Learning from Reading a Master Novelist

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By Carol Buchanan, PhD The best thing fiction writers can do for ourselves is to read fiction. Read any novel you can get your eyeballs on. Read popular novels, novels you wouldn’t write on a bet, novels of all sorts and in as many genres as you can without saying “Yuck” and throwing the book away. (Because we want to …

Books that Empower Writers to Excel

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By Frank DiBianca I have a recurring nightmare in which I walk onto the stage of a packed symphony hall. I hold a violin and bow in my hands. The conductor turns to me and smiles. Suddenly, I realize I have not memorized my part. Even worse, I don’t know how to play the violin! Sound familiar? That’s probably not …

Cooking Up a Story

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By Tanara McCauley “Are these…scones?” My teen’s guess was generous, considering the cookies looked more like jagged blue biscuits coated in a suspicious glaze. She held one in her hand, eyes skeptical. I frowned at the cookie-biscuit-scone between her fingers and shook my head. It was a lemon blueberry cookie, or it was supposed to be. Only I’d had to …

Boredom as Writing Inspiration

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By JPC Allen Little did I realize when I wrote this post in March how many of us would be battling boredom in the near future. Every month on my blog, I choose some aspect about the month—a holiday or the weather—and brainstorm ideas about how to use the month as writing inspiration. March is my least favorite month. I’m …

What to do with the new?

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By Julie Kay Everyone has been the “new kid.” At school or work. In church. New kid at ACFW. It’s exciting, right? Maybe for some. For me, being the new kid morphs into a triplex of thrills, spills, and anxiety as I maneuver unfamiliar territory. Growing up in the same town and going to the same school with the same …

And Your Readers Are?

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By Lynn Hobbs Years ago I was taught to write to a certain group selected to be your target market. Various writing workshops and writing conferences included this type of training. Age and gender or ages and genders were to be strictly adhered to for whatever you were writing. Consistency was of utmost importance. The argument was believable, and presented …

When to Invest in Your Writing Career

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By Carol Alwood Writers have far too many decisions to make. I’m not saying we’re the only professionals bogged down by options and the pressing need for results. Other professions have too many choices to make too. Besides being a writer, I’m an elementary school teacher. They say teachers make 1,500 decisions in a day. This turns out to be …

To Follow or Not to Follow the Yellow Brick Road of Writing Rules

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By Ane Mulligan I began my writing journey as a playwright. I learned how to write good dialogue by default. As the creative arts director for my church, I’d write weekly sermon illustration sketches. With the first few scripts I wrote, my actors would change the way they said the lines. When I realized what they did, I listened carefully …