Tag Archives: tips
Let’s Go Back! Flashbacks and Making Them Work
By Cindy Patterson As writers, it’s our job to transport our readers into our stories so deeply, they feel as though they’re no longer reading. This is no easy task. We spend so much time working out our plots, scenes, … Continue reading
Change Your Motive, Change the World …and the industry
by J.A. Marx If you’ve been around ACFW for any length of time, you’ve heard the one question every agent and editor asks: “Who’s your audience?” The tighter we narrow down the audience for our story, the happier we make … Continue reading
Speaking to Book Clubs, Is It Worth Your Time?
By Nora St. Laurent Having run two book clubs, inside of a book store, and one that met on-line, I have witnessed the excitement felt by readers, firsthand when they can either meet with an author, or speak with them … Continue reading
5 Steps to Using A “Q Factor”
by Ane Mulligan I learned about the Q Factor from James Scott Bell years ago. He’s given me permission to share it here. So what is the Q Factor? It’s a great tool that comes from Dr. Q, in the James … Continue reading
In Prison Last Week
by Donna K. Rice The clanking sounds of the doors rolling closed behind actors entering a prison in the movies are accurate. Last week, I experienced hearing that noise behind me for the first time. It made me think about … Continue reading
Savor the Season
By Shirley E. Gould We, authors, polish our prose as our word counts rise in order to share our stories with the masses. It’s tedious work we’ve dared to under-take. I’ve been working on a contemporary romantic suspense series for … Continue reading
Writing Christmas Fiction
by Susan A.J. Lyttek It’s one thing to reminisce about Christmases gone by and to tell our own tales. But how do we go about creating traditions for a fictional character and make it seem both compelling and realistic? First … Continue reading
“Passive” Mania Blues
By Loretta Eidson I’m a high school graduate who majored in Home Economics and Math. English and Literature weren’t necessary to me at the time. Remembering how to dissect a sentence or conjugate a verb lasted about as long as … Continue reading
Honor the Craft
By Henry McLaughlin James Scott Bell posted a blog called Don’t Ever Mail It In where he wrote about the attitude that we’ve reached a certain point in our writing where we don’t have to improve. What struck me most … Continue reading
Writing Out of My Comfort Zone
By Lee Tobin McClain I’m usually a planner… I’m a planner in all areas of my life. I write grocery lists, yearly goals, and daily plans. Most relevant to this post, I plan out my novels. I have chapter outlines … Continue reading
Three Tips for Writing a Novella that Feels Like a Full Book
by Melissa Tagg I wrote my first novella in 2014…and, true story, I had noooo clue what I was doing! I’d published three novels at the time. I’d written short stories in college. But nothing in-between. Since then, though, I’ve … Continue reading
Vacation, aka Book Marketing Research
By Glynn Young My wife and I have been to England several times for vacation, but this time it was vacation with a book twist. Shortly before we left, I had finished a manuscript and turned it over to the … Continue reading
Beyond Sense of Place
by Gail Gaymer Martin Setting should be more than sense of place. It can add deeper meaning to your story by reflecting the theme or mood. It can enhance the plot with situations built into the setting that can foreshadow … Continue reading
Book to Movie?
by Michael Hicks Thompson What author doesn’t want their book made into a movie? It’s what launched John Grisham’s career. Remember The Firm? How’d Grisham accomplish that feat? Serendipity, for one. He took his manuscript to Willie Morris, the famous … Continue reading
Making it right….
by Roxanne Rustand When someone refers to their “writing journey,” I think back to my own journey and my own misconceptions back in the early 1990’s. It all seemed so clear back then. Write. Be dedicated. Absorb everything I heard … Continue reading
