By Gabrielle Meyer Recently, I learned that one of the publishers I write for is closing their historical line. It was a blow I didn’t see coming as I watched my well-laid plans crash at my feet. After working for five years to get where I was, it felt like I was back at square one. I’d faced rejection letters …
The Way of Words
By Christine Sunderland Christians know that when the Word was made flesh, mankind was changed forever. Just so words that move from speaker to listener, from writer to reader, are also incarnate creations, fleshed with sound and sight. Christ the Word of God, the expression of God, took on human form. Christ was and is God’s love letter to man. …
The Mary I Didn’t Know
By Diana Wallis Taylor Mary is a common name, but the most important person named Mary, was the mother of Jesus. What was there about this young girl from a simple village called Nazareth that made the God of the Universe choose her to bring His son into the world? The Scriptures say that man looks on the outward appearance, …
The Cost of Freedom and the Cost of Writing
By Hannah Conway I cried when a news broadcast confirmed the death of Osama Bin Laden. The tears came from some place deep within me, perhaps some dark and dry cavern of my heart I had not fully explored. What was that place, that cavern, that feeling? Avenged. Relief. A sense that justice had been served to those who lost …
Holding to High Standards
By Angela Beach Silverthorne Books are powerful instruments to entertain, teach, learn problem solving strategies and coping mechanisms. As a writer I cannot underestimate the impact my words can have on readers. Knowing this, I take being a Christian author very seriously. Before I began writing the Cries series, Cries of Innocence and Cries of Grace, I began to pray. …
In the Beginning was the Word
By Davalynn Spencer When I landed in the newsroom as a crime-beat reporter, the editor gave me a printout stressing the importance of tight writing. “The Lord’s prayer has 66 words,” the memo said. “The Gettysburg address, 286.” His point: less is more. His example: “Mother’s dead.” Of course journalism is not fiction. At least it’s not supposed to be. …
Being Equipped
By Henry McLaughlin God has a will, or a plan for each of us. Psalm 139:16 (NLT) tells us, You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. Each of us is on this earth for a specific reason. We may …
Keeping Up with the Joneses
By Tamara D. Fickas We are bombarded with opportunities these days to compare ourselves to others. The media is resplendent with pleas to see how you stack up against the hotshot writer, the most awesome athlete, or the most influential politician. It runs rampant in the workforce also. One worker is compared to another when it comes time for raises …
Hope–A Four Letter Word That Keeps Us Writing
By Sarah Hamaker I’ve been thinking a lot about hope lately in relation to writing, and how we can forget to cultivate hope in our quest for publication, sales, and reaching readers. When our hope buckets are empty or nearly so, we find ourselves fighting discouragement, resentment, envy, and jealousy. We lose our contentment where God has us and wallow …
It’s a Roller Coaster World
By Chandra Lynn Smith I love, love, love roller coasters. High hills, steep drops, sharp jerky curves, sitting, standing, clunky wooden ones, smooth riding new ones, loop-de-loops–I love them all. Who’d have thought this writing journey could be like a roller coaster? Of course, fifteen years ago when I climbed onto this ride I call, “So You Want to Be …