Change Your Character, Change the World

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By Victoria Buck I wrote approximately a thousand pages about a game show host who becomes the world’s first transhuman who becomes a fugitive who becomes a believer who becomes a hero who becomes an evangelist, sort of. Book three of my trilogy releases in September, and Chase Sterling’s quest culminates in front of a worldwide audience who, ready or …

The Cost of Freedom and the Cost of Writing

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By Hannah Conway I cried when a news broadcast confirmed the death of Osama Bin Laden. The tears came from some place deep within me, perhaps some dark and dry cavern of my heart I had not fully explored.  What was that place, that cavern, that feeling? Avenged. Relief. A sense that justice had been served to those who lost …

Holding to High Standards

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By Angela Beach Silverthorne Books are powerful instruments to entertain, teach, learn problem solving strategies and coping mechanisms. As a writer I cannot underestimate the impact my words can have on readers. Knowing this, I take being a Christian author very seriously. Before I began writing the Cries series, Cries of Innocence and Cries of Grace, I began to pray. …

Pros & Cons – plus a few tips – for Writing a Novel Series

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by Deborah Raney The fifth and final book in my Chicory Inn Novels series released recently, and I’m now working on the first book in a new series. Having written mostly stand-alone novels for most of my writing career, this has been an interesting experience and one I’ve learned so much from. First let’s look at the pros and cons …

Keeping Up with the Joneses

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By Tamara D. Fickas We are bombarded with opportunities these days to compare ourselves to others. The media is resplendent with pleas to see how you stack up against the hotshot writer, the most awesome athlete, or the most influential politician. It runs rampant in the workforce also. One worker is compared to another when it comes time for raises …

Choose Your Publisher with Care

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©2017 Deb Haggerty, MBA When an author begins to look at publishers to see where their book might fit, there are several things they should take into consideration. The same steps generally apply to agents as well. Does the publisher have a good reputation in the industry? With the proliferation of small, boutique publishers popping up constantly, you want to …

Hope–A Four Letter Word That Keeps Us Writing

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By Sarah Hamaker I’ve been thinking a lot about hope lately in relation to writing, and how we can forget to cultivate hope in our quest for publication, sales, and reaching readers. When our hope buckets are empty or nearly so, we find ourselves fighting discouragement, resentment, envy, and jealousy. We lose our contentment where God has us and wallow …

It’s a Roller Coaster World

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By Chandra Lynn Smith I love, love, love roller coasters. High hills, steep drops, sharp jerky curves, sitting, standing, clunky wooden ones, smooth riding new ones, loop-de-loops–I love them all. Who’d have thought this writing journey could be like a roller coaster? Of course, fifteen years ago when I climbed onto this ride I call, “So You Want to Be …

Plotting and Structure of Novels

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by Brenda Taylor Plotting novels is a chore for me, because I am a panster by nature. Instead of sitting for a great length of time thinking, plotting, and structuring a story, I want to write and let the storyline fall where it may. I’ve learned, however, my panster method is not the best way. It leaves too much to …