by Elizabeth Musser Often when I see a musical, one song will resonate with me so that it replays itself ad nauseum in my brain for days and weeks and months afterwards. Such was the case when I watched the wonderful film Mary Poppins Returns back in February. Here we are at the beginning of May, and I’m still singing, …
What Not to Do at a Book Signing
By Terri Gillespie You finally made it! You’ve spent weeks of preparation: posts on social media, e-newsletters, flyers everywhere, radio interviews, reminders to family and friends, sandwich boards on your dogs. There’s a table and chair set up just for you at the local bookstore. Soon you’ll be meeting, greeting, and signing your name and special Bible passage inside your …
Switching Horses in Mid-Stream
By Suzanne Woods Fisher After more than thirty novels about the Old Order Amish, all set in the same little fictitious town of Stoney Ridge, Pennsylvania, my editor called and asked if I would be interested in writing a contemporary women’s series. “Pick a spot on either coast,” she said. “And think of summer. Think of a place that calls …
Fiction—the Creative Sacred Place
by Terri Gillespie Fiction matters. Just as Jesus used parables to convey or hide a message for His chosen to discover, Christian fiction compels us to think and connect with our Creator. We develop stories that reveal who we are, the state of humanity, and the greatest theme of all, God’s love. As Christian writers, we pull from a sacred …
A Letter to the Lord on Instability and Endurance
By Elizabeth Musser Here I am, Lord, with the sun shining brightly outside the window, at last. The birds are chirping so sweetly, and our sheets are billowing in the wind as they hang on the line to dry. It’s good to be home in France, where I can still hang my clothes out on the line. I’ve been working …
3 Ways to Work Well with an Editor
By Kariss Lynch They say that all good things must come to an end. Sadly, the same holds true in writing. As you turn your manuscript into your editor, you abdicate your position as ruler of your own fictional kingdom in favor of an advisor who tells you all the wonderful things you did wrong and how you can fix …
Writing Dual or Split Time Stories
By Rachel Hauck In honor of my new book, The Memory House, I thought I’d blog about the process or technique of writing a dual time, or split time, stories. What is dual or split time? I’ve heard people use the term “slip time” but that’s not an accurate picture. Slip implies slipping through time. Time travel. In split time, …
What Would I Tell My Unpublished Self?
By Patricia Bradley The day this posts my tenth novel, Justice Delivered will release. For the past five years I have been living my dream of being a writer published writer. I’ve been a writer much longer. Much longer. As I thought about this tenth book, I thought about all the things I wished I’d known when I first started …
Walking on Water
by Christine Sunderland Last month I finished an early draft of my novel-in-progress, Angel Mountain, 73,000 words. I breathed a sigh of relief as I sent it to a group of selected readers. These readers are hardy and sacrificial (and hopefully charitable) friends who have some connection with the themes in the novel. They will view the manuscript with fresh …
Deadlines: One of the Best Kept Secrets in Writing
by Kathy Harris A goal is a dream with a deadline. – Napoleon Hill Want to know a secret? I love deadlines! And I think you should too. Search online for the quote above, and you’ll find it, or one like it, attributed to a number of different people. I first heard it from one of my early writing mentors, multi-published author Kaye Dacus. Despite …