By Suzanne Bratcher You’ve heard the debate: when you write, do you plan first or do you write from the seat of your pants? Until last week I was certain I was a plotter. Once I have the germ of an idea, I draw a story arc, divide the arc into three acts, divide each act into scenes, and list …
Take Me Out to the Ballpark
By Tamara D. Fickas I’m not a big sports fan. I don’t really follow any of the big sports teams, although I do sometimes root for a team based on being the underdog, or the favored team, or because I like a player. Despite not being into sports, I do love baseball. I managed the baseball team in high school …
Truth in Fiction
By Melinda Eye Cooper When I was in the sixth grade, I entered an essay contest at school. The theme was What I want to be. I considered the topic for days and tossed around ideas about what to write. For the first time in my life, I asked myself the question, “What do I want to be when I grow …
Let’s Go Back! Flashbacks and Making Them Work
By Cindy Patterson As writers, it’s our job to transport our readers into our stories so deeply, they feel as though they’re no longer reading. This is no easy task. We spend so much time working out our plots, scenes, conflict, and most important, creating our characters, that sometimes we want to spend more time in the history of our …
Discerning
By Christine Sunderland I have been in a process of discernment, seeking God’s will. Discernment requires discipline, and as we enter the Lenten season, we discipline ourselves to know the will of God in our lives. Discernment for a novelist lays the foundation for the novel-to-be. Discernment answers the questions, why and what: why should I write, and what should …
Change Your Motive, Change the World …and the industry
by J.A. Marx If you’ve been around ACFW for any length of time, you’ve heard the one question every agent and editor asks: “Who’s your audience?” The tighter we narrow down the audience for our story, the happier we make the marketing department. But at what point in writing a new book do we start thinking about our readers? God …
Novel Preparation 101
By DiAnn Mills We writers have habits, some quirky, that help us get started on new writing projects. Today I’d like to share with you how I organize my thoughts and preparations before writing chapter one, line one of a new novel. I’m mostly an organic/pantster writer, but some things I have to know before I begin. Idea. Oh, these …
Your Character’s Voice
by Sarah Sundin (@sarahsundin) I’m a California girl. I’m ashamed to admit I use the word like as filler on a regular basis. My young-adult children use vocabulary not even known in the rest of the country. If I were to write all my novels in my natural voice, I’d be very limited in geography and era. When we speak …
Do the Angels Cheer for Underdogs?
by Kathy Harris Please allow me to interrupt the post I’d originally planned for today to journey into the land of “what if.” After all, we’re an organization of “what if” writers, and it’s imagination that inspires our stories. I recently interviewed Chris Fabry for my personal blog, and reading about Chris’ new book Under a Cloudless Sky reminded me …
What Do Some Experienced Writers Have in Common with Mother Guppies?
By Mary Lou Cheatham Our first aquarium held only five gallons, but we loved it. At the pet shop we bought some guppies. The clerk said, “Better buy one of these.” “What is it?” “It’s a trap to keep the mother from eating her babies.” It was a rectangular plastic device that floated near the top of the water. We …