Family. We all have them. And they are all so different. I have been blessed with an amazing family. This is my dad with me and my siblings on his back…a long time ago LOL. My parents just left yesterday after coming out for almost a week to free me to work on edits for two August 1st deadlines. They …
The Moral Premise
Right now I’m reading a book called the Moral Premise. The author Stanley D. Williams will teach the Early Bird at ACFW in September, and like any good hyper student, I wanted to get a head start on preparing. The Moral Premise reveals the foundational concept at the heart of all storytelling and successful box office movies. In concrete terms …
Quirks: We All Need Them
We all have quirks. One of mine is that I love traditions. So every July 4th week, I know I’ll be dragging my kids to a blueberry farm at least once so we fill our fridge and hopefully our freezer with fresh blueberries. This year we went twice in three days — so far. But my breakfast of choice is …
It’s Almost Here: ACFW Conference
This week I’ve started one of my favorite times of the year, running first time orientation for the ACFW conference. A few years ago we realized that approximately a third of our attendees any given year were first timers. I’ll never forget my first time at conference in 2005. I went with a fellow writer from Indiana — a gal …
These are a few of my favorite things: Writing Books
This week, since so many people are on spring break, I’m going to share a few of my favorite books with you. I’m going to start with a craft book. Plot v. Character is a new writing book, releasing in the fall of 2010. Jeff Gerke, the author, has developed software (which I love) that walks writers through the creation …
Roots: the keys to our pasts and futures
Isn’t this a cute group of kids? My dad’s buried under the pile. I’m probably eight, since I’m guessing Joel is about one. Eric pulled this photo out last week. You can learn a lot about me by this photo. And I got to thinking about what that means for the characters I create. This week, I plan/hope to work …
Turning an Idea into a Book, Part 2
After my editor asked to see the ideas I had for the Ohio series, I realized I needed to do some fast searching. But I couldn’t just look for any old World War Two story. I knew it had to be something I could become truly excited about. To start I hustled over to Google and entered searches along the …
Turning an Idea into a Book, Part 1
One challenge both published and not-yet-published authors have is how to rein in an idea and turn it into a book. My friend Tricia Goyer posted on twitter last week about the reality that you have to reach a point with your research where you stop and start writing. But knowing when you’ve reached that point is so hard! Research …
Calming First Time Nerves
Attending a conference is nerve-wrecking. Let’s face it, you’re taking huge risks by going. You’ve invested a lot of money: registration, hotel, airfare, some meals, and other incidentals. You’ve invested who you are – by attending you’re joining the ranks of those who have moved from wanting to write, to those who have taken steps to actively chase a dream. …
Google Maps — An Amazing Tool
I’ve heard many writers rave about Google Maps, but until A Promise Kept, the book I just finished, I didn’t really need it. I knew my settings well from site visits or having lived in the communities. Cincinnati — yeah, don’t know it well at all. So I turned to Google maps. I LOVE the satellite feature. It allowed me …