By DiAnn Mills I’ve been publishing since 1998, and one thing I’ve learned is to embrace change in the publishing world. The logic is all around us: new ideas are a fact of life. We either stubbornly refuse to learn and grow from what’s happening in the world of writing, or we stand up and open our arms to study, …
We Never Stop Learning
By Martha Rogers I have just returned from my 15th ACFW conference. It was one of the best I’ve attended. The best thing was seeing friends only known through the loop or Facebook or Twitter, but feeling like I’d known them forever. I offer my congratulations to all the Genesis and Carol Award winners. Keep turning out those great books. …
Weaving a Story Web
by Ann H. Gabhart I’m guessing some of you may have walked into a spider web at some time in your life. You probably weren’t that happy to be wrapped in those silken threads while swatting at your hair to make sure the spider didn’t hide out there to later crawl down your shirt. But have you ever taken the …
3 Steps to Publication…Guaranteed!
by Lillian Duncan Let’s get right to the 3 steps to publication…guaranteed! As I’m sure you know all stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end. So the perfect formula for writing a great book, meaning publishable is… best beginning + marvelous middle + explosive ending = GREAT STORY! (and a book contract). Succeed with those three easy steps, …
Five Ways to Tell You’re Not Mrs. Muir
By Cathleen Armstrong Have you seen The Ghost and Mrs. Muir? That 1948 movie about a widow who lives by the sea and writes a book with the help of a ghostly sea captain? From the time I first saw the old film, it was my fantasy to be Mrs. Muir. But the more I wrote, the more it became …
What Does the Author Need?
By Cindy Woodsmall As writers, we are attentive to the settings, plots, characters, and all things that make for great storytelling and honed writing. We capitalize on our characters’ thoughts and feelings, and there is nothing quite like exploring the reasoning and nuances of their weaknesses while finding the frailty of their strengths. But do we put as much time …
Words, Camera…and Action!
By Bonnie S. Calhoun What comes mind when I say those words? Typically someone would think of a movie set in the oldun’ days. Someone had a tripod camera and a megaphone and a snappy board with numbers on it. I want you to try this when you’re writing an action scene. The idea is to get you to look …
When Real Life and the Writing Life Collide
By Kathleen Y’Barbo Watch out or you’ll end up in my novel! We’ve all seen this slogan or others like it on t-shirts, mugs, and all sorts of items. Until recently, I hadn’t given the process of creating characters from real people much thought. Sure, I’ve used real characters in my novels. Anna Finch and the Hired Gun featured a …
Conflicted about Conflict?
By Ane Mulligan My first novel was a Biblical fiction in which I strung together a bunch of scenes from Jesus’ life, interspersed with the fictional characters. There was no conflict, other than the Pharisees wanting to crucify Jesus. I figured that was enough. Uh, no. Not for a novel. Sigh. I had a lot to learn. I slid that …
Using Psychology to Create Deep Characters
A PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH TO DEVELOPING GRIP-YOUR-HEART CHARACTERS By J.A. Marx How do we write a poignant story that’s realistic, emotionally satisfying yet not watered down? After you’ve given your character a personality, a vocation, a purpose for living, and a setting contemplate the following. 1) Reality Pick an offense more exciting than stepping on toes or cutting someone off in …