Thought it would be fun to get to know each other, and our writing, a bit better. Feel free to answer these questions in the comments, or post them on your own blog and put a link in the comments.

Do you write fiction or non-fiction? Or both?

I write both.

Do you keep a journal or a writing notebook?

Nope – though I usually keep a notebook with me to jot down ideas I may come up with.

If you write fiction, do [...]

Feeling Emotional? Don’t Tell Anyone
By Edie Melson

. . . instead show them

Telling the story, instead of showing it, is one of the most common mistakes beginners make. During the first draft almost all of us, no matter how advanced, tend to tell a lot of the story. It’s only natural. This is the time when our manuscript comes together and telling allows us to develop the bones or structure of the story before we refine it into a compelling work of [...]

Today is the 103rd birthday of George Beverly Shea, the Grammy-award winning Canadian-born American gospel singer and hymn writer.  Shea has often been described as “America’s beloved Gospel singer” and is considered “the first international singing ’star’ of the gospel world,” as a consequence of his solos at Billy Graham Crusades and his exposure on radio, records, and television. According to the Guinness Book of Records, Shea holds the world record for singing in person to the most people [...]

Writing Suspense (part 2 of 2)
By Lillian Duncan

Click here for the first part of this article.

OVERWRITING

There’s a fine line between excellent writing and overwriting. Overwriting tends to take a good plot and turn it into melodrama. Unfortunately, many unpublished suspense/mystery writers (and some published) mistake melodrama for good writing.

Sometimes the more emotional the scene the better it is to keep your “flowery” writing to a minimum. Here’s a checklist of things to be careful about.

Word choices. I’m sure [...]

Writing Suspense (part 1 of 2)
by Lillian Duncan

I love reading and writing suspense. No matter how hard I try to write something else, it always turns into a mystery or suspense. One agent suggested I write an Amish story since I live in Amish country but before the end of the first chapter, I had a dead body. What can I say?

First, let’s look at some definitions. These are my working definitions, and so you’re allowed to disagree.

MYSTERY is a [...]

I’m sure most of us have more than one copy of the Bible in our home – many of us in more than one translation. It’s a common thing these days.

But in the scale of things, it wasn’t so long ago that this would have been impossible. That changed, at least partly, because of a man who died 443 years ago today. In 1535, Bible Translator Myles Coverdale produced the first complete printed Bible into English. The Coverdale Bible made [...]

Strategies for Effective Marketing

by Jennifer Slattery

Finally! After a decade of rewrites, you’ve signed your first contract. Now you can bask in your fame while large royalty checks roll in, right?

Perhaps in a Hollywood movie, but in today’s fight-or-die industry, selling your book to a publisher is only part of the battle. The real work comes long before your baby hits the stores because effective marketing begins and ends with you. Yet, with over 275,000 American titles [...]

When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone?

No – not an email. Not jotted a couple words in a card. Sat down, with a pen and paper, and WROTE a letter?

That long, eh?

I’m guilty too – the art of letter-writing has diminished, if not disappeared, over the past years – and decades.

Well, this week (January 8-14) is Universal Letter Writing Week. People are encouraged to put down their electronic devices and hand write letters to folks.

I don’t [...]

PUTTING OUR BABIES ON A DIET:
or How To Cut The Fat Out Of Your WIP (Part 1 of 2)

By Gina Conroy

When I contracted my novella and had to cut 36,000 words off my WIP, I knew it was going to be hard. In fact, I almost bailed on submitting the anthology because I knew that would mean cutting more than half of my story. The pain of deleting my brilliant prose aside, I knew it would be difficult [...]

I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time believing that 2011 is nearly over. In just two years, it will be 2012, the start of a new year.

People approach the new year differently. Some make New Year’s resolutions, while others “soften it” a bit by making goals, or even dreams. I know some who choose one word to be their focus, while others choose a verse, a quote, or a picture. Some make their own mishmash [...]