by DiAnn Mills Writing romantic suspense is my passion. I stay awake at night planning a story in which a strong and vibrant heroine attempts the impossible, the forbidden, or the dangerous for the good of others. She meets a hero who compliments her strengths and challenges her weaknesses. Together they take the writer and the reader on an adventure. …
WIP or RIP?
by Donna L. Rich When people ask me what I’m working on right now, sometimes, I have to stop and think (and count). I wonder if I have too many ideas or too many WIP’s going on at once. The problem is if I don’t get them down on paper (or flash drive), they prod and dig and pound inside …
Five Tips for Plotting a Romantic Suspense Novel
by Susan Sleeman In my December 8th post where I defined romantic suspense, I promised to share my top tips on how to plan a romantic suspense novel. But first, a quick recap on what makes a novel and romantic suspense novel. Romantic suspense is just what the title says. Romance and suspense in one novel. • BOTH storylines have …
Finding Story
by Eva Marie Everson Have you ever read a book or watched a movie and wondered where the writer came up with such a story? I do. The more complex the story, the more I marvel. Or, the more historically accurate, the more I’m fascinated. I’m not a master storyteller, but throughout my life, stories run in and out of …
Create a Unique Take to Present a Villain
by B.J. Robinson Want a memorable villain? When I wrote Last Resort I created one Amazon reviewers left comments about. Author Nike Chillemi said, “This is a novel where the reader can not only connect with the heroine and hero, as would be expected, but there’s also connection with the villain. This is a unique take on how to present …
Building Hooks in Your Story
By Jennifer Hudson Taylor In fiction, a hook is an opening line or paragraph to a story that grips a reader’s interest and lures them into turning the pages to keep reading. Most authors think of a hook as the beginning of a story, but there are several other places to use a hook besides the beginning. I call this …
What a Character!
by Donna L. Rich If I had a photographic mind to capture the multitudes of personalities I’ve encountered over this Christmas season at the malls, I’d have enough characters to fill a book a month for the next ten years. Nevertheless, I don’t have that amazing mind, and it takes much work for me to craft my characters into dynamic, …
Newbies Checklist
By Carrie Fancett Pagels As a fairly new zone director (spring 2011) I keep getting asked questions about newbies to ACFW or to Christian fiction writing. The best advice I got four years back when I joined was from Rachel Hauck. I will try to offer my own take. 1. If you are not an ACFW member – JOIN. 2. …
What Makes a Fictional Character Believable?
by Ane Mulligan What makes a fictional character believable? It’s how real they are. Does the writing pull you, the reader, into the story enough for you to experience it? Do you feel like you’re part of it? That this character is your friend? That comes a lot from deep POV. And to get deep, you have to know the …
One Message – Many Stories
by Lillian Duncan Writing Stories of Faith…Mingled With Murder And Mayhem is the tagline on my email signature and my website. I like it, but when I tell people I write murder mysteries and suspense that are Christian Fiction, I often get a blank stare or one of disbelief. After all, how can a book where murders, mayhem, and bad …