By Rondi Bauer Olson My first writer’s conference was with ACFW in 2009. I was so proud of my manuscript. Dystopians were hot, HUNGER GAMES had come out the year before, and it’s what I’d written! Agents and editors were eager to see what I had, and I received a number of full and partial requests. Did I mention this …
What Are Friends For?
by Kathy Harris So, how are those New Year’s resolutions working out for you? We’re one week into 2016. That’s seven days you could have been writing. Six, if you take a day off for Sabbath rest. In one week – working only 10-20 minutes each day – you could have written several scenes, completed a chapter, or edited thirty …
Writing the Story of your Heart versus Writing Something “to get the sale.”
by Susan May Warren I receive a lot of questions from aspiring writers and this one caught my eye. Q: Have you ever had a story that you wanted to write, a spiritual message you wanted to share, but it won’t let you just yet? A: Yes, I have a couple stories sitting in my heart that I haven’t had …
Write What You Know?
By Katherine Reay As I generate ideas for my next novel, I realize a certain theme in everything I write. If you’ve read anything of mine, you’d probably say “classic literature.” While you wouldn’t be wrong… Goodness knows, with titles like Dear Mr. Knightley, Lizzy and Jane and The Bronte Plot, how could you be? But there’s a deeper theme… …
Why it’s Important for Mystery/Suspense Writers to Consider Motive
By Janice Cantore In criminal court, ascertaining motive or intent is an integral part of the legal process and sets the tone for sentencing. The determination of a person’s motive can mean the difference between the death penalty, life in prison, a long sentence, a short sentence, and freedom. In the same way, the bad guy’s motive in a mystery …
Where Does Your Story Begin?
by Linda Brooks Davis Ever wonder how far back the roots of your story extend? With the recent release of my debut novel, “The Calling of Ella McFarland,” I find myself wondering when the story began. Was it in 2014 when I opened Scrivener and typed CHAPTER 1? Or long before? Perhaps it was 2005 when my first grandchild arrived …
Flexibility & Change: Leaving the Day Job
By Ramona Richards Whether writing is your fulltime occupation, or whether you have day job and struggle to find time to lock down those images and characters tormenting your brain, you already know that being productive is a matter of discipline, planning, and flexibility. All three come into play in order to turn ideas into prose. No matter your path, …
Honoring God’s Calling in Our Lives
By Rondi Bauer Olson A few months ago I was making small talk at a wedding reception when another guest, someone I did not know, asked me what I did for a living. Up to that point in my life, my answer had always been clear. I went to college to be a nurse. My job was as a nurse. …
It’s Not Just About Me!
by Lillian Duncan As Christians, life is not supposed to be all about us. And yet as writers, we have to make it all about us-sometimes. OK, a lot of times, especially when we have a new release like I do right now, (No Home for the Holidays). We’re told to do good to others (Hebrews 13:16). Jesus even gave …
How Journaling Helps Me Juggle the Writer’s Life
By Elizabeth Musser A few years ago, I was asked by my Dutch publisher to write a novella for the Dutch ‘Week of the Christian Book’. (I wrote it in English-someone else translated it:). Christian bookstores throughout Holland put on this annual event where, for a week, any customer who purchases over 10 euros of merchandise in the store receives …