By Cheryl Wyatt Writers excel at wrangling words. For most of us, condensing the gist of our story into one line proves challenging. However, we need to be able to say in one sentence the plot summary of our story, the hook that sets the book apart, and provide potential readers (editors and agents included) a picture of who the …
Epistemology of Collective Individualism
by Stan Crader I’m working on two books simultaneously; aren’t we all? One project is non-fiction and the other fiction. Non-fiction is new to me. While I’m passionate about the subject, a biography of the people instrumental in establishing the Stihl brand in America, I find the research and accountability to fact tedious. As for the novel, I love the …
Go For a Walk
by Judythe Morgan Walking is a great, easy form of exercise. No additional athletic skill, no training, or special equipment required. Well, you do need a good pair of walking shoes, but then you need good shoes anyway. I walk because I enjoy placing one foot in front of the other and taking in the sights around me. I love …
Three Ways to Distance Your Reader From Your Novel
by Becky Wade #1: Give your character an unsympathetic goal. In one of my early manuscripts, my heroine’s story goal was to become an outlaw. Yep. I gave her all kinds of backstory to support this goal. She was an outlaw’s daughter. She’d been raised on the run. She loved the freedom of an outlaw’s life and chafed at the …
Change is a Good Thing
By Shelley Shepard Gray A funny thing happened on the way to writing my twenty-fifth Amish romance for Avon Inspire. I became rejuvenated. For a variety of reasons, I had to switch editors after I finished my last contract. When I started working with Chelsey, I must admit I was a little nervous. I write four books a year for …
When Life Gets in the Way of Writing
By Kathy Harris So you dare call yourself a writer… when you haven’t written anything other than a grocery list or the occasional blog post in a few weeks? Or even a few months? Your intentions have been to write, but somehow you’ve not found the time. Or the inspiration. What now? Maybe it’s time to quit. It would be …
A Mission-Field at the Tip of Your Pen
by Hannah Conway I never equated writing stories with mission work. I had big plans for my life. Writing was for fun-just stories and nothing more. I scripted a multitude of tales throughout my childhood surrounding these huge life plans. People seemed to rather enjoy hearing and reading my creations. Yes-sir-ee. Feeding babies in Africa. Educating and reading to children …
I Miss Writing
By Bruce Hennigan I miss writing. I miss that free flowing, wild abandon “banging out the story on a blank page” feeling – when all the creative juices are flowing and I am IN the story side by side with the characters. That kind of writing. This is what I live for as an author. However, published authors have to …
Finding the Ideas
By Katherine Reay I’m at the beginning of a new story. I handed in my latest manuscript last week and, while I wait for the first round of edits, “the little grey cells” are busy seeking new characters, new emotions and new questions. It’s a fun time, but it’s also a daunting time. A blank computer screen is intimidating. You …
Creative Outlines
by Donna K. Rice Several years ago, while browsing an airport bookshop, I spotted Idea Mapping by Jamie Nast. Intrigued, I picked it up and took it along on my journey. The book explores the process of taking ideas, speeches, business concepts, or whatever project you might think of and mapping it out on one page using bubbles, connecting arrows, …