By Robin W. Pearson When the Crusader left for college I thought saying goodbye to him would kill me–it was harder than labor, eating okra, passing my college philosophy class, or even moving to New Jersey. After all, he’s our first child of seven, our first homeschool graduate, our first to flit from the nest; his transition marked the end …
Unexpected Inspiration
By Linda Brooks Davis Inspiration can rise from unexpected quarters. In the vernacular of my growing-up days, the poor widow of Mark 12: 42-44 gave her last red cent, a worthy lesson, I reasoned, for my young Bible students who dole out pennies for the collection basket. In search of supplies for money bags, I browsed through drawers of old …
The Art of the Series…
By Allie Pleiter Series are the big thing in fiction these days. Readers love them, publishers want them. It seems as if Netflix has taught us all how to binge-watch, so if we weren’t ready to binge-read before, we are now. As a writer, I like series because building a world and cast of characters is hard work, and it’s …
When the Story Falters
By Tamara D. Fickas Sometimes the story falters and the words refuse to come. They bottleneck inside your brain and tangle until it’s as hopeless as Christmas lights that were so neat and orderly last year. In those moments, as the tale wanders off the page and down a dark alley where you fear to tread, it’s easy to give …
Without a Word
By Cynthia Ruchti Two passages diverged in a yellow wood. And I… I took the one with subtext And that has made All the difference. (with apologies to Robert Frost) When writing, critiquing, judging, or editing a story, attention to subtext can make all the difference. It deserves another look. When writing instructors talk about the elements that mark the …
5 Ways to Overcome Writer’s Guilt
By Natalie Monk Many of us experience writing-related guilt. Not writing enough, writing too much, neglecting “X” in order to write, not making enough money by writing, having too little to show for years of work, and my recent favorite, “What if I’m investing my life in something ‘good’, but not God’s best for me? Am I really called to …
So Long, Perfection
by Kariss Lynch I came back from the Deep Thinkers Retreat a few weeks back with my story plotted, my characters vetted and chattering in my head, and excitement brewing about my story. I sat down in the evenings after work and began to whittle away the word count and fill out my story. Then, I came to a crashing …
Love Your Editor
By Ian Acheson It was finally finished. I’d just typed “The End.” Now what do I do? September 2003. Yes all those years ago. I’d set out on a mission to write that novel that I was always going to write. The previous December I’d read Stephen King’s “On Writing” (it’s excellent BTW – part memoir, part lessons on writing). …
#NotWriting
by Kathy Harris I recently read a quote from bestselling author Nicholas Sparks. It said, “You can’t be a writer if you don’t write.” While I don’t disagree in theory, I do believe we will all eventually come upon a season when we can’t write. I’m not talking about an occasional bout of writer’s block or the dreaded ‘dry spell.’ …
How to trick your brain and create the perfect writing environment
By Melissa Tagg Here’s the thing: I wish I could do ALL my writing on languid Saturday mornings…slow and relaxed and unencumbered by things like, oh, you know, the need to actually get dressed and go into the office and interact with the real world. But once I signed my first publishing contract, I realized in order to do that …