by Jeannie Campbell, LMFT I like to think that any professional, not just therapists, would laugh at their fictional counterparts. I assure you that Drs. Frasier Crane and Hannibal Lecter are hardly representative of the majority of us. No, authors most likely convey therapists as empathetic, conservatively dressed, with degrees artfully hung on the wall in a tasteful but somewhat …
ACFW REWIND: Developing the Real Life Substance
(Editor’s Note: Today, ACFW re-runs a worthwhile post from the past, in this case from February, in what we call the ACFW rewind, which highlights previous posts that deserve a second look. ) by Michael Lee Joshua I “live” in Colorado. But I work in Wyoming. I do get home every other weekend (as long as weather permits). Being up …
Inspiration for a Story
by Sandra Robbins When I first started writing, I was somewhat shocked to find that I would be an active participant in the marketing of my books. So I said a prayer and jumped right in. Besides all the resources available online, I found one of the things I enjoyed doing most was talking with readers. Over the last few …
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, …
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 Vulnerable Writer
by Charlotte Snead Writers are a strange lot. We talk about our characters as if they were our friends-and perhaps they are, our best friends. I don’t just sleep with just anyone, and these, my companions, talk to me at night, waking me up, demanding a re-write, more detail, a closer look, another layer. Sometimes they let me off with …
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 …
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 …
Writing Historical Words
By Jane Kirkpatrick If the novel is set in the early 1800s in New England should a writer use contractions when the speech pattern of the era didn’t? Or rather did not? What about word choice? Should my character say “He lacked drive” or “he lacked ambition?” Which word would resonate with the people of 1821? These are just a …
Dreaming Big!
by Casey Herringshaw Do you have dreams for your writing? Do you take the time to plot out where you’d like to go? And I don’t just mean the New York Times Bestseller list. 😉 Dreams are a good thing. Dreams give you motivation. Goals. Energy. We hear all over the social media internet when a friend or fellow writer …