By Dianna Booher My most valuable learning experience in graduate school also happened to be my most humiliating. Having read the first hundred pages of my master’s thesis, one of my thesis directors, a literary prize-winning novelist himself, handed back my novel with downcast eyes and mumbled something about “needs to be tightened.” One line of his review of my …
Writing the Spiritual Coming-of-Age Story for Teens
By Rondi Bauer Olson I was raised in a very conservation Christian denomination. Conservative, of course, means different things to different people. For me it meant rules. Lots and lots of rules. I had to wear a dress. I couldn’t watch TV or go to movies. And I couldn’t read novels. Or, at least, I wasn’t supposed to. There was …
The Poetry of Faith
by Christine Sunderland Christian writers of all genres – fiction, nonfiction, poetry, prose – have an especially rich inheritance of words and images. Whether we come from liturgical traditions or simpler ones, reformed or not, we are steeped in the poetry of Scripture and the symbols of our faith. We understand incarnation and resurrection. We grapple with the profound mysteries …
Sometimes Real Life Can Become a Novel
By Ane Mulligan The second book in my Chapel Lake series, Chapel Springs Survival,came from a real life event-and became a mother’s retribution. Insert creepy music and evil laughter. The day started out normal, boring even. Then I got a phone call from our eldest son. “Hey, Mom. I emailed you some pictures. Take a look and call me back.” …
Where Would My Characters Be?
Loretta Eidson “I’m off to play golf with the guys.” My husband yelled from the front door. I ran to the top of the stairs so he’d know I heard him. With the golf bag hung on his shoulder, he waited for my response. “Okay, have a good time. I’ll be hanging out with my friends.” “Your friends? Who?” His …
Two are (a lot) better than one
By Ian Acheson I read recently about a Christian author whose first novel had won a number of accolades. On being asked whether such success had surprised them, they indicated that it hadn’t. They went on to explain that from the first days of writing the manuscript they had marveled with surprise and some disbelief that they had been able …
What Inspires Us
by Kim Gilliland I’m making an assumption here, but I believe we all need to be inspired by something when we first put pen to paper – or fingers to keys, as the case may be. Whether it’s a deadline looming, the proverbial sunrise making it’s entrance on a new day, or simply wanting 30 minutes of alone time with …
First Drafts: Fast and Free
By Katherine Reay As I write this, The Bronte Plot launches in two weeks and my next manuscript is due in a few days… As you read it, both are behind me. And at both times, I’m buried in first drafts. My son is working on college application essays and one of my daughters is tackling her first two high …
God can use anything-even amnesia!
By Allie Pleiter It would have been amusing, had it not been so scary. The romance author getting amnesia. Amnesia is such a romance “staple” that my editor joked about issuing a press release. It’s an amusing story now, the tale of my episode of Transient Global Amnesia in June of 2010. Back then it was one more layer to …
Writing What You Know…Emotionally
By Martha Rogers From early on in my writing days, I was taught to write what I knew most about. During my college days, that didn’t amount to a whole lot in my opinion. In looking back at those days and some of the manuscripts, I find stories about high school romances, college days, and perfect families. I was writing …