How Dialogue Strengthens Your Manuscript
Writing dialogue is one of my favorite parts of the writing process. If done well, using dialogue can strengthen your manuscript and turn an average story into an engaging ride people will be talking about long after they read it. Here are 3 examples of how your story benefits from good dialogue. Dialogue puts […]
3 Editing Tips from a Woodcarver by Karley Conklin
“When you write a book, you spend day after day scanning and identifying the trees. When you’re done, you have to step back and look at the forest.” -Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft You’ve probably never thought to ask for editing tips from a woodcarver. I normally wouldn’t, either. Yet this […]
The Challenge of Interpreting Culture by Emily Babbitt
Some stories — even if written during a different time — are applicable to every generation of teens because they help with interpreting culture. First published in 1967, The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton, has inspired readers for more than 50 years. Hinton, just fifteen years old when she began writing the book, was inspired by […]
BLUE: A Book Review by Kathryn Dover
I was excited to follow Junior Bledsoe’s journey in the second novel in the Baker Mountain series, Blue. Junior does not have as large a role in this novel as he does in the series’ previous novel, Aim, but his character is crucial because he helps his friend and neighbor, Ann Fay Honeycutt, who is […]
Inspired by History by Jarm Del Boccio
Paris is one of my favorite cities. Its history and ambiance intrigue me. There is something about strolling down the streets of Paris, crossing the bridges, or walking along the Seine, even in the rain, that can’t be experienced anywhere else in the world. It has a certain “Je ne sais pas” (I don’t know […]
AIM: A Book Review by Kathryn Dover and a Giveaway!
I have been interested in reading the Bakers Mountain series by Joyce Moyer Hostetter since I first heard about it at Write2Ignite 2018. When I was offered this opportunity to review all four books in the series, I gladly accepted. I am beginning my reviews with Aim, the first book, and will progress through the […]
12 Questions – Are You Ready for an Agent?
This information is for writers of fiction seeking an agent. If you hope to have your book published by a traditional publishing house (Christian or general market) you will very possibly need an agent. Have you been thinking about searching for one? The task is daunting. Before you begin you need to figure out whether […]
The Power of Repetition by Emily Babbitt
I hadn’t been to church since February, and I was starting to feel disconnected from God. During my first week back in a sanctuary, God spoke to me through a literary device — repetition. My church stopped hosting in-person services at the beginning of March because of COVID-19, and I’d missed a few weeks before […]
Write Through the Pain: The Why, How, and Results
“All the best parts of art come from pain turned to celebration.” -Natalia Kills When life’s circumstances put you in a rut, a hole, or even a deep pit of despair and loss, we have a powerful tool at our disposal: our writing. Pain is a universal aspect of life that visits all who dwell […]
Punctuation: Spice Up Your Writing by Emily Babbitt
The English language has many interesting components to work with, and one of my favorite ways to add personality to my writing is through punctuation! In grade school, you learned about the different end marks: periods, exclamation marks, and question marks. You probably also learned about commas, colons, semicolons, and hyphens. There is a whole […]