By Tara Johnson “If only this toothache would go away, I could write another chapter on the problem of pain.” ~ C.S. Lewis When my debut Engraved on the Heart released last year, I lost count of how many people said, “This will be the most exciting year of your life.” It was, but not for the reasons they thought. …
Mastering the Art of Story Description
By DiAnn Mills Mastering the art of story description is an exciting creative process for the writer. We use our imaginations to step into a character’s shoes and live the adventure from page one to the end. Various techniques show fresh and unusual details through the point of view character, and the result immerses the writer and the reader into …
When God Changes Our Plans
By Henry McLaughlin Several years ago, I had a plan and I was living it out. My plan was to work my second career for a Christian ministry until I retired and then enjoy a life of leisure. I was also writing as a side gig. Even I knew better than to quit my day job. But God had other …
Stirring Our First Love
By Davalynn Spencer Today I’m enjoying the seclusion of a Rocky Mountain hideaway tucked into a shaded bend of the roaring Arkansas River. The occasion? My wedding anniversary. A few days off from the demands of full-time writing and full-time life help me focus on the important person and unique event that changed the course of my path. “I do” …
Re-membering Memory
By Christine Sunderland Writers are the bearers of memory, the shepherds of our culture’s past. In my novels, I have worked to call that past into our present, so that we may protect it in the fold of words, words that carefully curate the stories of Western Civilization. In The Fire Trail (eLectio, 2016) I tried to pull together the …
Inspiration in the Writing Life from D-Day
By Sarah Sundin This week we’re commemorating the 75th anniversary of D-day, the Allied landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944. As I’ve studied D-day from the sea, the air, and the ground for my Sunrise at Normandy series, I’ve become impressed with the scope and magnitude of Operation Overlord. Obviously, writing novels is a less complicated and far less …
Lessons in Resilience
By Laurel Blount Sometimes God uses unlikely people to teach us valuable lessons. For example I learned most of what I know about resilience from a seven-year-old boy who knew only three words of English. Resilience is usually defined as “the ability to recover quickly from difficulties,” and as every author knows, that’s a much-needed trait in the writing business. …
Do’s vs. Donuts
by Kathy Harris To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time. ~ Leonard Bernstein After several years of neglecting exercise, I joined a gym. Life had come between me and something I actually enjoyed. I didn’t have time. Or so I’d told myself. With family, office work, and “home” work, the day didn’t …
Have We Slept Through a Harvest?
by Terri Gillespie Have we slept through a harvest? He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son. Proverbs 10:5, TLV Crops and harvests. Commitments. Follow-through. Seeing a writing project through to completion. Sowing into our craft and reaping success in publishing. When we live these guidelines we are …
Writing What You Don’t Know—Research
By Gail Gaymer Martin Writers are so often told ‘write what you know.’ Yet sometimes ideas hit us that encompass things we do not know. This happens to me, and though I always research details in my books even if I have some knowledge, sometimes story ideas are far from my usual story line knowledge. Recently moving from Michigan to …