By Darlene Corbett @darlenemcorbett I love butterflies. I love writing. And I love conferences. What does one have to do with the other? To make it simple, I’m like a butterfly who flits to as many writing conferences as possible. My wings flutter as I immerse myself in the nectar of learning. On closer examination, complexity streams through the parallel …
Writing Contests: Stepping out of the Boat (Part 1)
by Linda Dindzans My writing journey began in early 2013 when I decided that what I had planned as a sabbatical from my ENT practice was actually retirement. The call to put down my scalpel and pick up my pen was clear, but the journey ahead was entirely uncharted. Early on, I committed to developing my craft through conferences, online …
Geeks Read Books!
By Bruce Hennigan @bhennigan55 I recently took a big risk. In my region of the South, there is a large convention called “GeekD Con” featuring anime, superheroes, fantasy, cosplaying, and more. Average attendance over the three-day weekend is in the tens of thousands. Last year, I attended GeekD Con because my adult daughter wanted to cosplay an anime character. At the …
Don’t Hold Back
By Chandra Lynn Smith This past weekend I did something new. And I was more than a little bit nervous about the endeavor. I don’t know about all writers, but I have a feeling many—maybe even most—of us are introverts. I recently learned a new personality type: extroverted introvert. People who are basically introverted but can adapt extroverted traits when …
To The Ones Who Help Us Write
by Jeffrey Friedel @JeffersonRiede Later this month, writers will arrive at the ACFW conference carrying laptops, business cards, carefully rehearsed pitches, and enough nervous energy to power downtown Memphis. We come ready to talk about protagonists, platforms, proposals, and plot twists. But behind nearly every writer is someone who helped carry a load that never made it into the conference …
Take Time to Spur One Another On
by Stephanie Cardel @stephaniecardel “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10: 24-25, NIV). I didn’t become a Christian until …
Allie and the No Good Very Bad Workload
by Allie Pleiter The past three months served up the most challenging workload of my 20+ year career. For the first time, I experienced what most people might call “writer’s block” because so much was being asked of me by so many people that it spawned a sort of creative paralysis in my brain. I was acutely aware of what …
Meeting with Readers
by Mitchell S. Karnes Meeting with my readers is my second favorite part of being an author. Don’t get me wrong, creating the story and watching it grow is fascinating, but seeing how my readers react to the books keeps me going. I wish I could hear from all of you. This month, I had the opportunity to meet with …
Questions to Ponder
by Mitchell S. Karnes I grew up loving to read. That love grew into a passion for writing. In the beginning, I was full of questions and voraciously searched for the answers. Thankfully, God placed many great mentors in my life. Without them, I would have given up, for there were just as many critics who discouraged me from using …
Waiting With Purpose
by Stephanie Cardel “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him…” ~Psalm37:7 (ESV) To me, the most difficult part of being a writer is all the waiting. At least, that’s what drives me mad. Not writer’s block. Not how competitive it is. Not rejection. Waiting. You put yourself out there and wait for critique, then an agent’s response, …