First Drafts

by Katherine Reay, @Katherine_Reay

The First Draft…

It’s wonderful to be here today. As I write this, The Austen Escape is a couple months from release and I begin a new story. In fact, this very morning, I pulled out my colored pens, opened the file in Scrivener and started, in earnest.

The blank page, or the blank computer screen, is a daunting sight. It’s exciting because it is just that – blank. We can fill it with anything and that anything has the potential to be great. But that catches our breath too because it must be filled – and that it will require hundreds of hours and thousands of words.

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What’s on Your Bucket List?

by Patricia Bradley, @PTBradley1

I started my bucket list when I was thirty-five. I wanted to write and eventually get published. If I had known it would take 33 years, would I have pursued my dream?

I think so, because I don’t think I had a choice. I may have been thirty-five when I realized I was born to write, but once I knew it, nothing could stop me. I think most writers are that way.

Some writers take even longer to realize it than I did. Often they think they’re too old to start a new career.

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Color Your Writing with Emotion

by DiAnn Mills, @diannmills

Writers are always looking for ways to deepen their writing. That’s who we are and what we do.

We explore the psychology of our characters to add tension and conflict to our projects.

We twist our plots and add dimension to narrative and setting.

When writers use color to establish emotion, the reader is able to experience the actions and reactions on a higher level. Emotions become vivid, and symbolism weaves into the storyline.

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Saying No & Letting Go

by Lisa Jordan, @lisajordan

My grandparents owned a dairy farm. When my siblings and I were younger, we’d play in the barn with our large extended family. My cousin, who was a year older and my closest friend at the time, used to convince me to follow her across the barn beams suspended above the hayloft.

We'd practice our gymnastics routines, even though neither of us had any training. As we stood above our adoring audience of barn cats, we'd extend our arms and put one foot in front of the other to make our way across the rough-cut beams. Despite our stupidity, God's angels shrouded us in safety.

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Thoughts on Writing a Series

by Linore Rose Burkard, @LinoreRBurkard

When I wrote my first YA/Suspense PULSE, I didn't expect to write a sequel. Today, having finished three volumes in The Pulse Effex Series, I'm grateful for many readers who wanted more and thus spurred me on.

I didn't plan from the beginning to write a trilogy. But when I stayed in the world of the story, it developed.

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Yet Another Tip On How to Write A Great Novel

by Rachel Hauck, @RachelHauck

Do you ever weary of all the do’s and don’ts of writing a novel? I do. Sometimes I get so bogged down with the “rules” and guidelines I end up writing something that doesn’t work. But in the end, it all forms together to create the novel I do end up sending to my editor. Nothing written for a novel is ever wasted. Every word becomes a layer and texture of the ultimate story. On my latest novel, I learned a valuable lesson. Reading. Shocker, right? Y’all are rolling your eyes, moaning, “Gee whiz, Rachel, and you have more than twenty novels published!? Where’s the justice?”Simmer down. I know reading is important. I’ve always read. Let me be more specific. Reading for research.

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Path to Publication

by Dani Pettrey, @DaniPettrey

The path to publication was a long one for me. Seven years from the thought of ‘maybe I’ll write a book’ to the actual contract. I have friends for whom it has been much longer and some for whom it’s been far shorter. I hate those friends. Just joking…sort of ;)

The truth is, everyone’s publishing path is going to be different because we are all different and God’s timing is perfect. For me, that timing was seven years. For others, it is three or ten years.

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The Importance of Asking Why

by Lisa Jordan, @lisajordan

Until last month, I'd spent the last nineteen years of my life working as an early childhood educator. While working with young children, one of the questions I’d heard most often in my career was, “Why?”

Children ask this question constantly because they are sponges, soaking up all kinds of information. If they’re given one answer, chances are they’ll continue asking why to find another. Sure, it can be annoying, but it’s how they learn. Many times I’d ask them why and they’d usually tell me "because."

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5 Habits of a Successful Writer

by DiAnn Mills, @diannmills

Emulating those whose writing careers have soared into bestseller status provides us with amazing role models. We look for a roadmap with precise steps and no detours. But every writer is different, and the destination isn’t always reached the same way.

We can accomplish the same goals as those writers who inspire us. It’s a matter of determining the practices that most fit our personalities. The following is what I feel makes a notable difference in a writer’s career.

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The I’s have it. But should they?

by Rachel Hauck, @RachelHauck

Ever listen to a conversation where “I” was the predominate word? I did this, I did that, I went here, I went there… I, I, I, I.

After awhile, the picture is etched that the person talking is really into themselves.

The same idea applies to writing in first person. As the writer and storyteller, it’s easy for us to get going in the first person narrative and forget to not let the “I’s” have it.

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Indirectness: The Secret of Great Dialogue

by Amanda G. Stevens, @AmandaGStevens

Realistic dialogue results in believable characters. If the dialogue sounds fake, then the characters feel fake, and nothing makes me set a book down faster than this. Whatever else is done well, if characters open their mouths and I don’t hear real human voices, I’m out.

Not every reader is the dialogue fanatic that I am, but writing craft books encourage us to prioritize this skill. On this note, I must credit two books: How to Grow a Novel by Sol Stein and Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne and King. These books as well as great novels taught me the most important element of great dialogue: indirectness. Characters should almost never say what they mean. After all, real people don’t.

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Creating Sidekicks For Your Characters

by Lisa Jordan, @lisajordan

Laverne & Shirley. Lucy & Ethel. Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson. Batman & Robin. Shaggy & Scooby. SpongeBob& Patrick. Shrek & Donkey. Frodo & Sam.Monica & Rachel. Lorelai & Sookie.

Depending on your age, these names may sound familiar, but what do they have in common?

They’re all fictional main characters with their sidekicks.

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The Power of Pinterest

By DiAnn Mills, @diannmills

Pinterest claims to have 100 million active monthly users while noting 176 million registered users. Those stats are amazing, especially when writers are geared up to market and promote a new book.

Using Pinterest for promoting novels allows writers to expand their creativity. An easy way to entice a reader to check out our work involves pulling out special sections of the novel that can be translated into a picture or meme.

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How Not to Do A Critique

By Linore Rose Burkard, @LinoreRBurkard

Seasoned writers know that having one's work critiqued by fellow writers (or even savvy readers) can determine the difference between a finished piece that is merely "good" or one that sings. Critique partners can strengthen a manuscript, clean up errors, and make invaluable suggestions that the writer might not think of.

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Plotting with Passion

by Dawn Crandall, @dawnwritesfirst

Hello, my name is Dawn, and I am a Plotter. Of the first degree.

Even before I started to write my very first novel, which also became my award winning debut novel, The Hesitant Heiress, I'd tried out many plots in my "before writing" writings. It's just something I love to do, and as I've learned over writing my four published novels, it makes things easier in the long run. It might be partly because I write my historical romances from deep first person point of view from only the heroine's side. Because of this, I need to figure out all of the other associating characters just as well, and also make it so the reader will be able to get to know them as well as the heroine does as the book unfolds.

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Should I Give a Webinar? Part III

by Linore Rose Burkard

In Parts One and Two, I discussed fears about giving webinars, and how to put such hindrances to rest. But are there real drawbacks to the medium that offline events don't have? Let's take a look.

PROBLEM: YOU CAN'T SEE THE AUDIENCE

Is this a PRO or a CON? For people who get nervous in front of an audience, this aspect of webinars may be helpful. All one need do is speak in front of a safe, little camera. ;)

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6 Tips for Productive Brainstorming

by Lisa Jordan, @lisajordan

My good friend Jeanne Takenaka, who writes beautiful, encouraging blog posts, and I have been working together for nearly a year, helping each other to strengthen our stories and digging deeper into learning the different craft elements.

Our partnership works well because we are able to balance out each other’s strengths and weaknesses. I’ve been thinking about what makes our partnership work, and I’ve decided to share some tips to help others who are pursuing craft partnerships.

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Deepening Characterization

by Normandie Fischer

We've all been there, haven't we? Curled up with a book that has become a favorite, even though our unread stack threatens to topple. 

Here's my question for today. Why do we read some books more than once while setting others aside with barely another thought?

Last month, I had the pleasure of spending a few hours with an out-of-town reader who’d been so affected by one of my books that she’d had to pick it up and dig through it again. Something about that book's characters resonated with what she'd experienced, and she wanted more. I was charmed, of course, but that’s what we want, isn’t it? For our characters to touch hearts and change lives.

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5 Tips for Creating First Dates for Your Characters

by Lisa Jordan @lisajordan

Do you remember your first date? Or maybe your first date with the person who ended up becoming your spouse?

My husband and I had a unique courtship—we met in our hometown while he served in the USMC but had come home on leave. For the next 18 months, we communicated via handwritten letters, phone calls, and infrequent weekend visits.

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Be a Voice, Not an Echo

by Rachel Hauck

Writing in the Christian market pushes us to go beyond the realm of this life to find meaning and purpose for our characters. While we are not writing sermons and devotionals set in fictional places with fictional characters, we are imitating life.

For the Christian author, Jesus is very much a part of our every day life. We want to express Him in some way in our stories, through the lives of our characters. But often our stories sound hokey, canned, full of Christianese. How we talk in the foyer at church, or in Sunday school class does not translate into fiction.

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