Posts
Books as Writing Teachers
It’s nice to be well-read. A good way to talk with your editor about a book you are working on is to reference another book that employs a literary device particularly well. I know it might sound daunting, but really it’s not. Let yourself read and don’t take it too seriously. Read for fun and…
Im All About Organization
I may be all about organization, but that doesn’t mean I’m organized. My desk is cluttered with papers, as is almost every corner of my home. It’s not that I don’t clean and I try to declutter every so often, it’s just that there’s so much stuff with 4 kids, many hobbies and not enough…
Take Me Out of the Ball Game!
Chris came home tonight from his first baseball practice. Frankly I was surprised he even signed up for baseball because four years ago he got hit by a ball in the batters box and hasn’t had the desire to play ever since…until his homeschooled best friend mentioned he wanted to play! I was reluctant at…
Carnival of Christian Writers #5 February 2007
It’s carnival time! This month’s carnival is sure to entertain and inform. So please keep your hands and feet inside at all times and buckle up for your safety. Enjoy the ride… Literary Agent Chip MacGregor shares Ten Changes in Christian publishing. Dena Dyer at the CAN Marketing Blog writes about surviving (and learning from)…
Worship
I just finished reading Joyce Meyer’s book The Battle Belongs to the Lord. It’s amazing how fast I got through it while exercising on my elliptical machine 20-30 minutes 5 times a week. It was a great little book and a quick read about over coming life’s struggles through worship. What I took away…
An Introduction
Hello, my name is Dineen Miller, and I’m married to an atheist. Sounds like something you’d hear at an AA meeting, doesn’t it? Except this isn’t an addiction with a twelve-step plan to rehabilitation. Unlike an agnostic who neither claims faith nor disbelief, an atheist simply doesn’t believe God exists. There is no afterlife or…
The Three Chapter Rule
In a recent critique I was told my opening needed to move quicker. I thought I had done that after scrapping the first opening. But I heeded their wise advice and went back and hacked and pushed things up, and I’m very happy to say the pacing starts off on roll and keeps going. I’m…
My Flabby Flesh
No, I’m not taking about the extra baby fat I can’t seem to get rid of. I’m talking about the lazy, selfish part of me that gets tired of doing the right thing. Well, I’m glad I didn’t listen to my flesh yesterday because my obedience really blessed someone in need. Let us not become…
Warning: Field Trip Gripe Fest
Why are the things meant to be fun, like a field trip to the zoo, always a struggle? The idea was simple. Go to the zoo. Bring our nature journals and write a few things about the different buildings. It’d be an easy school day. Right? Not with my kids. I can’t remember how it…
Quick Fiction Fixes – Too many action beats
We’re all busy, whether working full-time or chasing/chauffeuring kids around all day. Yet we’re also writers, striving to get our words on paper and then polish it to a sparkle. This column gives quick fixes for fiction manuscripts specifically for busy writers. Pick and choose what works best for you! Too many action beats The…