by Janice Cantore As I sit down to start the draft of a new book, it occurs to me that the beginning of a new book, like the beginning of the new year, brings bright promise. I have a new cast of characters, a new storyline, and fresh ideas. The problems that twisted up my last book are gone or …
Hello 2024 – New Year, New Goals?
by Lori Domingo @loridomingo22 I’ll begin by wishing everyone a very happy New Year! Honestly, it doesn’t seem possible to me that another year has come and gone. 2023 was a mixed bag of successes and failures, with plenty of trials thrown in just to keep me humble. Part of what I like to do at the beginning of the …
You’re Not Going to Drown
by John Matthew Walker @jdubmd Familiar with the huge numbers that swarmed him daily, Jesus and his disciples went to the lakeshore early in the morning. When the crowds gathered and pressed around him, Jesus and his disciples climbed into a boat a pushed off the shore. He stood at taught them from the boat. The day stretched on and …
A Collection of Storytelling Tips
by Rachel Hauck @rachelhauck Hey everyone! Thanks for stopping by. It’s an honor to be on the ACFW blog today. Never mind the post I missed in September. But let’s not talk about it, okay? I’ve been doing a series of storytelling tips on my Twitter account, so I thought I’d share some with you. Tip #1: Writing who you …
Come Out of The Corner
by Chandra Lynn Smith I am a professional dog trainer. Naturally, my manuscripts have canine characters. My current work in progress has a very special Swiss Mountain Dog, named Gretta. The “Gretta” in the manuscript is loosely based on a dog I trained several years ago. That dog’s first day with me was traumatic. She cowered in the corner and …
How To Find Your Audience by Honing Your Brand and Genre
by Donna Wichelman @DonnaWichelman In a November 4, 2020 blog post, Tyndale House Publishers CRAZY4FICTION TEAM asked, “What genre novel should you write?” To help readers hone in on their genre, they had to answer ten multiple-choice questions that narrowed their options to one. Interestingly enough, when I took the test, Tyndale House’s final answer to which genre I should …
Come Alongside
by Susan A.J. Lyttek @SusanLyttek In my latest YA series, the Portal Watchers, the prophet Nevv takes the three watchers under his tutelage. Ne-tel, Bern and Garth are all about half Nevv’s age and have barely an iota of his experience. But he doesn’t lord that over them. Instead, he reaffirms what they do have—the dinosaurs and the mission to …
The Big Finish
By Darlene L. Turner @darlenelturner Every writer loves to type “THE END” on their latest work-in-progress, but the process to get to those final pages can be daunting. Can I get an amen? We tend to write and rewrite the first few chapters to make them perfect, but do we labor as hard on our endings? Let’s take a look …
Top 5 Things NOT to Do When Self-Publishing
By Desiree Future @Desiree_Future As a self-publisher of two Christian romance novels, I’m sharing with you the top five things not to do when self-publishing. It is my hope, you will learn from the mistakes that I’ve made. Do not underestimate how much work it takes to self-publish a book. As a self-publisher, you take on the responsibility of running …
The Mysteries of God in the Fantasy-verse
by M.D. House @real_housemd The modern world is awash in fantastical speculations about a multi-verse. In part, this is driven by natural human curiosity and creativity, but it has also become another off-ramp for those who still contend, despite advancements in modern science, that God (or an intelligent designer) can’t exist and that life popped into existence through random processes. …