By Shelley Shepard Gray A funny thing happened on the way to writing my twenty-fifth Amish romance for Avon Inspire. I became rejuvenated. For a variety of reasons, I had to switch editors after I finished my last contract. When I started working with Chelsey, I must admit I was a little nervous. I write four books a year for …
When Life Gets in the Way of Writing
By Kathy Harris So you dare call yourself a writer… when you haven’t written anything other than a grocery list or the occasional blog post in a few weeks? Or even a few months? Your intentions have been to write, but somehow you’ve not found the time. Or the inspiration. What now? Maybe it’s time to quit. It would be …
Are you at the table?
By Karen H. Richardson It started with an email that thousands of other writers received. It was an invitation to participate in the ACFW First Impressions contest. Of the ten or eleven criteria for entry, the most distinctive was that you had to be an unpublished author. That’s me. I have a manuscript that is very rough. It is a …
A Mission-Field at the Tip of Your Pen
by Hannah Conway I never equated writing stories with mission work. I had big plans for my life. Writing was for fun-just stories and nothing more. I scripted a multitude of tales throughout my childhood surrounding these huge life plans. People seemed to rather enjoy hearing and reading my creations. Yes-sir-ee. Feeding babies in Africa. Educating and reading to children …
What’s Your Excuse?
By Martha Rogers We make so many excuses for not submitting our writing. I don’t have enough time to finish a manuscript. I’m too young. I’m too old. I’ve got too many rejections. I don’t have an agent, or I’m not good enough. Any sound familiar? Time: We all have the same amount. We can find even fifteen minutes in …
In the ‘Just Before’
By Elizabeth B. Elliott I love the time “just before.” Just before starting a project, just before opening a new book, just before sitting down for a long-awaited conversation with an old friend. So it is no surprise that the week just before the New Year is my favorite week of the year. There are few commitments and fewer expectations. …
Don’t Forget the Old Goals in the New 2015
By Casey Herringshaw Happy New Year! It’s filling all the corners of the internet. Greetings from friends and people you bump into at the grocery store. It’s clogging our social media and reminding us that this is truly a new year. I can’t believe how fast 2014 has gone. Those who said that the older you get the faster time …
A New Perspective on Goal Setting
By Susan May Warren I woke up this morning to a layer of fresh grace on the evergreens, sparkling in the rising sun, Lamentations 2:23 in my mind. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. Phew. Because with the relatives gone, the Christmas tree down, the ornaments packed away for next season, I’m sitting on my sofa …
Follow The Leader
By CE Hilbert Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. — John 12:26 When you were little, did you ever play, Follow the Leader? The object of the game is to mimic the movements and the steps of the one who is in …
Reason for the Season
By Lanny Smith Merry Christmas! What a wonderful time of the year. It’s Christmastime – the reason and the season for family, food, gifts and – Christmas movies, right? I recently had the privilege of hanging out with many of the cast and crew of an upcoming film in production. I acted like a human sponge, soaking up the atmosphere …