By Carol Lerner I’ve been reading all kinds of fiction lately. This is a good thing, as for years I’ve had difficulty finding fiction that kept my interest. I’ve finally figured out what makes me stick with a story-it’s the overall aura, the “feeling” the words evoke, or, as I like to say, the fragrance. It’s that which moves something …
40 Days of Prayer: Day 36
Day 36: Topic: Those teaching continuing education Psalm 28:7a–The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Dear Lord Jesus, I pray for each of the continuing education speakers for the conference this year. Be with them as they develop their lessons and the words they will say in their workshops. Give …
40 Days of Prayer: Day 37
Day 37: Topic: ACFW members unable to attend the conference Jeremiah 29:11–For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for being a God who always wants the very best for His children. You carve pathways …
40 Days of Prayer: Day 38
Day 38: Topic: Keynote Speaker – Lauraine Snelling Jeremiah 1:9–Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. Dear Lord, we ask You to touch our beloved keynote speaker, Lauraine Snelling. May you bless her message to us and allow her to use …
40 Days of Prayer: Day 39
Day 39: Topic: The audio/visual team I Thessalonians 1:2-3–We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers. Lord, we give thanks for the members of the audio/visual team, lifting them in prayer and asking for Your blessings on each of them as they use their skills and gifts to handle the electronic …
40 Days of Prayer: Day 40
Day 40: Topic: God’s presence and blessing Psalm 127:1–Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain. Dear Jesus, Thank You for this conference. For the people who are attending. God, I just pray over each and every one of the attendees right now. …
Three Magic Phrases for a Writer
by Richard Mabry Early in my road to writing, author and teacher Alton Gansky taught me to ask a magic question: “What if?” One of his books began when he noted the presence of a military installation in a deserted location and asked himself, “What if that base suddenly disappeared?” The result was an excellent book. And it began with …
5 things to do to prepare for the ACFW Conference
by Susan May Warren The ACFW conference is less than two months away and I can’t wait! Even now, I’m gearing up to hang out with my favorite peeps, fellow authors and the My Book Therapy community (The Voices.) And, just like you, I’m training for the day when I see editors and agents and pitch them my newest idea. …
Demystifying Contest Scores
By Lisa Godfrees We’re writers. At some point in our careers, we entered a writing contest. Some of us found encouragement there. Maybe we received kind remarks from a judge that gave us courage to continue. Maybe we semi-finaled, finaled, or won. Maybe an agent contacted us because they were impressed with our entry. Some of us came away discouraged. …
Making Research Fun
By Donna Schlachter I’ve seen the way some authors’ eyes nearly roll up into their heads at the word, “research”. After all, that’s just dry, boring stuff. We’re always told to ‘write what we know’. If we have to research a topic, we aren’t writing what we know. I used to write what I knew. My first yet-unpublished novel was …