A month ago I participated in an exciting event that helped launch a book that I spent three years writing. It felt amazing to finally hold a long-awaited copy in my hand. As I look forward to the day when it will go live on Amazon and other venues, my imagination goes wild with the […]
“I need some prayer for my attitude,” I told a friend the other day. I went on to vent about some writing-related frustrations, all having to do with things I used to love but now felt disillusioned with. She waited for me to finish then said something that surprised me: “Maybe you’re outgrowing these things.” […]
The October issue of Guideposts magazine (pictured here) includes an article that I helped a dear friend write. I’m so excited! Because the story is ghostwritten, my name is not on it, but I could care less. Not only did I love helping Lindy and her husband, Jim get their miraculous story out there, but […]
The manuscript was painful to read, filled with mistakes that even most beginners wouldn’t make. I managed to find some positive things to say and offered helpful tips for improvement, but I still dreaded the possibility of crushing a newbie writer’s spirit.
Tonight, a friend and I are hosting the first meeting for our new critique group. We are extremely excited! Both of us have led groups before and had wonderful as well as frustrating experiences, so we have pretty firm ideas for what we want. One thing we want to avoid is ending up with what […]
Plot versus Character, by Jeff Gerke Plot versus Character, by Jeff Gerke, is a must have for every writer’s shelf. This book re-charges writing batteries with creativity, focus, and resonance. Instead of jumping into the argument, he intertwines their potential. His system integrates plot and character to deepen the quality of your novel, by both […]
The manila envelope containing my first critique is still in my dented file drawer as a memorial to how delusional I was back then . . . I mean how far I’ve come as a writer. I pre-submitted the story before my first writer’s conference. If I remember correctly, I requested Christine because that sounded […]
Two weeks ago, I posted a devotional on a blog that I had never written for before. I was so excited for the opportunity, but my fingers almost froze as I clicked “Publish.” I didn’t need to wonder why I felt so nervous. I was not only putting my thoughts out there for a whole […]
Last month, I blogged about my desire to get some beginner excitement back—to recapture the joy of my first writers conference when everything was new and a good critique spelled success. I have been home from the 2013 Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference for less than a week, and I am pleased to report that […]
Words Matter
Today I caught myself laughing at an e-mail from my son’s middle school that was intended to be serious—a reminder about No Name Calling Awareness Week. I confess that I joked about it with my son. “Remember, Nathan, name calling is wrong.” I quoted the slogan for the week: “Words matter.”
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