by Katherine Reay Today is an exciting day for me. My debut novel, Dear Mr. Knightley, releases today – and I figured this was a fun and appropriate place to park myself. I’m supposed to write about writing here because that’s what we do! It’s been a year since Thomas Nelson contracted Dear Mr. Knightley. And as it launches today, …
Choosing Joy Instead of Jealousy
by Lindsay Harrel I’m pretty sure we’ve all been there. It’s that emotion no one wants to feel, because it makes us feel icky inside. Plus, only terrible people have such tendencies, right? Unfortunately, no. As a writer, it’s a feeling that will most likely strike at some point in your career. Jealousy. I was recently doing a Beth Moore …
How Writers Can Hurry Less and Worry Less at Christmas
By Judy Christie When I was a girl, I went shopping at a Woolworth’s store that had a costume-jewelry counter and a ring-sizer that looked like an old-fashioned telephone dial. Curious, I put my finger into a variety of holes until I found one that seemed to fit. But when I tried to take my finger out, the ring-sizer was …
Simple Story Starters
by Jordyn Redwood Most authors I know are people watchers. Sitting and observing people is a fascinating way to generate story ideas. If you haven’t just let your imagination run wild doing an exercise like this-let me offer a few examples. On the flight home from the ACFW conference that just happened in Indianapolis I was seated next to a …
Take the Scare out of these Writing Monsters
by Melissa Tagg So today’s Halloween. I was never all that into the holiday…until my sister had a baby. Now I have an undeniable attraction to the Halloween costume aisle at Target. But anyway, today feels like a good day to post about the “monsters” that scare away our productivity and confidence as writers. Here are the three that tend …
The Devil is in the Details, but God is in the Machine!
By Bruce Hennigan I am finishing up the final galley proof corrections for my upcoming book, “The 11th Demon: The Ark of Chaos” and I am anxious to make sure I haven’t used “deus ex machina” to save the day. While watching reruns of the newer versions of Doctor Who in preparation for the upcoming 50th anniversary broadcast of “The …
It’s a Matter of POV: Toughen Up
by Ane Mulligan Years ago when I first started writing, I wrote short drama sketches for my church. The first one got published and every one after that. Then I turned my hand to novels. After a few months and 125,000 words, I found an online critique group. When I received my first critique, I discovered I knew nothing but …
Perseverance Pays Off
by Deborah Lynne I started to title this ‘Persevere Until The End,’ but then I thought…NO. It isn’t the end-it’s the beginning of a new world for you the writer, the author, the published novelist. That was my dream twenty-seven years ago. Some people are blessed with their first manuscript becoming an over-night success. I wasn’t one of those. If …
Deepening Point Of View – Cheat Sheet
By Loretta Eidson Learning new words in the writing world has its challenges, but capturing the meanings and applying them can be a difficult task. My mental dictionary sent scrambled definitions through the memory chambers of my mind as I struggled to understand. Deepening point of view (POV) was mind-boggling. What did it really mean? In DiAnn Mills new release …
Making Memories
by Dani Pettrey My daughter got married last weekend. It’s hard to believe my baby girl is all grown up and now a wife of her own. My husband is a wedding photographer and was able to capture this gorgeous moment. It was a day of enjoying, making and capturing memories. And, it got me thinking. Isn’t that what we …