How a Troublesome Manuscript Was Saved

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Characters, Encouragement, Perseverance, revisions, writing 2 Comments

by Glynn Young Hold on to those unfinished or problematic manuscripts. You never know when they’re due for a rebirth. You pour everything into creating a manuscript. You type “The End.” You smile and give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back. It’s done. You finished it. You set it aside for a few days, and then you reread it. …

When the Landscape Changes

ACFWAuthors and writing, Encouragement, writing 2 Comments

By Cynthia Herron @C_herronauthor “Where we love is home—home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. This beautiful quote strikes such a poignant chord. “Home” and all that word encompasses evokes both warmth and yearning as I fondly recall my childhood growing up in the hills and hollows of the Ozarks along Old …

The Author’s Stir Fry

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Encouragement, Faith, writing 5 Comments

By Kathy Maresca @so_tweet Have you ever taken a look at a menu and asked the server to hold a particular ingredient? Sometimes it’s possible, but other times the mix has been prepared and cannot be separated. Let’s consider a stir fry entree. It’s nutritious and well balanced, looks fabulous and smells great. But the sensational Asian spices, rice, chicken, …

Doing Big, Crazy Things

ACFWAuthors and writing, Encouragement, Faith, Fear/Doubt, marketing, writing 3 Comments

By Sara Davison Have you ever made the spontaneous decision to do something you know is crazy but that you also know is absolutely the right thing to do (but it’s still scary)? That’s how I felt a few weeks ago when I decided I was going to release a book, The Color of Sky and Stone, this November that …

Make Them Believe

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Encouragement, Faith, tips, writing 8 Comments

by Tanara McCauley @TanaraMcCauley Long Beach, 1997. I sat in a movie theater with a friend doing something I’d never done before in my life: ugly crying in public. I couldn’t pull myself together, and the frustration of trying made me cry even harder. My only consolation was that my friend didn’t let me cry alone. At the conclusion of …

Average, But Obedient

ACFWACFW, Advice, Authors and writing, Encouragement, Faith, Fear/Doubt, writing 9 Comments

by Heidi Gray McGill How do I stand out and reach the top in the Christian Indie world when I’m average? There are authors with English degrees and years of experience under their belt. Others don’t need to choose between paying for an editor or rent. I have a decent number of followers on social media, but Twitter and TikTok …

When Dreams Age

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Encouragement, Faith, writing 12 Comments

By Tanara McCauley @TanaraMcCauley I attended my first writer’s conference over a decade ago. I don’t know how I learned writer’s conferences were even a thing, but I remember packing up my work-in-progress and flying to Denver with a mini entourage of husband, young kids, and in-laws all cheering me on. Although already in my mid-thirties at the time, I …

God’s Inspiration and The Butterfly Effect

ACFWACFW, Advice, Authors and writing, Encouragement, Faith, writing 5 Comments

By Darlene Corbett @darlenecorbett.com Remember the Butterfly Effect? For those who forgot or are unfamiliar with its origins, here’s a quick reprisal: In 1963, the scientist Edward Lorenz proposed a startling idea. He suggested that the slight movements of a butterfly’s wings could create tiny changes in the atmosphere, causing a greater impact later. Many scientists viewed this as outlandish, …

A Word Fitly Spoken

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Critiques, Encouragement, writing 4 Comments

By E.V. Sparrow @evSparrow A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. ~ Proverbs 25:11 (ESV) Through networking, I’ve witnessed some disturbing interactions among authors. Sometimes, these caused extreme discouragement for someone. I’m certain none of us wish to injure another’s soul and calling. Perhaps as authors or editors we’d say there are “wrong” …