New Year, New Tricks

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Brainstorming, creativity, Description, Learning, tips, writing 4 Comments

By Angela Hunt I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions . . . probably because I’m failed at so many in years past. What I do believe in is learning new tricks, and the new year is the perfect opportunity to start learning a few. I like to try something new with each book I write. Of course, the subject …

Name that Christmas Movie!

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By Dana Mentink Christmas gives me ALL the feels! Every year I find myself wanting to relive all those special nostalgic moments from holidays past. Certainly Christmases have changed lately, with several tragic losses in the Mentink clan. I’m sure we’ve all got stories about holidays missed and mourned. Nonetheless, I persevere in hanging onto those precious holiday moments of …

Christmas Quotes by Writers

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By DiAnn Mills Have you ever read what other writers have said about Christmas? Curiosity, like a writerly-child (I made that up), propelled me to explore several quotes. These are so special that I wanted to share twelve of them with you. “Do give books—religious or otherwise—for Christmas. They’re never fattening, seldom sinful, and permanently personal.” ~Lenore Hershey “Christmas! ‘Tis the …

Building a Home, Building a Novel

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By Diane E. Samson My husband and I have been in the process of building a home for the last 18 months. Our new place will be ready in December, and as all the various design pieces come together so it looks like an actual home, I can’t help but notice the similarities this experience has been to bringing a …

Is Fiction True?

ACFWAuthors and writing, creativity 1 Comment

by Suzanne Lee The Truth “Is this a true story?” asked the form. “Is it about someone you know?” “Is it about you?” Yes, I replied. No. It is fiction, and so, complete invention, and also, seamless truth. A million of us, nameless, have lived its myriad parts, fought, loved, wept, laughed, hoped, hurt, gone on when breath was pain, …

Three Word Pictures to Describe my Writing

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by Dwight David Croy My writing thought life is best described as a percolator, puzzle, and a microscope. Time is needed to think, think, and think before writing. A percolator cannot be rushed but it is working on that perfect cup of coffee. My generation is from the “Java Jive” sung by the “Ink Spots.” Most words in that song …

Write More Than Fiction to Sharpen your Writing Craft

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By Cindy Ervin Huff We are fiction writers, weavers of stories that share messages of hope with the world. But there are times when our bucket of story ideas goes dry. These are the times we can turn to writing non-fiction using our fiction skills to add interest to those projects. I’m assuming you are in the Word daily and …

Mastering the Puzzle

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, creativity, Learning, Organization, Outlines, Plotting/Outlines, tips, writing 9 Comments

By Loretta Eidson Most people enjoy putting puzzles together. We know it can be quick entertainment or a time-consuming, tedious challenge, depending on the number and size of the pieces. Separating straight edges from the others and forming the outline help bring the size of the picture into focus. Some may dump the remaining pieces on the table for a …

Musings About Writing and Printing Motivations

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, creativity, Encouragement, Faith 2 Comments

By Dwight David Croy In the 1960’s, the way to get an “A” in the subject of English in High School was to be a good creative writer. The mechanics were secondary, the organization was secondary, punctuation and the spelling was also secondary. If you were fortunate enough to get a teacher that smoked weed, these things were not even …