by Denise Hunter If you’ve been writing novels for any length of time, you’ve gotten stuck. I’m not talking about writer’s block, I’m talking about STUCK. When this happens to me, it means 1 of 2 things. Here they are, and here’s what I do about them. 1. There’s a foundational problem with my plot. (Goal, motivation, conflict, stakes, etc.) …
The Best Writing Partner
By Nancy Ellen Hird About the time I began writing for publication, I heard a businessman say he realized God wanted to be his business partner and so the man wrote up a contract. It occurred to me that God was inviting me to join His business, to be a Kingdom builder with my writings. I was awed by the …
If Kids Don’t Read Like We Read. . .
By Nancy Ellen Hird In her book Writing Irresistible Kidlit (Writer’s Digest Books, 2012), industry insider and former agent Mary Kole writes that kids read differently than adults. She writes they read: • Voraciously • Communally (Friends pass books to each other.) • Socially (Kids talk about books to each other and it is important to be reading what your …
Transitions: Getting From Here To There
by Winnie Griggs Have you ever heard any of the following about your work? • It’s choppy, abrupt or jarring • It seems to jump around too much • It’s hard to follow • The individual scenes feels as if they were written in ‘chunks’ and then pasted together These are all signs that you may need to work on …
Life Happenings Can Lead to Ministry
by Bonnie S. Calhoun Many of you probably aren’t old enough to remember….yeah…I’m dating myself…but there used to be a TV show called “This is Your Life.” In that show the subject would sit and watch a big screen that rolled pictures of their many life events and people from those pictures would sit back stage narrating the scenes. Of …
5 Ways to Engage Readers Between Books
by Sandra Orchard 1) Write a great book. Hooking a reader into your story is your prime opportunity to gain a fan-one who will both explore your backlist and watch for your next release. But… Many of these fans won’t look beyond the search engine of their favorite online retailer, or the shelves of their church library, or the shelves …
The My Fair Lady Journey of a Writer
by Lindsay Harrel I’m a total musical nerd. I. Love. Musicals. It’s not just the fact that they’re always full of a variety of characters that make me laugh, cry, and everything in between. Or that everything is set to music (though that’s a major plus!). It’s also about the journey characters make – yes, much like in novels. My …
Plotting With God: Turning Story into a Journey of Faith
by Margaret Brownley The challenge for any Christian writer is to tell a good page-turning story that also enlightens and encourages readers. For the writer starting out, working a meaningful faith arc into a manuscript can be daunting (It was for me coming from the secular market). How much or little faith does a book require and what makes a …
Voice … Brand … Platform … Yikes!
by Ane Mulligan Each of these is something a writer must discover or develop. They have nothing to do with the mechanics of our craft, yet everything to do with getting published. Platform takes time and development. It equates to how wide your circle of influence is-or how many books you can sell. There are tons of great articles out …
Motivation to Write
By Linda Robinson When I retired from my accounting job outside the home, I had great plans to “write out the rest of my life.” I’d be doing what I loved most-writing fictional, family-oriented novels about characters dealing with the issues of life. Stories that showed God’s love, mercy, and provisions for each of us and would, hopefully, encourage and …