By Donna K. Rice Spring brings a busy conference season for both the writing and ministry arenas. In April, I attended Mount Hermon Writers Conference, came home and repacked, then headed for our ministerial fellowship’s women’s conference. The first weekend in May, I’m off again for another ministerial conference. Since many of us are prepping for ACFW’s conference in September, …
Where Do Ideas Come From?
By Melanie Dickerson I get a lot of emails and messages from teen writers asking for writing tips. The two questions I get asked most frequently: “Where do you get your ideas?” and “What do you do when you get stuck?” Since many of my novels are fairy tale retellings, I start out checking into the original fairy tale and …
Two Tips to Get Past “I Can’t Write”
By Beth K. Vogt I’m on deadline. Being on deadline means writing is mandatory for me. I’ve signed a contract that includes a due date to submit my manuscript to my publisher, which is an author’s ticking clock that creates tension in our lives, just like we create tension in our characters’ lives. Barring some unforeseen catastrophe, such as an …
Keep the Energy Going
By Cathleen Armstrong Anyone who has ever attended a conference knows the feeling. You come home exhausted with a notebook full of workshop handouts and a head full of everything you’ll need to take your writing to new levels. You come home with names and email addresses and Facebook contacts of writers with the same goals and aspirations you have …
Pay It Forward
By Mary Manners “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” ~ Colossians 3:12 ~ I have been writing since I was old enough to know that words tell a story…about four years old. I have such vivid memories of standing in my basement in Chicago, leaning against the washing …
What’s Your Biggest Struggle as a Writer?
By Henry McLaughlin This is a question with as many possible answers as there are writers. Some struggle with finding time to write. Some with aspects of the craft like dialogue or characterization. For others it might be show, don’t tell. And what on God’s green planet is the difference between lie and lay? My biggest struggle right now is …
New Genre Delights
By Ian Acheson Contest season is very much upon us and the majority of my fiction reading for the next six months will be consumed by judging entries in various competitions both local and abroad. One of the reasons I especially love judging is I get “forced” to read stories that I wouldn’t normally read. I typically judge speculative fiction …
The Reluctant Blogger
By JPC Allen Last summer as I prepared for my first ACFW conference, I couldn’t have been more depressed about my chances of finding an agent. I had registered for the conference with high hopes because I was a semi-finalist in the YA category of the 2016 Genesis contest. Then I did my research and discovered the 21st century definition …
Stand Alone Novel or Series?
By Ane Mulligan Are you writing a novel that’s part of a series or a stand-alone one? Let’s talk about series. Readers love series. While Jan Karon wrote eleven books in the Mitford series, the average stands at three or four. It’s hard to leave beloved characters behind after all the time you spent with them. I planned out my …
Persist . . . or Play?
By Sarah Sundin Once again my life paralleled the lives of my characters. While writing my latest release, When Tides Turn, I’d promised to not become overwhelmed by work, but I had. Only one thing to do—power through. Or so I thought. Instead, other lessons popped through. Stay the Course “Stay the course” is the motto of the novel’s hero, …