by Julia Fenstermacher The day after Christmas, “Poetry Moment” on NPR (National Public Radio) featured a poem I wrote. The poem came to me this past year out of a time of frustration. I was very busy with good writerly things: my new author newsletter, attending the Write to Publish conference, serving as our local ACFW chapter VP, and creating …
A Collection of Storytelling Tips
by Rachel Hauck @rachelhauck Hey everyone! Thanks for stopping by. It’s an honor to be on the ACFW blog today. Never mind the post I missed in September. But let’s not talk about it, okay? I’ve been doing a series of storytelling tips on my Twitter account, so I thought I’d share some with you. Tip #1: Writing who you …
Come Out of The Corner
by Chandra Lynn Smith I am a professional dog trainer. Naturally, my manuscripts have canine characters. My current work in progress has a very special Swiss Mountain Dog, named Gretta. The “Gretta” in the manuscript is loosely based on a dog I trained several years ago. That dog’s first day with me was traumatic. She cowered in the corner and …
How To Find Your Audience by Honing Your Brand and Genre
by Donna Wichelman @DonnaWichelman In a November 4, 2020 blog post, Tyndale House Publishers CRAZY4FICTION TEAM asked, “What genre novel should you write?” To help readers hone in on their genre, they had to answer ten multiple-choice questions that narrowed their options to one. Interestingly enough, when I took the test, Tyndale House’s final answer to which genre I should …
Come Alongside
by Susan A.J. Lyttek @SusanLyttek In my latest YA series, the Portal Watchers, the prophet Nevv takes the three watchers under his tutelage. Ne-tel, Bern and Garth are all about half Nevv’s age and have barely an iota of his experience. But he doesn’t lord that over them. Instead, he reaffirms what they do have—the dinosaurs and the mission to …
The Big Finish
By Darlene L. Turner @darlenelturner Every writer loves to type “THE END” on their latest work-in-progress, but the process to get to those final pages can be daunting. Can I get an amen? We tend to write and rewrite the first few chapters to make them perfect, but do we labor as hard on our endings? Let’s take a look …
Top 5 Things NOT to Do When Self-Publishing
By Desiree Future @Desiree_Future As a self-publisher of two Christian romance novels, I’m sharing with you the top five things not to do when self-publishing. It is my hope, you will learn from the mistakes that I’ve made. Do not underestimate how much work it takes to self-publish a book. As a self-publisher, you take on the responsibility of running …
The Mysteries of God in the Fantasy-verse
by M.D. House @real_housemd The modern world is awash in fantastical speculations about a multi-verse. In part, this is driven by natural human curiosity and creativity, but it has also become another off-ramp for those who still contend, despite advancements in modern science, that God (or an intelligent designer) can’t exist and that life popped into existence through random processes. …
How a Troublesome Manuscript Was Saved
by Glynn Young Hold on to those unfinished or problematic manuscripts. You never know when they’re due for a rebirth. You pour everything into creating a manuscript. You type “The End.” You smile and give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back. It’s done. You finished it. You set it aside for a few days, and then you reread it. …
The Clock is Ticking
by Angela Hunt No matter what you write, no matter where you write, no matter how you write, you struggle with the same thing I do: time. How do we find the time to create great works of literature while juggling all the other things we have to do? And to top it off, once you realize that your LIFE …