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Pattern of Wounds by J. Mark Bertrand
Roland March, Houston homicide detective, responds to a call about a stab victim. The victim lies face down, half in a pool, killed by a knife through the heart. Something about the scene strikes March as odd: it mimics a crime scene photo of a case he closed ten years ago. The only difference is…
Motivation to Keep Going
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11 What gets you out of bed on a lazy, rainy morning to brave a day of errands? What keeps you going when nothing you’ve planned is working? When your kids are defiant and your spouse just…
The Teacher Becomes The Student
It’s much easier to assign writing than to teach writing. That epiphany in my profession as a high school English teacher was a blessing and a curse. . .for me and for my students. It meant I stopped bombarding them with the alphabet soup of essays (analysis, biography, comparison, definition, exemplification, etc.), and started devoting…
Finish the Book
by Kathleen Y Barbo A Procrastinator’s Guide to Getting to THE END and Hitting Send Some people have no trouble writing books. Words flow and contracts arrive almost as frequently as 747s land at LAX. Life is good and so are the royalty checks. Is this your idea of the writing life? Guess what? That’s…
What Really Keeps Me From Writing
Life must be lived at one speed. But Sheri and I have noticed many try to speed it up. Maybe they simply don’t realize they’re doing it and the result is they push out peace and make those around them play at their speed. Others want it to slow down. And some people wish they…
When God Leads you to the Edge of a Cliff
“When God leads you to the edge of the cliff, trust Him fully and let go, only 1 of 2 things will happen, either He’ll catch you when you fall, or He’ll teach you how to fly!” I read this in an email devotion and it got me thinking… What do I have to lose…
Poured Out Love
ShoShone Falls located in Idaho towers thirty-six feet higher than Niagara Falls, and the sight is amazing. The water flows around a bend in the river, rushes and cascades over several layers of huge, jagged rocks, and drops 212 feet. A spray rises into the sky and at the bottom is a beautiful rainbow. Standing…
Top Ten Ways to Find Ten Minutes to Write
No one should have to remind us that life is short. The Bible says it “fades quickly like grass.” In fact, the book of Proverbs is full of encouragement to make use of our time, to be wise with our gifts. If this is true, that we should, in fact, use every day wisely, then…
How to Write a Hallelujah Chorus-Worthy First Chapter
“Without a great first chapter your reader will never move onto to chapter two.” That reality is beat into us at writer conferences, on blogs, and in writing email loops. But before a reader can love your first chapter, you need to believe in your first chapter and love it. But, let’s face it. How…
A Life Interrupted by Illness
Did anyone ever tell you, “Be careful what you wish for or you may get it?” A few years ago, I stared at the wall and wondered what it would be like to be able to write all the time. I complained to God how I had all these stories and no time to tell…