by Jill Williamson When I started writing, I didn’t know anything about how to properly format a manuscript. I gathered this information over the years from books and lectures and online and eventually figured it all out. But I’m a visual learner, and I had always wished that someone could have simply shown me how to do these things. A …
Working (And Laughing) With a Critique Partner
By Victoria Bylin This past year, I decided to stretch my wings. In addition to writing the proverbial “book of my heart” aka BOMH, I started working with a critique partner. I’ve written fourteen books for Harlequin Historical and Love Inspired Historical, but I’ve always worked alone. I thought I was an experienced writer. I thought I knew how to …
Writer Interrupted
By Deborah K. Anderson Have you ever felt as though someone, or something, tries to stop you from writing? You know, an evil force on a perverse mission hinders you from finishing an article, a short story, or perhaps even that next novel? It may sound crazy, but I’ve encountered this more times than I can count. Several years ago, …
A Thousand Words a Day?
by Donna L. Rich “But, let’s just stop and ask for directions,” I plead. “I don’t need directions.” “Honey, come on, I feel like Moses’ wife, here. We’ve been wandering for an hour now, and I want to get out in that sun. There’s a gas station on the corner. Let’s stop, please.” “I don’t need directions. I feel like …
Congratulations Christy Award Finalists
ACFW sends our congratulations to the 2012 finalists for the Christy Awards, especially to the many ACFW members! The 2012 Christy Award nominees are: CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE My Foolish Heart by Susan May Warren* (Tyndale House Publishers) Larkspur Cove by Lisa Wingate* (Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group) Wolfsbane by Ronie Kendig* (Barbour Publishing) CONTEMPORARY SERIES, SEQUELS, AND NOVELLAS …
ACFW Volunteer Spotlight
This week I’m highlighting Virginia (Ginny) Smith as our volunteer in the spotlight. She is the genre coordinator in the Genesis category for Mystery/Suspense/Thriller entries. She also helped to recruit judges for the contest which really helped in a year when we needed so many more judges than before. Ginny has volunteered at the ACFW conference in September, too. Thank …
Revising My View of Rewriting
by Beth K. Vogt It’s often said that writing is rewriting. And I’ve often said how much I love rewriting. But if you’d seen me a few weeks ago as I rewrote the fast draft of my second novel, you would have doubted not only my love of rewriting-but my emotional stability as well. Over the course of three days, …
Book Review: The Shadow of Your Smile
Title: The Shadow of Your Smile Author: Susan May Warren Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers Date: December 2011 ISBN: 978-1414334837 Genre: Contemporary Romance Reviewed by: Laura V. Hilton Noelle Hueston, on her way home Deep Haven after talking to admissions about enrolling in the art institute in Duluth, stops for coffee and interrupts a robbery. She escapes, but falls, hitting her …
Where Do You Get Your Ideas?
by Richard Mabry When I began writing, I had an idea-just one-and wondered if I could turn it into a novel. My idea involved a young man who wanted more than anything to play professional baseball. He never made it past the minors, so he decided to make his father happy by going to medical school. Then he had one …
A Writer’s Passion
by DiAnn Mills How can a writer expect readers to be excited about a novel unless the writer feels the same passion? Does enthusiasm for story mean having passion for every word? Absolutely! Every grueling step of the process must be met with a committed spirit. Passion for The Chase kept me spellbound, as though the world around me had …