The first year I worked as a school principal I led my faculty in a year-long study of personality types. By understanding basic personality differences in individuals, we learned how to work with both children and other staff members whose personalities were different than ours. We started out by identifying the strengths and weaknesses in each personality type and deciding …
ACFW Volunteer Spotlight
I am pleased to showcase Kathy Cretsinger for the volunteer spotlight for ACFW this week. She volunteers in several places within ACFW. She helps with the ACFW book club, leading discussions of various books. She is also the Area Coordinator of Kentucky and active in her zone as well as she takes the time to volunteer at the annual conference. …
Write Where it Hurts
At the recent ACFW Conference in St. Louis, my writing critique partner Deb Raney and I taught a class together and part of my session included “writing where it hurts.” It’s often said that God never wastes a hurt. It’s true. And it’s especially true for the writer. Every experience you’ve been through, especially the painful ones, gives you an …
Writers & Community
“You must be a writer.” My best friend and I say that to each other all the time. Whenever one of us comes up with a unique phrase or a play on words, the other one pops up with the longstanding joke. It’s a blessing to share that kind of fun. Not everyone understands what it’s like to live with …
Using Real Life Experience in Fiction
People are always telling us to write what we know. The best way to do this is to write our real life experiences into our make believe world through the layered fabrics of our characters’ lives. This doesn’t mean that we can’t set a story in France if we’ve never stepped foot in France. It means we need to know …
Down in the Valley, Valley so Low
For those of you unable to attend the recent ACFW conference, there’s an understandable tendency to be down because you’d like to have been there. But right about now those who did attend may also be feeling a bit low. And that’s understandable, as well. One of my first writer’s conferences (before I was ever a member of ACFW) got …
God’s Plan for our Writing
Regency romance writing called me. Not the calm drawing room conversations and country walks of a Jane Austen, but the swashbuckling romance such as Sylvester or The Wicked Uncle by Georgette Heyer, or even better, the “Sanguinet” series by Patricia Veryan. I wanted spies and dead bodies amidst the glitter of the haut-ton. Who needed to find God’s Grace more …
ACFW Volunteer Spotlight
Janet Lee Barton was instrumental in starting the OCFW (Oklahoma City, OK) chapter. She was the President of the chapter for its first two years and did a great job in that role. She has spoken to the group several times–including when speakers have backed out on short notice! After helping many of OCFW members in a mentorship role, Janet …
Expect an Adventure
Writing is a tough profession. The competition in today’s publishing world makes the strongest writers think twice about their commitment to excellence. Those of us who are lured by the magnificence of story are committed to creating a world where our readers slip into the shoes of our characters and are whisked away to an amazing thrill filled with uncertainty. …
October New Releases List
October Brings More Great Reads from ACFW Authors – Check Out Our New Releases! With October comes chilly nights, perfect for curling up with a good read. The ACFW New Release list is sure to have something to meet all genre preferences! More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW FictionFinder website. A Wedding Invitation by …