By Darlene L. Turner Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. 1 Sam 17:40 (NIV) Dawson lost his footing and fell backwards. The towering figure sneered, crooked teeth protruding. He crossed his arms …
Plastic Flowers
By Shirley E. Gould I hated the plastic flowers that were popular when I was young. They looked cheap, artificial and were hard to the touch. I informed my family that when I die, I don’t want any plastic flowers. My brother-in-law, bless his soul, made it his mission to find plastic flowers to give me every Christmas. It made …
Writing in the Valley of Discouragement
By Connilyn Cossette Writing a second book, under contract, and after you’ve actually written most of the third is a daunting prospect. But that is what I was faced with when delving into Shadow of the Storm, the second book of the Out from Egypt series. I spent weeks writing things and deleting them. I spent weeks asking myself if …
Keeping the Writing Going When Your Life is in Chaos
By Allie Pleiter As I’ve been finishing my 2017 non-fiction How to WRITE When Everything Goes WRONG, I’ve been talking with a lot of authors about how they tackle the challenge of meeting a deadline under far less than ideal circumstances. The answer, as you might think, is as individual as every writer, but there have been some universal tactics …
The Golden Rule and Writing Style
By Lenora Livingston Everyone has their own writing style. When writing Where’s Stephanie, my writing style was influenced by my age – seventy six. Although I hate to admit it, this “old gray mare ain’t what she used to be.” Because I have experienced certain frustrations that many senior citizens experience when trying to read a book, I used “The …
Take It
By Tomi Leslie Yogi Berra, a Hall of Fame baseball player, contributed much to the MLB. But I remember him more for his contribution to our American language? Berra was a sportswriters’ favorite mainly because he had numerous expressions and twists of phrase that were memorable. Many of his comments did not make any sense. At the same time, though, …
Why We Can’t Give Up
by Catherine West While at ACFW’s annual conference in Nashville this year, I was reminded of something. I had the opportunity to pass through the ‘waiting room’ of the appointments area a couple of times, and oh, the pressure was palpable. I remembered my first few conferences, nerves doing a jig all the while until my appointments were over. Conference …
The Field of Dreamers
By Robin W. Pearson Some soybeans spoke to me one day. Actually, it wasn’t the soybeans, but rather a cornstalk growing smackdab in the middle of them. That lone plant told me to keep pressing no matter what the world looks like around me, to do what I do, write what I know. What do I know? Well, I’m a …
Scarce as Hen’s Teeth
By Linda Brooks Davis Ever consider writing about chickens? Neither have I. Until now. I’m involved in a Bible study seeking a deeper understanding of the Holy Spirit. Today’s lesson was subtitled “God wants to dwell among humble people.” Our discussions stimulated, challenged, and sometimes surprised me, made me sit up and consider the Holy Spirit in a new way, …
Making Stuff Up
By Davalynn Spencer “Just make something up,” my husband said when I told him I had a blog post to write for ACFW. Well, um, yeah. That’s what we do as American Christian Fiction Writers. We make stuff up. But that stuff has to be based in reality. Plausible reality. Not things like a bull knocking out my bullfighter-son’s front …