The Key to REAL Writing Success
We all want to be successful writers. But how do we define success? A recent search for the word “success” in the Amazon books category yielded 266,470 results. At the click of a button, more than a quarter of a million books available today on how to become successful! Let’s face it. No one wakes […]
Writing Resolutions for 2018
Have you made personal new year’s resolutions for this year? If you did, now that we’re two weeks into 2018, how many resolutions have you kept? Have you set any new year’s resolutions for your writing? It’s not too late. Here are a few resolutions for you to consider: Pray Of course you’d expect […]
Writing in a Wonder-Full World
“The world will never starve for want of wonders, but only for want of wonder.”—G. K. Chesterton When you see a mushroom in your yard, do you dismiss it? Or do you tap it with a stick to see it bounce? Do you think of fairies and smile? And when you see the little snail […]
Showing Christmas Using the Five Senses
Show; don’t tell. We hear it all the time. Don’t tell the reader, show the reader. Draw readers into your story. Make it easy for them to feel as if they’re in the middle of whatever you’re writing. Prompted by a recent series of blog posts on the Hartline Literary Agency website, I’ve been thinking […]
Thankful for Silver Linings
The writing life can be unpredictable. Times of joy interspersed with times of discouragement. Mountains and valleys. Successes and failures. Problem is, all too often, the discouragement and failures seem to outnumber the joys and mountaintop experiences. So what do we do when our visits to the valleys seem to morph into extended stays? When […]
Kick Out Christianese
Last month, we talked about the importance of identifying and removing clichés from our writing. This month, let’s tackle Christianese. What is Christianese? Christianese phrases are Christian clichés. They form an insider language that is often overused, misused, and abused. Have you ever asked readers if they are saved? Or perhaps encouraged them to “ask […]
Author Interviews III: Sandy Carlson’s First Self-Publishing Experience
Author Sandy Carlson was born in Michigan, lived in six other states, and now resides in Michigan again. A former elementary teacher, Carlson is a blogger and a long-time member of SCBWI. She’s published in magazines, e-zines, newspapers, and anthologies, in addition to being the author of historical fiction, fantasy, and nonfiction books. Today, she writes, […]
Kick Out Clichés
We hear them so frequently that we’re often oblivious to their presence. But if we want our writing to make an impact in this day and age, in the final analysis, we must think outside the box and avoid clichés like the plague or our writing will be behind the eight ball! What are clichés? Once […]
Pilgrim’s Progress theme Part III
Write2Ignite Conference 2018 theme series—by Deborah S. DeCiantis After his escape from the Slough of Despond, Christian meets Mr. Worldly-Wiseman, who convinces him that an easier way to get rid of his burden is to turn aside from the path to the Wicket Gate and instead climb the hill to meet Legality and Civility. Christian […]
Keynote Speakers for 2018
Announcing the Write2Ignite keynote speakers for September 21–22, 2018! Jenny L. Cote Jenny L. Cote, author of two award-winning series, The Amazing Tales of Max & Liz and Epic Order of the Seven, will be the featured keynote speaker at Write2Ignite Conference 2018! She specializes in adventure fiction with historical content and has just released the first book of her new trilogy, The […]