by Davalynn Spencer “I love your book,” she said, dark eyes sparkling with genuine appreciation. “I’m going to finish it tonight. I’m saving the last chapter until after the service.” “The service” was our church’s Christmas Eve celebration. The dark sparkling eyes belonged to our pastor’s wife. The pastor’s wife reads romance? My romance? This surprise encounter with a reader …
ACFW Journal Extra: Happily Ever After Disasters
By Jeannie Campbell, LMFT ACFW Journal Contributing Writer When a characterization trend becomes so dominant it leads to copycat plots, there’s a problem. What trend? That would be the one of the female savior-as referenced in my ACFW Journal article, “Happily Ever After or Ever After Happiness?,” in the Spring 2013 edition. Typically, these characters are the pure, virginal type, …
In the Beginning
by Tina Radcliffe In the beginning, there was the Smith and Corona. That was my beginning. I started out on a portable that I toted to a shady spot under a tree in my backyard. At fourteen, I was thrilled to be able to chronicle my love of romance on the typewritten page. My real love of romance began when …
Going Dark
by Beth Vogt Growing up, I always wanted to be a writer. Not a doctor or a lawyer or a teacher or – like my husband – a spy or an astronaut. So imagine my surprise when I realized that being a writer is, at times, similar to being an astronaut. A writer is like an astronaut because they: • …
The Poetry of Plots
by Christine Sunderland As Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ, they celebrate their own resurrections. They celebrate the ending of their story as human beings. And it is a satisfying ending for each of us. Just so, as I plot my novels, I want my stories to reflect these deeply human realities that are true of all of us, believers …
Motivation-the Foundation of Compelling Characters
By Ane Mulligan For those who have read Debra Dixon’s book GMC: Goal, Motivation & Conflict, I have come to the conclusion that Motivation is the most important. Motivation engages us. We can relate to character motivations. They form the foundation of characters that live on in our minds after the story ends. Motivation leads to character arc. It’s the …
Mistaken Identity
By Deborah K. Anderson Have you ever discovered that you’re not who you thought you were? I did recently, and let me tell you, it can be a frightening experience. A few years ago, I received an e-mail telling me I was a finalist in a novel competition. Being the optimist that I am, my eyes shifted. Okay, what’s going …
Make Your Manuscript Sparkle
By Anne Greene When I wrote my book, Masquerade Marriage, I discovered the secret to making each manuscript I write come alive to my readers. In the second book of my Scottish Marriage Series, Marriage By Arrangement, I honed that secret to a fine art. I’m a great proponent of improving each manuscript I write. So, I’ve worked diligently to …
The Art of Not Rushing
by Lindsay Harrel I’m impatient by nature. I see something I want and I make a plan to go for it. Sometimes, no matter the cost. But as an author of Christian fiction…well, I just can’t. I can’t force myself to learn something faster than my brain will process it. As we all know, learning characterization or plotting techniques isn’t …
Why Take the Chance?
by Fay Lamb Stick around the business long enough and you’re going to find an exception to every rule. You know, the best-selling author who says, “I don’t worry about grammar and punctuation. I just tell the story and let a copyeditor deal with the rest.” Sure, it happens. Someone writes a novel that is so intriguing an editor overlooks …