Just in Case You Missed These Posts

Our Devotional Master Class has come and gone, but you can still access these posts about writing Devotionals for adults and children. Jarm Del Boccio started us out by writing Tips for Writing Kids and Teens Devotionals. Ava Pennington wrote about her devotional, The Names of God, that refuses to die. Jarm reviewed Reflections on […]

What did You Learn at the Devotionals Master Class? by Gail Cartee

I have written a devotional blog for several years but that doesn’t mean I can’t learn a thing or two or maybe three about writing devotionals. Karen Whiting’s class had three sessions and each one was packed with information that we put into practice during the breakout sessions.  The first session helped me understand how to […]

Motivating Metaphors

When you sit down to write, what metaphor do you visualize? In my earliest years as a writer, I attended a writing conference. One of the speakers shared a metaphor that hit me hard. “There is nothing to writing,” he said. “All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” Often attributed to […]

Do Not Besmirch Research

I’m currently doing research for three historical fiction projects. And all three will utilize different types of sources. I apologize that this post will mostly be lists and is a little dry. And it won’t even been an exhaustive list. But it will show how a zealous researcher needs to be creative, and the blog […]

On ‘Story Genius’ or . . . How to Avoid Wasting a Decade of Your Life

Ever feel as if your writing is a waste of time? That the entire universe is laughing at your paltry literary efforts? That’s one of my biggest fears, and it’s founded on reality. I wrote three unsuccessful children’s book series for David C. Cook in the 1990s. And by “unsuccessful” I mean the amount of […]

On Violence in Middle-Grade Books by Marianne Hering

I just turned in a middle-school book proposal in which a uniformed guard gets too close to a fire and his bronze helmet melts, burning his face. That happens just before his body incinerates. It’s gruesome. I describe smells and screams and the ferocious fire that is waiting for more victims. (And yes, you guessed […]