Archive for May, 2014

Raise Your Bar

Raise Your Bar
by Jennifer Slattery

It seems everyone wants to be a writer. And who wouldn’t? You work from home, plan your own schedule, and live in a fantasy world much of the time. But of the tens of thousands (perhaps even millions?) around the globe longing to pen that first novel, only a small percentage will actually follow through. Even fewer will see their work in print. Peruse agent and editor blogs long enough and you’ll soon learn why this is true.

Most editors […]

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When It Becomes Personal: A Memorial Day Devotional

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13 NIV

Some holidays, if I’m going to be completely honest, didn’t impact me very much when I was a child. For much time growing up, they were simply excuses not to go to school (or have an assembly). I never really thought about Labor Day, Memorial Day, President’s Day, or Veteran’s Day for their actual meanings. Or even if I did, it […]

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Words on Display

Words on Display
By Delia Latham

And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. ~1 Corinthians 9:25

“Temperate,” according to Merriam-Webster: 1 : marked by moderation: as keeping or held within limits; not extreme or excessive.

Sometimes less is more.

Unlike many familiar phrases, this one is true almost every time. (I have to admit, I don’t think that way when I’m trying to stretch too few dollars to make ends meet. In that case, more would definitely […]

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New Blogging Contest – What’s In Your Pocket?

FaithWriters has s new blogging contest going on right now,  and winners can get paid writing assignments or a free one-year Gold membership. The current contest is for the Pocket Testament League, a 120+-year-old organization whose their main focus is leading people to a saving knowledge of Christ and equipping others to do the same.

To enter the contest, you need to write a 750-word-or-less promotional review of their site/ministry whose goal is to encourage readers to click on the links […]

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Filling the Well

Filling the Well

by Dorothy Love

Are you weary?  Out of ideas that excite you? Tired of wrestling that manuscript into shape while trying to follow the “rules” of writing a novel?  Worried that your new book is too tired, too trite, too…something? Me, too. Next week, I have a couple of projects due to my publishers. I’m digging deep to find the creative, emotional, and physical stamina  I need to meet my deadlines.  I know I’m not alone. All […]

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Summer is Coming

In MY hemisphere, anyway. And for a lot of people (though by no means ALL people), it means a different schedule and/or routine. The kids are home more. Vacations are more likely. Things are…well…different. And the amount of time you have for your pursuits – including writing – often changes.

For some, summer means more time to write, and for others, less. Regardless, it isn’t wise to let an entire season go by without putting pen to paper (or fingers to […]

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Keeping Your Writing Active

Keeping Your Writing Active
By Gail Gaymer Martin

Suspense, mysteries, and westerns aren’t the only genres that need action. Keeping your story filled with action-packed verbs helps the plot to move and helps create a page-turner. Passive voice is only one kind of inactive writing. Selecting inexplicit verbs and deadwood sentence structure also stops authors form creating a moving, active story.

Passive Voice
The English class definition of passive voice is exchanging the positions of the subject and the object in a sentence. In […]

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FaithWriters’ Writing Challenge – our evolving language

So, have you entered the FaithWriters Writing Challenge yet this quarter? I can happily say that I did – after an almost two-year break. This quarter’s topics are especially fun, as they are new words and phrases that are in the Oxford English Dictionary. From “googled” to “digital detox” to this week’s topic “omnishambles,” the subjects are proof that our language does NOT stay the same year after year. We’re halfway through the topics right now – so even if […]

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Six Ways to Back Up Your Writing Files

Six Ways to Back Up Your Writing Files

By Lynda Lee Schab

For writers, losing work is equivalent to losing a child. Well, not really, but you get the picture. Backing up files is essential. The way you choose to protect your work depends on what type of writing you do, and your particular lifestyle.

Here are 6 options to choose from:

1. EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE – Hooks up to your computer via USB port.

PROS – It’s portable, safe, holds huge amounts […]

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