by Denise Hunter If you’ve been writing novels for any length of time, you’ve gotten stuck. I’m not talking about writer’s block, I’m talking about STUCK. When this happens to me, it means 1 of 2 things. Here they are, and here’s what I do about them. 1. There’s a foundational problem with my plot. (Goal, motivation, conflict, stakes, etc.) …
The Best Writing Partner
By Nancy Ellen Hird About the time I began writing for publication, I heard a businessman say he realized God wanted to be his business partner and so the man wrote up a contract. It occurred to me that God was inviting me to join His business, to be a Kingdom builder with my writings. I was awed by the …
If Kids Don’t Read Like We Read. . .
By Nancy Ellen Hird In her book Writing Irresistible Kidlit (Writer’s Digest Books, 2012), industry insider and former agent Mary Kole writes that kids read differently than adults. She writes they read: • Voraciously • Communally (Friends pass books to each other.) • Socially (Kids talk about books to each other and it is important to be reading what your …
Transitions: Getting From Here To There
by Winnie Griggs Have you ever heard any of the following about your work? • It’s choppy, abrupt or jarring • It seems to jump around too much • It’s hard to follow • The individual scenes feels as if they were written in ‘chunks’ and then pasted together These are all signs that you may need to work on …
Life Happenings Can Lead to Ministry
by Bonnie S. Calhoun Many of you probably aren’t old enough to remember….yeah…I’m dating myself…but there used to be a TV show called “This is Your Life.” In that show the subject would sit and watch a big screen that rolled pictures of their many life events and people from those pictures would sit back stage narrating the scenes. Of …
5 Ways to Engage Readers Between Books
by Sandra Orchard 1) Write a great book. Hooking a reader into your story is your prime opportunity to gain a fan-one who will both explore your backlist and watch for your next release. But… Many of these fans won’t look beyond the search engine of their favorite online retailer, or the shelves of their church library, or the shelves …
Make God a Part of Your Dreams
God calls us many times to delight in him. Paraphrased, from Psalms 1: Blessed is the one whose delight is in the law of the Lord. And the one I want to talk about today, that I always hold close when I think of getting a book published, from Psalms 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD; and he will give …
The My Fair Lady Journey of a Writer
by Lindsay Harrel I’m a total musical nerd. I. Love. Musicals. It’s not just the fact that they’re always full of a variety of characters that make me laugh, cry, and everything in between. Or that everything is set to music (though that’s a major plus!). It’s also about the journey characters make – yes, much like in novels. My …
Book Review: Lights, Cowboy, Action
by Kim Vandel In her debut novel Lights, Cowboy, Action, Lesley Ann McDaniel takes us behind the scenes of North to Montana, an epic western sure to be a box office hit. Well, it will be if Courtney can keep Hollywood diva Angela Bijou from walking off the set. As assistant to the A-list actress, Courtney is expected to perform …
Pinkerton Agents, Inventions, and the Charming Villain: Three Essential Ingredients of a Good Bad Guy
By Kathleen Y’Barbo Will Tucker is a handsome fellow with enough charm and drop-dead good looks to gain more than one wealthy fiancé. And he does. Not exactly hero material, is he? That’s because Will Tucker, the subject of my new Southern-with-a-dash-of-Steampunk historical series The Secret Lives of Will Tucker is not the hero. He’s the villain. Writing a series …