by Daniella Ojo Last Sunday I went to a church I sometimes visit that’s closer to where I live. It’s been a particularly cold winter so far and the night before we had about 3 or 4 inches of snow. That may not be much to people living in other parts of the world, but for London that’s a lot. …
America’s Mythology
By Darlene Franklin I am a New Englander by birth and proud of it. I didn’t make it west of the Mississippi River until I was twenty-two. Nor did I watch many Westerns on television. My heroes were the Minutemen and the leaders of the civil rights movement. Mythology belonged to the Ancient Greeks and Romans; with a healthy dose …
Writers Write!
by Lillian Duncan Writers write! For most of us, we don’t make a living from our writing. For you that do, congratulations. For the rest of us, what happens when a crisis comes? Can we justify the time, money, and emotional effort writing takes away from your family and/or the current crisis? To answer that question, it’s important to remember …
Chapter Ending Hooks
by Mary Connealy End each chapter in a way that hooks the reader and keeps them turning the page, because if someone is going to set a book down it’ll be at the end of a chapter. So how to hook a chapter? This is something I try really hard to do. I use comedy, action, word play or cliffhangers …
Voice
by Michelle Grajkowski 3 Seas Literary Agency Louis Armstrong. Etta James. Toby Keith. Eddie Van Halen’s guitar riffs. What do all these musicians all have in common, besides being the top of their musical genres? Voice. Each one of these artists have a unique style, a certain tone that is all their own. In most cases, a fan can identify …
“Does Anybody In The Group Know…?”
by Dr. Richard Mabry Writers do research. It’s part of the process. We don’t want to write about a car going west on Commerce Street in Dallas when the street is one-way eastbound. So we are careful to check those things out. And when we don’t, believe me, there are readers out there who will let us know about our …
Getting Away from it All…to Write
by Mary Ellis When most people think getaway weekends, or week-long vacations somewhere warm and sunny or even day-trips into the countryside, they want to disconnect from work. But after writing a dozen books, I’ve discovered out-of-office experiences can greatly enrich my stories. As writers, we spend too much time staring at computer monitors, the wall in front of our …
An Agent’s Tips for Your Manuscript
by Mary Sue Seymour The Seymour Agency I am looking for Amish romances and also inspirational historical romances. I have never circulated an Amish romance or inspy historical I haven’t sold to a major Christian publisher. I like to see the first fifty pages, a synopsis and an author’s bio. Some authors seem to be a bit fearful about writing …
When Everything Stalls
By Sandra Heska King My first novel-to-be stalled last summer. Then I took a hammer to it. I haven’t even made writing goals for this year. Gasp! Well, except for pouring out words almost daily on my blog. June. I think June will be a good time. I had goals last year, but they dried up. I know. I know. …
Close POV
I’m a big fan of first person novels. Though it seems hard for a writer to break into the market unless we have a story with two or more points of view. Still, many first person stories receive literary acclaim. Steven James has won several Christys for his books. She Walks in Beauty by Siri Mitchell, and Robin Jones Gunn’s …