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 …
Mastering the Art of Story Description
By DiAnn Mills Mastering the art of story description is an exciting creative process for the writer. We use our imaginations to step into a character’s shoes and live the adventure from page one to the end. Various techniques show fresh and unusual details through the point of view character, and the result immerses the writer and the reader into …
Re-membering Memory
By Christine Sunderland Writers are the bearers of memory, the shepherds of our culture’s past. In my novels, I have worked to call that past into our present, so that we may protect it in the fold of words, words that carefully curate the stories of Western Civilization. In The Fire Trail (eLectio, 2016) I tried to pull together the …
Inspiration in the Writing Life from D-Day
By Sarah Sundin This week we’re commemorating the 75th anniversary of D-day, the Allied landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944. As I’ve studied D-day from the sea, the air, and the ground for my Sunrise at Normandy series, I’ve become impressed with the scope and magnitude of Operation Overlord. Obviously, writing novels is a less complicated and far less …
Do’s vs. Donuts
by Kathy Harris To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time. ~ Leonard Bernstein After several years of neglecting exercise, I joined a gym. Life had come between me and something I actually enjoyed. I didn’t have time. Or so I’d told myself. With family, office work, and “home” work, the day didn’t …
Lots of Digging…
by Kimberley Woodhouse I’ve talked a lot about research on my blogs for ACFW before. But as an author, that’s a huge amount of what we do isn’t it? I teach at a lot of writer’s conferences and groups about research and I get asked a lot of questions about it. How to streamline it… how to do it faster… …
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 …
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 …
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 …
5 Ways to Destroy a Writing Career
by DiAnn Mills Writers receive blog posts daily that offer advice to build their careers. The publishing world has many sides, and each facet needs attention. We read— How to sell more books. How to strengthen characterization. How to write a synopsis. How to create a proposal. How to research and interview. How to increase exposure through social media. How …