Fiction
Tough Love
I’ve tried it all from authoritative discipline to non-punitive parenting, and I can say for certainty. Nothing works! At least with my kids. The back talk and arguing from my little WIPs have pushed me over the edge many more times than I care to count. The other morning we were having a discussion about…
No Fast Road to Publication
Many published authors have a story of how ultimately it took fate or divine intervention to get published. Everyone needs a foot in the door, so it seems, and all the powers that be must come together at just the right moment to create the much coveted Writing Contract. As writers who are also Christians,…
Carnival of Christian Writers #6 March 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… Editor Mick Silva shares Conference Do’s and Don’ts at Your Writers Group. Novelist and professional organizer Cyndy Salzmann at The Packrat Chronicles shares…
Accelerating Your Writing Career
The 6 Cs of Professional Writing 1. Colorful – Making sure your writing is colorful does not mean filling your story with flowery description and boring description. It means making sure every aspect of your writing contains sensory perception. Try using all of the senses in every scene. Blend this tool with the natural flow…
Pens Should Be Mightier than Toilet Plungers
Martin Espada wrote this advice to young poets in The Republic of Poetry, but it applies to all writers, Christian bloggers included. Advice to Young Poets Never pretend to be a unicorn by sticking a plunger on your head. Let me just extract a few editorial lessons here. 1) “Never pretend.” Good words are always…
Quick Fiction Fixes – Writer’s Voice, part two
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! Developing your writing voice, part…
Staying on Target: Chapter after Chapter
“Why is that lady shooting a bow and arrow?” my youngest son asked me yesterday, holding my copy of Heather Sellers’ Chapter after Chapter. “Because she’s aiming for a target,” I told him. “But where’s the target? I can’t see it.” He turned the book over and looked at me puzzled. “Well, she’s writing a…
Quick Fiction Fixes – Writer’s Voice, part one
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! Developing your writing voice, part…
Get Your Motivations in Order
Hi, Jill Elizabeth Nelson again, your first Tuesday of the month blogger. And no, this isn’t a blog about searching your soul. It’s about searching your manuscript to get those tricky MRUs lined up and save your reader potential confusion. (Also, no, this isn’t a medical blog. I said MRU, not MRI. 😉 ) The…
End Time Fiction: Writers Left Behind
by Ron Estrada I have a confession to make: I love End Time fiction, and I truly believe we are living in the Earth’s last days. Okay, that’s out. Many of you will send me links to my nearest Left Behind support group. Just to put my cards on the table, my theology and Tim…