by Kimberley Woodhouse The past few months have been weird. There, I said it. Of course, I don’t think any of us will soon forget COVID-19, coronavirus, stay-at-home orders, masks, church services all moving to online, or any of the other oddities that became normal parts of our everyday life during this pandemic. And it’s not over. To be honest, …
Writing Quotes
by Henry McLaughlin Many of us have writing quotes to inspire or nag us. Or to nudge us to keep writing. A few of my favorites include: “If my family didn’t want me to write about them, they should’ve behaved better.” – Anne Lamott “First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him!” – Ray Bradbury “I love …
Creativity—Keeping it Pure
by Terri Gillespie “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1, TLV Creativity. Taking nothing and making something. Albert Einstein said, “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” I love that. The Creator of the Universe—our Heavenly Father—sure has fun with creativity. Look at the giraffe. What is amazing as writers, authors, artists, musicians, and those who live …
When Your Setting Takes on Character
By Norma Gail Setting that takes on character brings our stories to life in the minds of our readers. When the author knows the setting well, small details can enhance what our characters experience. In a recent review by Connie Porter Saunders, she wrote, “You know an author is talented when they can convince readers that a country is one …
Making It Real
by Kathy Harris In a plot twist few had fathomed––although Dean Koontz predicted something eerily similar in his 1981 novel The Eyes of Darkness—a tiny organism too small to see without a microscope has turned our lives, and our livelihoods, upside down, setting off a giant conflict in the story we call day-to-day life. Although this real life “inciting incident” …
How Can YOU Reach a Broader Audience?
By Mesu Andrews When I was choosing dates to write for the ACFW blog, I noticed that today, May 21st, is Ascension Day. Now, I’m a theological mutt. Mom’s charismatic. Dad was Quaker. My grandparents were Pilgrim Holiness ordained ministers—both grandpa AND grandma even way back when. Since my spiritual heritage is Evangelical, I don’t know much about Ascension Day. …
Research Can Amaze You
By Janetta Fudge Messmer Years ago (2009) I had the privilege of working with multi-published author, Janice Hanna Thompson on a book idea. I was a newbie and the two of us brainstormed a story in my living room in Spring, Texas. Who knew it’d take until 2017 to get it published. In those eight years, I wrote and rewrote …
Do your characters talk to you?
By Glynn Young The news report made quite a splash. Researchers at Durham University in the U.K. teamed up with The Guardian newspaper and the Edinburgh Book Festival to do a study of authors. And the study reported that two-thirds of authors hear their characters speak while they’re writing. My first thought was, this is news? The study was more …
The Art of Baking…and Writing
By Kariss Lynch I’m always cooking up a new story. The problem? I can’t write them as fast as I can concoct them. And somehow the thoughts don’t always make the batter very creamy. (Can you tell I’ve been baking and watching too many episodes of Cake Wars in quarantine?) Sometimes I have to a look at a new way …
Chapter Endings: Keep your Readers on her Toes, not her Heels
By Suzanne Woods Fisher A while ago, I read an interview in my local newspaper featuring a woman who had just turned one hundred years old. The reporter wanted to know this centenarian’s inner motivation. What had given her that “oomph factor” to live so long? “I want to know,” she said, “what happens next.” That comment hit me like …