by Christine Sunderland In The Fire Trail (eLectio, 2016) I considered the border that runs between civilization and un-civilization, between the civilized world and the wilderness. Once Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, mankind has worked to tame the natural world and its wild-ness in order to survive. Man created communities, cities, safe shelters, protected from …
Vacations Can Stimulate Novel Writing
By Gail Gaymer Martin Anything we experience that’s new to us is something we can keep an eye on and tuck into our mind and memories. As a novelist, I tend to view my surroundings with creativity and story possibilities. It’s amazing what can come from visiting new places using all of one’s senses to capture the aura and experience …
Get Closer to Your Story With the Power of “Why?”
by Carol Alwood Space exists between us and our stories. As much as we can imagine these fictional dreams, we can’t transcribe unfolding events. There’s a rift between what we imagine and what we write. This gap, depending on how wide it becomes, can be the victory or downfall of our books. It may be why readers continue or stop …
Writing Dreams and Conference
Why are there so many posts about ACFW’s national conference? Because we love conference time. Because we believe in the dreams of our members. And we want to provide a place for face-to-face learning, meeting with editors and agents, and participating in worship and prayer time with friends and fellow writers who are also pursuing their dreams. Everything you need …
5 Ways an Author Website Can Help Grow Your Platform
By Elizabeth Ludwig I belong to several organizations for writers. In recent months, one topic of conversation crops up more than any other…author websites, and the questions being asked are almost always the same. Do I need an author website? What sort of content should I include? How often should I update? Obviously, answering even one of these questions could …
Can God Use Your Writing?
By Tammie Fickas Can God use you for His glory? Do you ever wonder about that? Writers are often their own worst critics, and the enemy loves to capitalize on that. He can get your thoughts all tied up in knots until you are certain that your life has nothing of value to offer in written word, and that God …
The Puzzle Method
By Kristi Holl Starting a new novel can be overwhelming. Our minds jump around as we fill dozens of colored sticky notes with snippets of ideas. Eventually we end up with hundreds of bits of information. Where do we start to make sense of it all? One summer I found a solution when putting together a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle with …
Show Up Empty
By Linda Thompson I spent an evening a couple weeks ago at a Bible study, discussing John Chapter 2 and the wedding at Cana. The story is a familiar one. Our Lord turned water into wine, and the master of the feast, who didn’t know where the wine had come from, declared it the best he’d tasted at the feast. …
Battling the Chickenhawks of Writing
by Laurel Blount Let’s talk about chickenhawks–and writing. My sister and her husband recently adopted a beautiful little girl, and our whole family fell in love. Hayleigh is spunky and and refreshingly honest–as three year olds tend to be. My sis, previously blessed with an adorable, rough-and-tumble little boy, has entered the world of pink dresses and oversized hair ornaments. …
A Writer’s Whisper
By Shannon Redmon Writers run scared sometimes. Like my friend Chelsea. She loves to write, but her fear of rejection has kept her fiction writing hidden away in the cave of her desk drawer. When I encouraged her to let others read her stories, she refused with the reason she was to afraid she wasn’t good enough. Elijah, God’s chosen …