Day 38 Michael Hyatt, keynote speaker 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. Father, thank you for choosing and sending Michael Hyatt to be our keynote speaker at the conference this year. We are excited to hear the information and …
40 Days of Prayer – Day 39
Day 39 The conference committee I Thessalonians 1:2-3–We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers. Heavenly Father, thank You for the giving heart and ready willingness of those working to organize the conference. At times the tasks may seem insurmountable, so please grant them energy, unity, clarity of thought, and a …
Burnout or Balance
by DiAnn Mills Recently I took an honest evaluation of myself, and I didn’t like what I discovered. Exhaustion pelted my mind and body. Did I mention cranky? I rose earlier in the morning and hit the pillow later at night. I cancelled breakfast meetings with friends and attended a writer’s conference where I failed to make all the necessary …
40 Days of Prayer – Day 40
Day 40 For 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. Oh God, our King and Redeemer, we pray for Your guidance and Your hand upon us. As we work toward this conference, may we each keep our …
How to Write GREAT Action Scenes!
By MaryLu Tyndall In any great action scene your reader should be feeling and experiencing the same stress, fear, and excitement your protagonist is feeling. You want your readers on the edge of their proverbial seats! You want them screaming, “Oh no! What’s going to happen? How will they survive? Help!” So, how do you create that kind of tension …
Ray Bradbury-A Writer’s Writer
by B.J. Bassett Ray Bradbury died this year at the age of 91. He was a writer’s writer. I remember many years ago when he gave up his monthly column in a magazine so an aspiring writer could publish his work instead. That act of generosity instilled in me an admiration for Ray Bradbury that over the years has never …
Writing to Music
by Lisa Jordan “Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul.” ~Author Unknown My two sons have musical abilities they didn’t inherit from their parents. My oldest son sang in an a cappella and an elite choir in high school and college …
7 Reasons to NOT be a Writing Diva
by Carrie Fancett Pagels With the ACFW conference right around the corner, many may be tempted to pull their diva mantle out and pack it! Don’t! With narcissism so rampant in our culture that DSM revisions had to more narrowly define its features, one might wonder if I am spitting in the wind to even comment on this phenomenon. Even …
Characters Make the Novel
by B. J. Robinson Want to write a heart-touching novel? Let your characters drive the story. Develop well-rounded ones so readers will be able to identify and connect. Begin with your main character. In my novels Last Resort, Southern Superstitions, and Whispering Cypress, I started each one with a main character. In my August 11 release, Whispering Cypress, I created …
The Bathroom Scale
by Suzanne Woods Fisher On a sunny summer morning, my husband walked into the kitchen. “I fixed the bathroom scale,” he said, looking pleased. “You weigh five pounds more than you thought you did.” Steve thought that was good news. He’s an accountant. Numbers are important. Not those numbers, I tried to explain, barely able to hold back my indignation. …