The Writer in the Corner

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Critiques, Encouragement, tips, writing 3 Comments

by Chandra Lynn Smith I’ve been a professional dog trainer since 1988. A few years ago I trained a German Shepherd who had some dangerous fear issues. I stood at the kennel, leash in hand and greeted her. She growled. For those of you who read my opening sentence and thought what a fun job, well, not always. You know …

Gratitude for the Writing Community

ACFWACFW, Authors and writing, Encouragement, Friends of ACFW, writing 4 Comments

by Jenny Erlingsson Even though I have been a writer for most of my life (scribbles during toddlerhood count, right?), I really didn’t have too much knowledge about how the publishing process worked. Getting involved in the book development process over the past ten years has been such a fascinating and eye-opening experience for me. Some of my favorite childhood …

When Real Life Hijacks Your Writing Schedule (And How God Can Take It Back)

ACFWACFW, Advice, Authors and writing, Encouragement, Time Management, tips, writing 14 Comments

by Fayla Ott There’s a saying around my house: If Mom plans it, watch out and cover your head. The sky will most certainly fall. Maybe that’s why my guys are known to wear hats. I’m addicted to planners, lists, and charts. It’s like a sickness that can’t be medicated. My office looks like an Office Depot had a baby …

Making Good Use of Holy Week

ACFWEncouragement, Faith, writing 2 Comments

by M.D. House @real_housemd By way of confession, I’ve never shown a great interest in Holy Week. I need to repent of that. The resurrection of Jesus Christ—which we celebrate on Easter—and the events leading up to that seminal, world-shaping event (which had been prophesied from the beginning), is more important than any other topic we could think about or …

Embracing YOUR Path

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Encouragement, Faith, Fear/Doubt, Plotting/Outlines, tips, writing 12 Comments

By Elle E. Kay @ElleEKay777 We’ve all been there. Whether we’re watching a virtual webinar, attending a conference, reading a craft book, or chatting with a fellow writer, we hear all about the BEST way to write a book. One person may tell us to throw out the plot, while another insists we plan every scene in detail. Some say …

Simple Tricks for Staying in the Room

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Distraction, Time Management, tips, writing 5 Comments

by Jane Kirkpatrick My forty-first book will be released in May (Across the Crying Sands, Revell) and I’m busy writing book two in the three book “Women of Cannon Beach” series.  I’m discovering some of the same old negative voices creep in to make me leave my computer and clean the grout which seems much more important.  To combat those …

You Have the Write to Remain Writing

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Encouragement, Fear/Doubt, tips, writing 6 Comments

by John Zelenski @johnzelenski As an author, sometimes I am told by fellow writers, “I just can’t find the time to work on my writing craft.” The truth is, we do live in a society where time is often in short supply.  We have jobs (possibly more than one), families, responsibilities, church, etc. And while the list can go on, …

Of Giving Up and Letting Go

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Encouragement, Faith, Fear/Doubt, Perseverance, tips, writing 9 Comments

By Melanie Rigney Is there a difference between giving up and letting go? That question was posed at a retreat I attended recently. The conversation was of particular interest to me. While others were spending the retreat in prayer, working on faith journey scrapbooks, or taking long walks, I was researching a nonfiction book that’s due to a Catholic publisher …