By Amy Clipston Through the years I’ve found that my book projects fall into two categories—they either write themselves or writing them feels like having my teeth drilled. In other words, the characters either tell me the story or I push them through the story as if they were dead weight. My book Room on the Porch Swing, which releases …
Were You Called to Write?
by Kathy Harris How can I really know if I’m called to write? Haven’t we all wondered from time to time? Your answers to the following questions may help you decide. Do you write because you can’t not write? Do you love to play with words—to spin stories? Do characters and plots and scenes fill your head, sometimes to the …
Observations from a Writer
By Denise Hunter Most writers are observers by nature, aren’t we? We observe ourselves, we observe others, then we use what we observe in our writing. Like the other day. I was driving down the road alone and had to brake suddenly for a cat. What was my response to potential disaster? (Yeah, some people don’t consider a dead cat …
Killing Your Darlings
By Kariss Lynch “Quoting the great William Faulkner, in writing you must be willing to kill your darlings,” my hippie poetry professor imparted one class. I remember thinking he was crazy. If you really think a scene or a line is that great in your story, why in the world would you cut it? Over the years, I believe his …
Stuck
By Darlene L. Turner It’s every writer’s worst nightmare. That dreaded blinking cursor on a white screen. The thoughts and storyline just won’t come. We’ve tried hard in preparing our stories, but then when the rubber meets the road . . . the words become stagnant. At least this is how I’ve been feeling over the past while. I have …
How to Write a Novel
By Henry McLaughlin When I’m introduced as a writer to a group of non-writers I get a wide range of reactions. Some look at me as if I’m from another planet. Others back away as if they might catch a strange disease. In my early days, one person asserted I couldn’t be a writer because I wasn’t published yet. Made …
Writing Real Romance
By Elizabeth Ludwig My husband, were you to pass him in a dark alley, would probably make you want to cross the street. He’s big, he’s German, he can’t see very well so he squints a lot, he’s usually scruffy, and he rides a Harley. He also likes to dress the part. I’m talking leather jacket, skull face shield, and …
Into the Unknown
By Kathleen Denly In 2012 my husband and I submitted our first application to adopt. After years of prayer and planning, we believed God had led us to pursue the adoption of a specific young girl in Russia. In December of that same year, Russia closed to adoptions by American families. To say we were heartbroken to be unable to …
Choose a Setting You Love
By H.L. Wegley Thirty-eight years ago, my wife and I and our three kids boxed up enough supplies for a week and headed for Lake Chelan in Central Washington, a glacier-fed lake, fifty-five miles long, nestled snugly between Cascade Mountain peaks. We rode the big boat, Lady of the Lake, and planned to camp in the wilderness, free from the …
The Dream Cabin
By Mary Lou Cheatham An author, who is incapable of practicing generic purism, has tried one more time to write a romance. Each time in the past, she has not abided by the guidelines. Every book she has written up to now contains a romance, but they are not true romances. This time she hoped to succeed. Referring to manuals …