by Marilyn Turk Writers often dream about writing a bestseller and finding success. Will our writing make any difference to anyone in the world? When sisters Susan and Anna Warner started writing mainly to help their family’s financial situation. The Warner family had been well-to-do in New York City and bought a summer house on Constitution Island in the Hudson …
Are you Hiding in the Baggage?
by Ruby Cline Lee There once was a man who was the fairest in all the land. One day, his herd of donkeys went missing and his father tasked him with search and rescue. The faithful son looked for days to no avail, but just before he headed home his servant said: “Hey, let’s go ask this VIP where our …
What to Do if You Feel Like a Troglodyte After Attending a Writer’s Conference
by Ruby Cline Lee Several years ago, I crawled out of a cave to attend a writer’s retreat. Did I know I was crawling out of a cave? Nope. Upon arrival, I stepped out of my pearly-white car with my pink suitcase and high hopes of gaining affirmation that my novel was, in a word: awesome. Cut to me attending …
The Promised Land of a Writer
by Ruby Cline Lee In Numbers 13, the Lord told Moses to send spies into the promised land, which resulted in conflicting reports: the land flowed with milk, honey, and . . . giants? Sadly, the undercover agents felt like tiny grasshoppers compared to the Canaanites. Not to mention, their fortified cities loomed—large and impregnable. In Chapter 14, the Israelites …
A New Headshot?
by Marilyn Turk At a recent writers’ conference, one of the speakers advised the attendees to get new headshots to keep their profiles up to date. A headshot, in case you didn’t know, is the photo of just your head, the picture of you that goes on the back of a book or on your website, Facebook page, etc. It …
Who’s Driving?
by Steven Rogers @SRBooksForHope Writing a novel is like climbing into a car, pulling onto a long road, and driving until you reach what you think is the end. Along the way you will maneuver around twists, turns, unexpected side routes, and too many potholes to count. My guess is that most writers, even those who meticulously plan, are not …
The Writer in the Corner
by Chandra Lynn Smith I’ve been a professional dog trainer since 1988. A few years ago I trained a German Shepherd who had some dangerous fear issues. I stood at the kennel, leash in hand and greeted her. She growled. For those of you who read my opening sentence and thought what a fun job, well, not always. You know …
ACCEPTED!
by Marilyn Turk As writers, we long to hear or see that word. Our writing has been accepted – by an editor who wants to read it, a publisher who wants to publish it, or a reader who wants to read it. Too often, though, we hear the opposite along this path to publication. “Rejected” is not used so often …
Making Good Use of Holy Week
by M.D. House @real_housemd By way of confession, I’ve never shown a great interest in Holy Week. I need to repent of that. The resurrection of Jesus Christ—which we celebrate on Easter—and the events leading up to that seminal, world-shaping event (which had been prophesied from the beginning), is more important than any other topic we could think about or …
Embracing YOUR Path
By Elle E. Kay @ElleEKay777 We’ve all been there. Whether we’re watching a virtual webinar, attending a conference, reading a craft book, or chatting with a fellow writer, we hear all about the BEST way to write a book. One person may tell us to throw out the plot, while another insists we plan every scene in detail. Some say …