5 Habits of (This) Fiction Writer
How many writers do you know who don’t have to do anything but write? That’s what I thought. The truth is most writers have “regular” jobs. In addition to gainful employment, they have families. They...
View ArticleMarch 2015: ACFW Colorado Springs News
Are you letting God take part in the collaboration of your story-crafting? Are you setting your sights on Him first as you put fingers to your keyboard and … Continue reading→
View ArticleEnter the 6th annual One-Sheet Contest!
It’s time for the 6th annual One-Sheet Contest, sponsored by Mile High Scribes – ACFW South Denver Chapter! By definition, a one-sheet (aka a press sheet, pitch sheet, sell sheet or promo sheet) is …...
View ArticleAntidotes to the Writing Life
What’s your writing disease? And what medicine do you take when it strikes? Here are a few of my symptoms and what I do to counteract them. 1. Symptom: Getting to a scene in my notes and realizing...
View ArticleInterview with Allen Arnold: Find Your Creative Connection
ACFW CO-Western Slope presents… Allen Arnold, ACFW national board member and recipient of the ACFW Lifetime Achievement Award will be in Grand Junction, Colorado, on Saturday, August 22. He will...
View ArticleMastering Those Dreaded Deadlines
Do you hate deadlines as much as I do? I think part of the problem is the word itself. According to my dictionary, a deadline is “a line drawn within or around a prison that a prisoner passes at …...
View ArticleGetting into Character
Depending on whether you write plot-driven stories or character-driven stories determines when you start developing your characters. However, one thing is certain: you will need well-rounded...
View ArticleWriting in the Midst of Life
Sometimes it seems as though we are inundated with writing helps, encouragement to write, conferences to attend, deadlines to meet. And all of those are good. They keep us focused, energized, equipped,...
View Article8 Steps to Digital Publishing
Having just waded through the digital publishing jungle and experienced the joy of seeing my first books available for sale on Amazon and other online retailers, it seemed perhaps I could offer some...
View ArticleSelf-Editing for Writers
I have a love-hate relationship with editing. I love to write. Never have a problem coming up with ideas. Always got a couple of stories simmering in the back of my mind. Happy to write The End and...
View ArticlePulled in Many Directions
A blog is due. Contest entries to be judged. Editing due for a client. Writing in my own book. After all, it’s NaNoWriMo month. The next book to be plotted. A book release. An online course to...
View ArticleConference recap — Killer Nashville
I recently attended, for the first time, Killer Nashville conference, and I thought some readers might like to hear about this event. It was a 4-day conference at a really decent price, held in a...
View ArticleDetails DO Matter – Research in Your Writing
Details do matter. Maybe not to every reader, but to many of them, and as an author, you don’t want to disappoint a whole section of readers. You want to write compelling stories with setting, weather,...
View ArticleThese are a Few of my Favorite Things
By Donna Schlachter Christmas is a great time of the year to receive those writerly tools that will help overcome hurdles little and big in your writing career. Tools are used in every profession. Can...
View ArticleInterview with Paula Moldenhauer
Q: The good news is this week is the release of your first devotional book, Soul Scents: Awaken. Any author would be excited, but what’s the best part for you? The fact this book feels foundational to...
View ArticleBoxes—Some creative encouragement at Christmas
Female. Check. White, non-Hispanic. Check. There are so many boxes that we check it can drive anyone crazy. Not only do people get defined by what they are, they are also defined by what they are not....
View ArticleFitting It All In
No doubt about it, from Thanksgiving to New Year’s can be the most hectic time of the year for folks. And as writers, now we have ten more things to fit into our already-busy lives. With family,...
View ArticleGod’s timing: Terrible or Perfect?
“It’s all about God’s timing—and honestly, God’s timing is typically terrible,” my nineteen-year old son said as we talked yesterday. We laughed, but I get it. Life can feel like one long waiting game,...
View ArticleReligious Facts in Historical Fiction
In addition to writing books, I also read and write reviews of books. While reading a book recently, one detail pulled me from the story, and I had to stop reading it for a while. Set in … Continue...
View ArticleA New Start
So the new year has been and gone, and now we’re faced with twelve months ahead that have never been lived before. A new calendar can be as daunting as a blank page, however. Where to start? We don’t...
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