by Donna Wichelman @DonnaWichelman In a November 4, 2020 blog post, Tyndale House Publishers CRAZY4FICTION TEAM asked, “What genre novel should you write?” To help readers hone in on their genre, they had to answer ten multiple-choice questions that narrowed their options to one. Interestingly enough, when I took the test, Tyndale House’s final answer to which genre I should …
Writing a Character with a Disability
by Kathy Maresca @so_tweet Lieutenant Dan. Would Forrest Gump have become an iconic movie without this fictional character? Because I am a rehabilitation counselor and a veteran, it is easy for me to understand why Lieutenant Dan has resonated with millions. Including a character who has a disability might make our novels even more relatable. When one out of five …
Writing…for Such a Time as This
By Terry Overton @TerryOverton6 There is no question our world needs books by Christian authors. We are called through the Great Commission to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. Christian authors may teach the Gospel through stories of redemption. A review of books by Christian authors reveals redemption is incorporated into romance novels, …
It Can’t Be Right When It Feels So Wrong
by Sarah Sundin @SarahSundin Chapter four nearly did me in. Chapters one through three flew as planned, and I knew chapters five and six were going to be exciting. But chapter four took me a full week to write. I’m a plotter, an outliner. Before I start my rough draft, I know what needs to happen in each scene. This …
Living the Story of America Rising
by Christine Sunderland @Chrisunderland As Christian storytellers, are we affecting our culture for good? Are we using the talents that God has given us? Are we making a difference? We live in an increasingly polarized culture, both national and international. As we watch civilization collapse around us, what part can we play and what responsibility do we own, for the …
Plotter or “Pantser” – Is One Better than the Other?
By Lori Domingo @LoriDomingo22 If someone had asked me that question a year ago, I would have proudly declared, “I’m a pantser. I never write from a plot outline. It’s too confining.” I had managed to complete one manuscript without it, and was hard-pressed when I was required to write one for one of my MA classes. It was something …
Martha and Martha: A Lesson in Learning and Writing
By Kathleen Y’Barbo @KathleenYBarbo We all know about Martha from the Bible. Biblical Martha was the Martha Stewart of her day, bustling around showing Jesus her devotion to Him with hospitality without any help from her sister Mary. From this story, we learn that sitting at the feet of Jesus—literally for these biblical sisters and figuratively for us in modern …
Championing the Next (Current?) Great Awakening
by M.D. House @Real_HouseMD I’m no expert on the periods of Christian revival in North America (often spreading farther than that), but there have been at least three: In the 1730’s, in the American colonies In the early 19th century, centered in Western New York State During the late 19th and early 20th centuries Post WWII (this one is disputed, …
Why Poetry Can Make You a Better Writer
By Glynn Young @gyoung9751 Like most of my generation, I read poetry in English classes in high school. It wasn’t until I was a high school senior that I read poetry that stuck in my head. And it was T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” and “Four Quartets.” I read poetry in college as well, but my …
Step Outside You Comfort Zone and Write
by Terry Overton Listening to my Bible Study leader speak in our recent study of Rahab, the point was made very clear to me. God asked Rahab to step out of her comfort zone and do something she probably never thought she would do. He had selected Rahab to take in two spies and to lie to the authorities when …