Reading Time: 4 minutes (Hop to the end of the post to find out about how you might win some swag.(1) From here on out these posts will be monthly announcements of new books and/or new products in the Etsy store, and they will have coupons attached. They will also announce winners to the monthly giveaways. Each month, one winner will be chosen at random to receive swag. So stay on the list if you want to be entered for that drawing each month. I will be giving books, shirts, or journals. Winners may choose writing related, Christian, or children’s book related swag. So do nothing if you wan ..read more

Reading Time: 4 minutes Years ago a friend flew to Alaska to visit me. I took him up to Denali and dropped him off to camp for several days, telling him I’d go back and get him after I got off work on Saturday. Saturday, I was about three-quarters of the way up to Denali, when I realized I was going to have to buy gas before I got back home. I saw an open station but figured if I waited for the return trip and bought gas closer to Anchorage it would cost less. As I got closer to the park, I realized my mistake. It was only nine p.m., but I noticed the eastern horizon turning pea ..read more

Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s a lot like farming, this writing business. Farmers don’t get paid until long after they’ve planted the seed. They clear the field, they till the soil. No one pays them for that. They plant the seed. They water it. They cover the small plant when a late frost comes. They keep the weeds from choking it out. And they wait. And they wait. And, finally, there’s a harvest. Except when there isn’t. Most years there’s a harvest. Some a hundredfold. Some sixty. Some thirty. But there are long years of drought, too, sometimes. Do you keep planting every year? Do you believe ..read more

Reading Time: 2 minutes   Got this in the inbox last week. I was sick. Sorry I didn’t post it right away. What a brilliant query. Alas, as I said, I was sick. I didn’t offer to represent fast enough. I’m sure another agent has already snapped this one up. Still, I figured I should post it for the edification of all my readers. ~~~ 4-1-2020 Deer Sahlie Apockewduck, Thank you for considering my 5,000 word memoir, The Tragic Life and Lymes of a Deer Tick! A tick’s life is actually extravagantly fascinating!! Wild romps through the brushy forest, thrilling chases after shaggy dogs, evading bloodt ..read more

Reading Time: 3 minutesLet’s jump back into our PROBLEMS vs. “problems” series with a look at the ever-elusive issue of voice. Voice is referenced frequently in the writing world, so it’s no wonder that it can feel like a big PROBLEM when people critique voice in your work. Connecting with voice in a piece of writing is a subjective thing, but by examining the elements of good voice, perhaps we can start to see it as more of a smaller “problem.” Voice Should Reflect the Narrator I was talking with a content editor the other day, and she said that she shoots for a “cool aunt” voice on her webs ..read more

Reading Time: 6 minutes Your first goal, if you’re a novelist, is to draw the reader into your storyworld and keep him there. There may be several things you want to do with the reader once he’s in your world. You will want to move him emotionally because you want him to consider a new worldview, You may want to cause him to question his view and you may want to persuade him to come over to your view. Or maybe you just want to make him laugh–you want to entertain him for a while. Whether you are writing to change the world or merely to entertain, you need to, first of all, draw your reader in ..read more

Reading Time: 4 minutes At one of my retreats recently, I was speaking of a certain writer, saying he had an excellent voice and the best characters in the world, but he couldn’t plot to save his life. One of the people who heard me say this seemed to think this was harsh of me. She said she wouldn’t want to be known as the author who couldn’t plot. (1)details have been changed to protect the innocent. Hmmm. Why wouldn’t the guy be known as the author who has an excellent voice and the best characters in the world? Why would he be known as the author who can’t plot? I gave two positive t ..read more

Reading Time: 3 minutes   In keeping with our PROBLEMS vs. “problems” series, let’s take a look at plot tension in an effort to shift our perspective a little. Many writers receive critiques that mention a lack of tension, so it’s easy to see how it feels all PROBLEM-y. Because tension is achieved differently in each story, pinpointing what makes good tension can seem vague. Perhaps thinking through more concrete elements of conflict, stakes, and pacing can help turn TENSION into “tension” in our writing minds.  Stakes Stakes are often what hooks the readers and keeps them turning the pages ..read more

Reading Time: 3 minutesI’m not sure how spontaneous you all are, but if any of you are looking for a writing retreat and you can pull the trigger fast, this would be a great time to do that. I’ve had a couple of retreats so far.   Some clients and friends were here in early May   And I think I’m actually ready to start offering retreats for real this year. I’ve finally gotten the place furnished and I’ve gotten unpacked.     I had a lovely time in May with some clients who came out, and then at BRMCWC the following week, and all that time with writers made me want to open up my home to ..read more

Reading Time: 3 minutesLet’s jump back into our PROBLEMS vs. “problems” series with a look at the ever-elusive issue of voice. Voice is referenced frequently in the writing world, so it’s no wonder that it can feel like a big PROBLEM when people critique voice in your work. Connecting with voice in a piece of writing is a subjective thing, but by examining the elements of good voice, perhaps we can start to see it as more of a smaller “problem.” Voice Should Reflect the Narrator I was talking with a content editor the other day, and she said that she shoots for a “cool aunt” voice on her webs ..read more