By Tara Johnson Approval and love are not the same thing. It’s taken me a lifetime to figure that out. I desperately want people to like me. The thought of someone being displeased with me in any way causes my stomach to curdle. What’s one way to shake that cold feeling of dread? Work harder. Be more agreeable, more likeable. …
How to Photoshop Your Moods
By Kristi Holl In addition to a Covid family death, I lost two friends in December, plus my last (and favorite) uncle. Along with grieving, these losses caused a severe autoimmune flare-up for two weeks. With Christmas around the corner, I found it difficult to feel the joy of the season. And writing? That felt out of the question, so …
It was a dark and stormy night.
by Lisa Loraine Baker It was a dark and stormy night. How about a dark and stormy year? Covid, lockdowns, green zones, purple zones, elections. Oh my! If any of these things affects your writing, you’re not alone. Following are a few pitfalls from this year: How can I concentrate on my story when the one in the news is …
Godward God Words
By Sally Jo Pitts As Christian writers, we search for inspiration to pen words that will inspire, touch hearts, and leave spiritual impact. I have a close friend, Jim Ward, who is the author of several Christian songs. I love the story behind the inspired words to a Christmas song that he wrote. In the late 1980’s, Jim had been …
Beauty and Beholders
by Linda Brooks Davis Beauty is as subjective as beholders themselves. As writers, we’re tasked with showing, not telling, our characters’ traits—what we consider the good, the bad, and the ugly—-by how they speak, behave, interact with others, etc. But as readers, we may not determine what’s good, bad, and ugly. But the same images rarely emerge for both writers …
Christmas is Coming!
By DiAnn Mills Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat. Please put something in the reader’s lap. I admit my rhyming skills aren’t the most inspiring, but Christmas is knocking on our doors. Writer, what can we do this year for our readers? I don’t want to raise your stress level and push you to re-examine your gift-giving budget …
Bonita
By Renee Hodges Our friends, Wendy and Eric, sold most of their possessions and moved to Nicaragua eight years ago because they felt God calling them to be missionaries there. They immersed themselves into the culture knowing only basic Spanish and started serving in several towns and villages. Their experiences have ranged from sublime to hysterical over these years. My …
Declutter Your Mind – What Do you Need to Purge to Write Better?
By Tammie Fickas With the pandemic and people spending more time at home, decluttering seems to be a hot topic. Going from working too many hours to a forty hour a week job to working from home, I’m surrounded by my stuff, and I’ve realized there’s way too much of it. So, I jumped on the bandwagon and as my …
A Balancing Act
by Shirley Gould Lately, life has been a balancing act as the coronavirus ended life as we know it and we faced major changes. Covid-19 caught us off-balance—totally unprepared. We have quarantined, worked from home, educated our children, and watched businesses close. Now we are social distancing, washing our hands, and wearing masks…and it’s not over yet. As writers of …
Through Prayer, In Prayer, You Can
By Susan A.J. Lyttek Recently, I found myself doing the impossible. Okay, let me back up. Many years ago, I planned a six-book series. Stories one and two were finished and with the possibility of a contract, I started book three. It wasn’t intended to be a long book—about 30-35,000 words. I got to about 20,000. The contract fell through. …