The Bridge-Using Symbolism to Connect

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Friends of ACFW, tips, writing Leave a Comment

by Sarah Sundin In high school English, I disliked questions about story symbolism. Ironically, finding and using symbolism in my own novels is one of my favorite parts of the writing process. Symbolism connects the reader to the deeper meaning in your story. Finding Symbolism Symbolism is best discovered rather than imposed. Often symbols arise from the character-who she is …

Why Do First Manuscripts So Often Get Rejected?

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Friends of ACFW, tips, writing Leave a Comment

by Nikki Arana The biggest reason that new writers receive rejections is because they send out their manuscripts before they’re ready. Quite often emerging writers think when they finish their first ms that they have a book that is ready for the marketplace. In almost all cases, that isn’t true. If it has been written with the guidance of a …

Marketing 101: Allowing for God’s Plan

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Friends of ACFW, marketing, tips Leave a Comment

by Kathy Harris As the old saying goes, ‘fifty percent of advertising works and fifty percent doesn’t. The problem is in determining which is which.’ The same goes for marketing. In putting together a marketing plan, there’s only one thing to remember: You can control everything except the things you can’t control, which is pretty much everything. The good news …

Ridin’ the Beach Ain’t Ridin’ the Range

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Friends of ACFW, research, tips, writing Leave a Comment

Janet Chester Bly Copyright©2012 In writing fiction, sometimes you’ve got to know your animals. My sons and I had to do some study on horse behavior when we worked on author Stephen Bly’s last novel. In Stuart Brannon’s Final Shot, Brannon leaves the comfort and security of his Arizona ranch to head to Oregon to find his missing U.S. Marshal …

Demons and Darlings

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Friends of ACFW, tips, writing Leave a Comment

by Michelle Arch After three years in Chapman University’s MFA program and six semesters of writing workshops, conferences, and purposeful study of the craft of writing, I have debunked any notion that existed in my mind that writing is a peaceful, innocuous, inner journey of the soul. Naïve pre-enrollment images of my writer self stretched out on a blanket in …

Here Be Dragons – Part 1

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Friends of ACFW Leave a Comment

By Lynette Sowell Twelve years ago, on August 16, 2000, ACFW launched its first e-zine, with seven columns. Back then, I was honored to have a tiny column called Dragonslayers. I was unpublished at the time and I wasn’t sure what I could contribute except my willingness to encourage. ACFW, here be dragons along our writer’s walk. Twelve years later, …

Burnout or Balance

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Friends of ACFW, tips, writing Leave a Comment

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 …