By Preslaysa Williams “Do what you love and the money will come.” Mama My mother always said this to me growing up, and Mama was right. When the school teachers pushed me to be a lawyer or a doctor, I wanted to be a creative. With the support of my parents, I was able to be creative at an early …
ACFW New Releases: March 2017
March 2017 New Releases More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website. Contemporary Romance: Reunion at Crane Lake by Robin Bayne — Colt’s memory is returning after the accident that ended his career. Now he wants to take over his family’s inn, but he’ll have to partner with his former fiancée to be …
REWRITING: How to Avoid Too Much Introspection in Your Manuscript
By Beth K. Vogt Let’s be honest with each other and admit that we all can get introspective at times – stuck in our heads as we ponder either a real-life problem or one our imaginary character is facing in our work-in-progress (WIP). We mull over options. Debate pros and cons. Maybe we remember a first kiss … or having …
Making the Most of a Diversion
By Elizabeth Ludwig I found myself stranded in Bentonville, Arkansas recently, when the plane I was on from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Dallas, Texas, was diverted mid-air, to a tiny regional airport in Northwest Arkansas. Not only was this a little nerve-wracking, it felt a little bit like a “Hotel California” moment, with delay after delay keeping us grounded inside …
Time and Place: Researching Your Historical Fiction
By Liz Curtis Higgs When I asked my fiction readers to finish the sentence, “I love historical fiction because…”, my favorite response was this: “It’s like a history class and an adventure, all rolled into one.” Yes! I’ll leave spinning memorable adventures to your fertile imaginations. I’m here to help with assembling a historically accurate world in which your characters …
Three Ways to Keep Your Writing on Track
By Lisa Jordan Recently I bought a new train set for my childcare program. One of my Little Darlings waited patiently while I assembled it, then proceeded to move the three-car train along the tracks. If he pushed too hard or too fast, the small train derailed. As I watched him, I realized his actions resonated with how I’ve been …
Making Conversation
By Linda W. Yezak Ever since our vocabulary extended beyond “Mama” and “Dada,” most of us have been engaged in verbal communication, although true communication is rarely limited to voice alone. Human dialogue, human interaction, is a complex series of mechanisms that dictate how information is communicated and received. It isn’t as simple as one person talking and another listening. …
Writing What You Don’t Know
By Deborah Raney My novels Beneath a Southern Sky and its sequel, After the Rains, are set in the Amazon rain forests of Colombia, South American. Beneath a Southern Sky was a RITA Award winner and went on to win several other awards, as did the sequel. My novel Over the Waters is set in Haiti. That book also won …
Write Your Own Book
By Lorraine Beatty If you’ve been writing for a while, you’ve probably collected dozens of books on writing, and stacks of notes, handouts and pamphlets with even more advice and instruction. Each book holds valuable insights on improving your craft. They each have something that clicked with you, or gave you that aha moment. But others may have left you …
Writing with Children – For Moms and Dads
By Preslaysa Williams I once told another mom about my writing “hobby,” and she advised I put the writing on hold until my children were out of the house for good. I refused to put my dreams on hold, but the realities of writing with children had ballooned into a huge challenge I had to face. I needed a plan. …