By Diane E. Samson My husband and I have been in the process of building a home for the last 18 months. Our new place will be ready in December, and as all the various design pieces come together so it looks like an actual home, I can’t help but notice the similarities this experience has been to bringing a …
Singing the Song of Thanksgiving
by Christine Sunderland There is a white cross on the hillside of Angel Mountain, aka Mount Diablo, the setting for one of my novels. I have learned recently that it is a place of prayer and meditation, a light in the dark. We can see the cross from our house, a moving reminder to pray and give thanks, and on …
A New Writer’s Journey: Five Tips to save you a lot of heartache!
by Lisa Larsen Hill I wrote my biblical novel during the pandemic. Looking back at my journey, I wish I could’ve told myself, “Don’t worry. Don’t lose sleep (unless your characters are talking to you), and you’re about to start an amazing journey better than you could’ve planned. God will guide you.” Here are my biggest lessons. Learn from your …
Writing Realistic Villains
By Darlene L. Turner What are the trademarks of a villain? Do they have dark, piercing eyes, a snarly grin, crooked-yellowed teeth, knobby fingers, an evil laugh? Or is there more to it than that? The antagonist can be the hardest character to write but also the most fun. How can we be successful at it? Here are some tips …
Three Word Pictures to Describe my Writing
by Dwight David Croy My writing thought life is best described as a percolator, puzzle, and a microscope. Time is needed to think, think, and think before writing. A percolator cannot be rushed but it is working on that perfect cup of coffee. My generation is from the “Java Jive” sung by the “Ink Spots.” Most words in that song …
Write More Than Fiction to Sharpen your Writing Craft
By Cindy Ervin Huff We are fiction writers, weavers of stories that share messages of hope with the world. But there are times when our bucket of story ideas goes dry. These are the times we can turn to writing non-fiction using our fiction skills to add interest to those projects. I’m assuming you are in the Word daily and …
Three Ways Theater Elevates Your Writing
By Tisha Martin We’re familiar with the Shakespeare quote, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” For six years, I worked in college theater, behind the scenes as costume production assistant. What a thrill assembling costumes, makeup, and hairstyles to fit a character’s persona and then to watch the actor become that character on …
Do Readers Care about Point of View?
By B.D. Lawrence @BDLawrence3 Lately, I’ve read a lot of books with different variations of point of view. There are the traditional private eye novels that are always first person. I’ve read third-person point of view. No surprise. There are novels with multiple first-person points of view – by chapter. Multiple third-person points of view, usually by chapter, but not …
Why Does a Story Work?
By Cynthia Herron @C_Herronauthor Did you ever set out on a road trip or a vacation and somewhere along the way miss a turn and realize you were lost? Maybe that’s why I don’t drive in big cities (says the woman who recently moved to a suburb of a Midwest city that boasts an 800,000+ population). Turning around in the middle of …
The Problem with Fantasy
by Scott T. Barnes Christians writing fantasy literature face one unique challenge that most writers do not: how to deal with religion and spirituality in a made-up world? I provide here only partial answers and reflections, and would love to hear your opinions on this important topic. ‘Fantasy’ fiction comprises books as diverse as The Lord of the Rings; The …