By Lenora Livingston “Paying it Forward” is an expression for describing the recipient of a good deed repaying it to others instead of to the original benefactor. What better way can a person show their thankfulness than to participate in the rippling effects of goodness. At age 78, I wish I could go back and thank my teachers who most …
Finding Acceptance in a Tough Writing Industry
By Emily Conrad When responses to my debut novel started to come in from my launch team, a friend asked if the positive feedback encouraged me. Though, yes, the praise was a momentary boost, and no, I don’t want to consider what might’ve happened in my heart if the initial response had been the opposite, I had to confess that …
Storytelling Lessons (For Every Writer!) from the Gospels
By Susan A.J. Lyttek As Christian fiction writers, we weave our faith into our stories whether we mention God or not. We can’t help it because it is intrinsically part of who we are. And that is a good thing. It means for the non-Christian that our stories are salty and make them thirst for something more than this limited …
Perfectionism: How Can Something So “Perfect” Be So Wrong?
by Kathy Harris I’m a perfectionist. And that’s not a good thing. Taken to the extreme, perfectionism can lead to serious psychological issues and is, in fact, on the rise, especially among young people. (See, Harvard Business Review, January 26, 2018.) But, even those of us who have a casual acquaintance with perfectionism will find that our work can suffer …
Ten Wrongs Don’t Make a Writer
How to Avoid the Top Ten Fatal Flaws in Fiction By Kathleen Y’Barbo It is not yet 2019, but it won’t be long until we’re several weeks—or months into the new year, the time when New Year’s resolutions begin to lose their shine and some of us begin to wonder if we should have resolved NOT to make any …
Christmases that Rock Your Characters’ World
By Susan A.J. Lyttek When I signed up to write this Christmas blog post, I had dozens of ideas on what I would write about. I knew, somehow, the star of my post would be my seasonal mystery Plundered Christmas. It still will be, just not in any of the directions I had originally considered. For instance, I had notes …
Make Room for Him
by Shirley E. Gould Christmas is upon us! It happens every year…the food, the search for gifts, company parties, Christmas programs and family gatherings crowd our schedules, devour our finances and sap our strength. We can get overwhelmed in the twinkle lights and tinsel. The lines get blurred. Today, the grinch teams up with Scrooge to divert us from the …
Character Description: Two Challenges
By Jean Kavich Bloom As a fiction editor, I find novelists can encounter a couple of challenges when it comes to character descriptions: (1) keeping track of them so they don’t accidently give their heroine, for instance, blue eyes in chapter 1 and brown eyes in chapter 12, and (2) conveying them to readers more creatively than what can seem …
How to End 2018 with Success
By Beth K. Vogt “I never dreamed about success, I worked for it.” — Estee Lauder (1908-2004), American businesswoman I came across the quote by businesswoman Estee Lauder while working on several different blog posts. Her words encompasses a truth I believe: Living the dream – any dream – means doing the work. If you’re reading this blog post, odds …
Getting Naked on the Page
By Lenora Livingston In my lifetime, I have spent a lot of time, money, and effort trying to improve my writing skills. I have taken long courses, short courses, attended writing seminars, and joined writing groups. But the best advice ever given to me came absolutely free from Mark Weston. Who is Mark Weston? The younger generations probably wouldn’t have …