By Cynthia Herron As a little girl, I created masterpieces. I rocked my world with art and zany inventions. I made stuff from unusual materials—egg cartons, fabric swatches, wallpaper samples—you name it. I used it. I adored anything I could put my creative stamp on and call my own. I liked to color, paint, and make things with my hands …
Let Go and Let God Write
By: Lenora Livingston In my seventy-nine years of living, never once in my wildest dreams did I ever envision myself writing a novel. No, not me, no way! In my school days, I always cringed at the very thought of rough drafts and rewriting themes and term papers. If I couldn’t write it right the first time, forget it. It …
“Don’t Push Me”
By Leslie DeVooght My two-year old niece proclaims, “patience is waiting with a happy heart.” Apparently, I gave her mother the book In This House, We Will Giggle by Courtney DeFeo. My family studied one virtue a month from this book, but I’m pretty sure we need a remedial course. We all need what we want, and we need it …
Dare To Know
By Kim A. Gilliland I have often heard or read in writing courses over the years — write about what you know. I have also heard and read how absurd that notion is. I wonder, which is correct? Perhaps it’s both. I love to write about murder, but I have never murdered anyone. My protagonist owns her own pet store, …
What We Learn While Waiting
By Elizabeth Musser I received a wonderful gift over Christmas: contracts for two new novels with a publishing house I not only respect but one I had worked with for many years. And then for many years, I didn’t. Work with them. Or receive a contract. And it was HARD. Maybe your writing has career has been a little like …
Acts of Gratitude – Paying it Forward
By Lenora Livingston “Paying it Forward” is an expression for describing the recipient of a good deed repaying it to others instead of to the original benefactor. What better way can a person show their thankfulness than to participate in the rippling effects of goodness. At age 78, I wish I could go back and thank my teachers who most …
Finding Acceptance in a Tough Writing Industry
By Emily Conrad When responses to my debut novel started to come in from my launch team, a friend asked if the positive feedback encouraged me. Though, yes, the praise was a momentary boost, and no, I don’t want to consider what might’ve happened in my heart if the initial response had been the opposite, I had to confess that …
Storytelling Lessons (For Every Writer!) from the Gospels
By Susan A.J. Lyttek As Christian fiction writers, we weave our faith into our stories whether we mention God or not. We can’t help it because it is intrinsically part of who we are. And that is a good thing. It means for the non-Christian that our stories are salty and make them thirst for something more than this limited …
Perfectionism: How Can Something So “Perfect” Be So Wrong?
by Kathy Harris I’m a perfectionist. And that’s not a good thing. Taken to the extreme, perfectionism can lead to serious psychological issues and is, in fact, on the rise, especially among young people. (See, Harvard Business Review, January 26, 2018.) But, even those of us who have a casual acquaintance with perfectionism will find that our work can suffer …
Ten Wrongs Don’t Make a Writer
How to Avoid the Top Ten Fatal Flaws in Fiction By Kathleen Y’Barbo It is not yet 2019, but it won’t be long until we’re several weeks—or months into the new year, the time when New Year’s resolutions begin to lose their shine and some of us begin to wonder if we should have resolved NOT to make any …