By Elizabeth Jacobson Warning: You might stink. No, not you the author. I’m talking to your draft. “What?!” you shriek. Perhaps you’re clutching your pearls. “My draft?? My baby?! Yes, your draft. Your third, fourth, nineteenth draft. Yes, your baby that you have worked on for approximately 1,528,996 hours. To be fair, it’s not yourContinue reading “Warning: Even Your Umpteenth Draft May Stink (i.e. Why you need beta readers)”
Author Archives: headdeskliz
Give Your Audience What They Want
There’s a reason why every standard cake as certain basic ingredients. PHOTO CREDIT: DepositPhotos By Milla Holt Somewhere in the world there may be people who would love to eat a peanut butter, egg salad and jellied eel sandwich. Perhaps this is your favorite lunch, and you know you can make the best peanut butter,Continue reading “Give Your Audience What They Want”
When You Doubt Your Calling as a Writer
By Claire Tucker “Is it right for a Christian to write fiction?” “Well, yes,” I would answer. “But …” But maybe it isn’t right for me. Maybe that isn’t what God wants me to do with my life. It’s right for other people, like C. S. Lewis and Francine Rivers and every other really greatContinue reading “When You Doubt Your Calling as a Writer”
I’ve written a book. Now what?
By Tim Riordan I remember that thought going through my mind like it was yesterday. I dreamed of writing books since I was a teenager, but I never considered that there was more to do as an author than just write—a lot more. I have had the privilege of working with authors in a consultingContinue reading “I’ve written a book. Now what?”
Bringing Your World to Life – Avoiding the Dreaded Storytelling Infodump
By Elizabeth Jacobson Infodump [ in-foh-duhmp ] noun. The part of the story where the author plops all the backstory on the page at once. Often found in an otherwise extraneous prologue or first chapter. verb. The act of providing the reader with an overly detailed backstory behind a narrative, in one fell swoop. Here’s theContinue reading “Bringing Your World to Life – Avoiding the Dreaded Storytelling Infodump”
How much of a Christian message is “appropriate” in Christian fiction?
By Lana Christian This question plagues many authors. To answer this, let’s consider two respected authors. Both were atheists who became Christians. Both eschewed denominational labels. “Christian enough” debunked Madelaine L’Engle, author of the Time Quintet series, caught flak from Christians for not having a “Christian enough” message in her books. Christian bookstores refused toContinue reading “How much of a Christian message is “appropriate” in Christian fiction?”
Research for Writing: Avoiding the Proverbial Rabbit Hole
By Claire Tucker I’m terrible with dictionaries. Don’t get me wrong — I love dictionaries, with all the different, wonderful and new words for me to discover. The problem is that when I grab a dictionary to look up one word, I get distracted. By other words. Ten new words later, I remind myself ofContinue reading “Research for Writing: Avoiding the Proverbial Rabbit Hole”
Why English is Weird—and how to Write Right Despite It
By Lana Christian English is such a weird language. I didn’t realize how weird until I started teaching writing classes in the mid-1990s. They were meant to be simple four-hour “enrichment” classes for employees at the hospital where I worked. I never dreamed that MDs who were non-native speakers of English would attend my classContinue reading “Why English is Weird—and how to Write Right Despite It”
To The Person Writing My Story
By Stephanie Jaye Are you a plotter or a panster? I feel like that’s a question every writer gets asked at least once in their writing journey, and one that we may even ask ourselves at one point. Some people are strict plotters, while others just write and see where their characters take them. SomeContinue reading “To The Person Writing My Story”
The Fight Against Weasel Words: The Struggle is Real
By Elizabeth Jacobson I had written for years as teen and (very) young adult before I went on kind of a “forced hiatus.” I stopped having the time to write – at least that’s what I told myself. What really happened was that I stopped making the time, but that’s a different story. One ofContinue reading “The Fight Against Weasel Words: The Struggle is Real”
Elizabeth Jacobson 