Speed Writing

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Brainstorming, creativity, Deadlines, Distraction, Encouragement, Time Management, tips, writing 8 Comments

By Joni M. Fisher @authorjonimfisher I challenge you to write a novel in a month. It sounds impossible, but hear me out. How many best-selling authors publish a book every year? Barbara Cartland, the Queen of Romance, wrote over 700 novels. Isaac Asimov wrote 500. Nora Roberts has written 225. James Patterson has 100. John Grisham has over 50. Calculate …

Curveballs

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, creativity, Distraction, Encouragement, Faith, tips, writing 11 Comments

By Martha Boswell Scripture: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways…” ~Isaiah 55:8 (NKJV) Growing up, I had three brothers who played baseball. Since my dad was a pastor and a sports enthusiast, our lives revolved around worship services and practice schedules. My first word—after ‘Mama and Daddy’—was ‘ballgame.’ Most afternoons my stroller was …

Keep Your Eyes on the Goal

ACFWACFW, Advice, Authors and writing, Brainstorming, Characters, creativity, Distraction, Procrastination, tips, writing 3 Comments

by Rebecca Reed I don’t know about you, but I get excited when I think of a new story idea. I spend time thinking about characters, backstory, motivations, settings, and events. I call this “story noodling” and I love this activity. At some point, the newness wears off. Writing becomes less fun and more like work. I make excuses to …

Simple Tricks for Staying in the Room

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Distraction, Time Management, tips, writing 5 Comments

by Jane Kirkpatrick My forty-first book will be released in May (Across the Crying Sands, Revell) and I’m busy writing book two in the three book “Women of Cannon Beach” series.  I’m discovering some of the same old negative voices creep in to make me leave my computer and clean the grout which seems much more important.  To combat those …

Just Write Already

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Distraction, Encouragement, Faith, Fear/Doubt, Procrastination, Time Management, tips, writing 9 Comments

by Mark David Pullen Have you ever sat down to write and hit a mental roadblock? Maybe it was for your new manuscript, an article, or that guest blog spot that could change the course of your career as an author forever. In any case, writer’s block is never a welcome state of mind. Most writer’s block cases can be …

Shhh!

ACFWAgents, Authors and writing, Distraction, Encouragement, Faith, Fellowship, writing 3 Comments

by Angela Hunt Hello, ACFW!  I hope you’re enjoying your summer and planning for the conference coming up in September. It’s going to be a great time! Anna Quindlen once wrote an insightful column for Newsweek. She wrote about solitude and explained that though she loves her family, she also loves time alone: “I like solitude. I can spend days happily …

Trusting God When an Unexpected Crisis Interrupts Your Life

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Distraction, Encouragement, Faith, writing 3 Comments

by Donna Wichelman @DonnaWichelman Have you ever faced an unforeseen event and had to find the courage to trust God even in those difficult circumstances? Most of us have probably endured such a time. Sometimes, it comes out of the blue just when everything seems to go your way, and you’re riding high on the happiness train. We writers are …

Reach THE END, Press SEND, Repeat

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Books, Distraction, Encouragement, Procrastination, tips, writing Leave a Comment

By Kathleen Y’Barbo-Turner @KathleenYBarbo As the author of more than 100 books, I often get asked how I manage to write all those books. My answer? One book at a time! I know, but it’s true. I also get asked for my secret to how I manage to reach THE END and press SEND time after time. Please understand I …

Declutter Your Mind – What Do you Need to Purge to Write Better?

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

By Tammie Fickas With the pandemic and people spending more time at home, decluttering seems to be a hot topic. Going from working too many hours to a forty hour a week job to working from home, I’m surrounded by my stuff, and I’ve realized there’s way too much of it. So, I jumped on the bandwagon and as my …

Haircuts & Hurricanes

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

by Kathleen Denly This year has been full of surprises, and few of them pleasant. It can be difficult to understand what God is thinking during times like these. It can be tempting to believe what we are going through is so terrible it cannot possibly result in something good. Take my hair for example. It’s very thick and dense. …