By Shirley Gould In crafting Christian fiction, we, as writers, use twists and turns in our plots to grab the reader’s attention, plunging them into our fictional world. We spice our prose with interesting characters, places and themes carrying them on a roller coaster of emotions with our comedies, mysteries and tragedies. Most of our stories have misunderstandings that cause …
Different Points of View
by Carolyne Aarsen In my latest book, Her Cowboy Hero, it’s wintertime. In one scene, my hero and heroine pull a little girl on a sled through the snow. It was a fun scene to write because snow and sledding have been a huge part of my childhood and my children’s. Many good memories have been made on the hill …
A New Perspective on Goal Setting
By Susan May Warren I woke up this morning to a layer of fresh grace on the evergreens, sparkling in the rising sun, Lamentations 2:23 in my mind. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. Phew. Because with the relatives gone, the Christmas tree down, the ornaments packed away for next season, I’m sitting on my sofa …
Writing from Heartfelt Experience
by Charlotte Snead I’ve read tons of romance novels. Many I wouldn’t recommend to Christian women, yet I write romance books without shame. As the mentor mom for Mothers of Preschoolers, I know young women need edifying romantic stories. Romance is tough for them. Toddlers are pulling on them all day, often waking them at night. They are tired, and …
Reason for the Season
By Lanny Smith Merry Christmas! What a wonderful time of the year. It’s Christmastime – the reason and the season for family, food, gifts and – Christmas movies, right? I recently had the privilege of hanging out with many of the cast and crew of an upcoming film in production. I acted like a human sponge, soaking up the atmosphere …
Murphy Lives Here
By Linda Robinson Lately, my writing journey has been derailed by Murphy. It’s bad enough when my muse takes a vacation. Eventually she returns, and it’s usually when I become self-disciplined and sit down in my computer chair to write-about ten o’clock at night. But I don’t always do that. For good reason. In August, we decided to update the …
Keepin’ It Fresh
By Karen H. Richardson Recently, I spent some time reviewing the 123 posts from KK’s Candor, www.kkscandor.com, my personal blog. In this review I noticed that several topics or themes were repeated. The change of seasons and holiday theme seemed to run with the calendar. These calendar-cycle themes come too easy. It takes little effort to find emotions or symbols …
Writing Lessons from the Master Author
By Marilyn Turk The more I study the craft of writing, the more I read like a writer. I look at how the author tells the story – word choice, POV, structure, and how many “rules” are broken. I also consider ways the story could be better – what could be left out or added to make it stronger. So …
CREATIVE OR CRAZY? The Writer at Christmas
by Patti Jo Moore Like many people, the Christmas season is my very favorite time of year. I love the music, the lights, and most of all remembering the Reason for this holiday season. Even though my life isn’t quite as hectic as it was when my children were little, I still find myself getting caught up in the flurry …
10 Lessons from My First Indie Book
By Judy Christie A year ago I didn’t know what a hybrid author was. Now I am one. This past week my first indie book, “Wreath, A Girl,” a new edition of a YA novel, joined my traditionally published books. The process has been exhilarating…and exhausting. While the lessons haven’t marinated long, I hope they will help if you’re considering …