by Kathy Harris So, how are those New Year’s resolutions working out for you? We’re one week into 2016. That’s seven days you could have been writing. Six, if you take a day off for Sabbath rest. In one week – working only 10-20 minutes each day – you could have written several scenes, completed a chapter, or edited thirty …
Words Aptly Written
By Kathy Parish “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.” (Proverbs 25:11 NIV) When I was growing up a beloved English teacher always had a beautifully leather-bound volume titled Apples of Gold. It was filled with inspirational quotes and verses on glossy pages, and selected students read from it over the school intercom at …
One True Fan
By Sara Ella Target audience. That’s a phrase we hear a lot in this biz, isn’t it? We’re supposed to find our target readers. Gain them as followers. Get their emails so we can add them to the list. Check, check, and check. As if writing a novel wasn’t work enough. I’ve spent hours building platform, ready to pull my …
How to Create and Cultivate Community
By Emilie Hendryx I can’t help but draw similarities between life as a Christ follower and life as a writer. They both take dedication, belief, creativity, and community among other things. It’s that last one that I really want to draw out though. Community: A group of people holding a particular characteristic in common. I’m part of a church plant …
An Extrovert’s Tips for Making Connections in ACFW
By Traci Tyne Hilton A funny thing happened at conference this year. I noticed that some of the name tags had little ribbons on them that said “author.” Now, it’s a fiction writers conference, so I figured we were all “authors,” but since only some folks had the author ribbon, I also figured the ribbon signified something more than just …
Don’t Neglect Life for Writing
By Anne Mateer Do you desire to populate your stories with people that leap off the page, characters that “live” in readers’ imaginations? I sure do. But that kind of writing usually doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It requires engagement. In life. With people. I’m in that “empty nest” season. I thought it would be great with no kids in …
Be a Critter-Getter
By Linda Robinson If I were forced to choose only one blessing I’ve gleaned from my membership in ACFW, it would be hard. After much thought, I would have to say it occurred when I chose to become a part of Scribes, their critique group, which resulted in an even greater blessing. While submitting chapters and critiquing others’ submissions, a …
Lean on Me: Why Fellow Writer Friends are Important
by Tamara Fickas Writing is solitary work. The idea of a hermit sitting at his computer/typewriter pounding out word after word has been around a long time. I sometimes think that’s what appeals to me about writing. As an introvert, I love the idea of writing in solitude. When I lived in Oregon, I used to drive through the Columbia …
How Writing Retreats Have Profoundly Impacted My Life
By Lindsay Harrel When I first began writing, I did everything I could to learn how to become a successful career novelist. I wrote a few books (kind of a given!). I read countless books and articles on craft. I stalked many an agent blog to discover more about the industry. I befriended other writers. All of these things were …
The Enemy-enemy
by Beth Shriver The cursor blinks and still nothing. The hours tick by and you’ve written two sentences. You take a break to check your email. The phone rings. Now its lunch time. You sit down to write and see the blinking cursor again. We’ve all had those days when procrastination sets in, and the harder you push, the further …