Her skill at observing others and then transferring recognizable markers of personality and character to the page. Think for a moment about just a few of the characters from Pride and Prejudice. What do the following names bring to …
The Changing World of Publishing
by Rachel Hauck The world of publishing is changing. And you know this unless you just awoke from a long 10 year nap. There are more options available to writers today than ever before. The e-publishing entrepreneurs have changed the way we see book publishing. Writers around the world rejoice. Authors with no platform, or with a stack of rejections …
The End
by Jane Kirkpatrick Today I wrote The End of my latest novel. Of course it’s not really the end but rather the next stage in the production of a book. When I’m reading from the book at a signing, I’m still editing wondering to myself “why didn’t I use a different word there?” Or I skip a line because it …