by Jennifer Noel Wilson As I sat on the cold cafeteria floor and listened to the young fifth grade girl share about her sister’s surgery with tears in her eyes, my heart broke. The girls next to her wrapped their arms around her and we all began to pray. This moment is forever etched in my mind and inspired the …
Scene Ahead Approach
by B.D. Lawrence @BDLawrence3 Some writers are plotters. They write a detailed outline of the entire story before writing a scene. Some writers are pantsers. They write with no outline and no idea where they are going. I started as a plotter. I wrote a wonderful ten-chapter outline for my first book. But when the book ended up being thirty …
Naming the Baby
by Chandra Lynn Smith Names matter. My name is unique. In my sixty-five years I have met two people with the same name as me and know of a few others. The first person was actually my boss at a job in college and he was from India. Yes, evidently my name is not gender specific in India. The other …
Writing a Heart Attack
By Jenny Powell MD Let’s talk about heart attacks! Or myocardial infarctions, if you prefer a term that doesn’t rhyme with ‘Cadillac-ac-ac-ac-ac-ac.’ While everybody may experience heart pain differently, there are some common signs that can help us distinguish between a heart-related incident or esophageal or lung issue. I’ve even had patients who were just on the verge of a …
2024 ACFW Christian Fiction and Industry Awards
American Christian Fiction Writers is pleased to announce the 2024 award winners. The awards were presented Saturday, September 7th at the annual ACFW Gala, which was held in New Orleans, Louisiana. American Christian Fiction Writers is a professional organization devoted to the craft of Christian Fiction, and helping writers expand their knowledge of the publishing industry. The winners are as …
Book Event Basics
By Barbara M. Britton @BarbaraMBritton Recently, a debut author emailed me asking what I brought to book signings. After I finished my response, I looked at the many paragraphs in my email and considered what her reaction would be. One of dread and panic. There are numerous items that you can bring to an organized book event, but all you …
Critique Groups! Who Needs Them?
By Loretta Eidson Critique groups are a must for all writers regardless of status or number of published books. No one is beyond the need for a fresh set of eyes to read over their written work. Critique group members search for misspelled words, typos, grammatical errors, punctuation, and a host of other potential problems will help polish the manuscript …
Rejoice in Rejection
By Angela Hunt When I set out to be a writer, I wrote catalog copy, articles, and whatever-anyone-would-pay-me-to-write before I even dreamed of writing a book. Writing a book wasn’t even on my radar—I just wanted a job that would allow me to help my youth-pastor husband put food on the table. I wrote and wrote and wrote, and learned …
ACFW Conference Prayer, Day 1
Please join us in today’s prayer, written by a member of ACFW’s Forty Days of Prayer team. Day 1: Topic: That God’s will be accomplished at conference Scripture: Psalm 115:1–Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory. Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank you for being a God who is in control of all, who doesn’t …
ACFW Conference Prayer: Day 2
Day 2 – 9/4 Please join us in today’s prayer, written by a member of ACFW’s Forty Days of Prayer team. Day 2 (counting down to Day 1): Topic: for Good Weather for Travel Scripture: Luke 8:24b–And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. Prayer: Dear Lord, We are …