By Judy Christie When I was a girl, I went shopping at a Woolworth’s store that had a costume-jewelry counter and a ring-sizer that looked like an old-fashioned telephone dial. Curious, I put my finger into a variety of holes until I found one that seemed to fit. But when I tried to take my finger out, the ring-sizer was …
Simple Story Starters
by Jordyn Redwood Most authors I know are people watchers. Sitting and observing people is a fascinating way to generate story ideas. If you haven’t just let your imagination run wild doing an exercise like this-let me offer a few examples. On the flight home from the ACFW conference that just happened in Indianapolis I was seated next to a …
Take the Scare out of these Writing Monsters
by Melissa Tagg So today’s Halloween. I was never all that into the holiday…until my sister had a baby. Now I have an undeniable attraction to the Halloween costume aisle at Target. But anyway, today feels like a good day to post about the “monsters” that scare away our productivity and confidence as writers. Here are the three that tend …
The Devil is in the Details, but God is in the Machine!
By Bruce Hennigan I am finishing up the final galley proof corrections for my upcoming book, “The 11th Demon: The Ark of Chaos” and I am anxious to make sure I haven’t used “deus ex machina” to save the day. While watching reruns of the newer versions of Doctor Who in preparation for the upcoming 50th anniversary broadcast of “The …
It’s a Matter of POV: Toughen Up
by Ane Mulligan Years ago when I first started writing, I wrote short drama sketches for my church. The first one got published and every one after that. Then I turned my hand to novels. After a few months and 125,000 words, I found an online critique group. When I received my first critique, I discovered I knew nothing but …
Perseverance Pays Off
by Deborah Lynne I started to title this ‘Persevere Until The End,’ but then I thought…NO. It isn’t the end-it’s the beginning of a new world for you the writer, the author, the published novelist. That was my dream twenty-seven years ago. Some people are blessed with their first manuscript becoming an over-night success. I wasn’t one of those. If …
Deepening Point Of View – Cheat Sheet
By Loretta Eidson Learning new words in the writing world has its challenges, but capturing the meanings and applying them can be a difficult task. My mental dictionary sent scrambled definitions through the memory chambers of my mind as I struggled to understand. Deepening point of view (POV) was mind-boggling. What did it really mean? In DiAnn Mills new release …
Making Memories
by Dani Pettrey My daughter got married last weekend. It’s hard to believe my baby girl is all grown up and now a wife of her own. My husband is a wedding photographer and was able to capture this gorgeous moment. It was a day of enjoying, making and capturing memories. And, it got me thinking. Isn’t that what we …
Truth Stranger Than Fiction
by Martha Rogers Today, my husband and I are celebrating fifty-four years of marriage after knowing each other for about six months. We had a total of six dates in the four weeks I knew him before he left for boot camp. We were engaged a few days after my birthday while he was here on leave for five days. …
I Went To A Funeral Today
by Beth Shriver I’m using this example because the departed would want me to, he was just that kind of a guy. Although he didn’t grow up in the Amish community his grandfather did and all of the relatives before him. His last name was Yoder so I knew he had Amish roots. When I first started writing Amish he …