While preparing for writing conferences, it can be an exhilarating, albeit busy, time. Smaller, local conferences may be one to two-day events, while national writing conferences can number several hundreds of attendees or more and last over the course of five days to a full week. For any type of writing conference, there’s often much planning, preparation, and schedule crunching that …
Jumping in Without a Lifejacket
I recently chatted with someone who was very discouraged about the direction her writing seemed to be taking. After writing for 25+ years, “The process,” she said, “has begun to take its toll.” We talked at length about the path to publication and I asked her what her current goals were. “Well, they’re the same as they’ve always been. I want to …
The Journey of a (Great) Story
There are some novelists that who just sit down and write. Others may choose a more structured approach preferring to outline and plot the entire book before actually writing it. I have to admit that I fall somewhere between the two. I tend to be a very organized person. I want to know all the twists and turns and the outcome of …
I Now Pronounce You…
Recently, I stopped at a fast food restaurant for an iced tea and a salad. Seated two tables across from me was an elderly couple in their early eighties (I’m guessing). The gentleman sported a somewhat wrinkled blue work shirt with faded blue jeans and sensible looking shoes. His wife wore a beige polyester dress, complete with a strand of dime store beads. Pausing briefly …
Donning Our Chefs Hats
Writers plot. We create. We craft stories in many genres. We show characters at their best, and even love ’em at their worst. Sometimes, our tales may take a different tack–a more exciting twist– than what we’d originally intended. It can be an intense thing when this happens because, often, it’s during these spine-tingling times when we realize what’s happening is out of our control. For …
It's All About the View
A few years ago, we visited Eureka Springs, Arkansas, a beautiful, little gem cradled within the magnificent Ozark Mountains. During our trip, one of the most unusual and awe-inspiring places we stopped at was Thorncrown Chapel. Thorncrown is a 48-foot feet glass chapel ensconced within a lush, wooded setting, and it boasts over 425 windows and 6,000+ square feet of glass. It is, indeed, a sight to …
Should Writers Start a Blog?
Well, I’m sure I’ve said it before. Writers are a bit of an odd lot. Sometimes, our minds never turn off. We keep late hours, savor words like candy, and we’d rather spend our free time roaming a book store than vacationing in Hawaii. (Kidding. I think.) Writers write. We create. We pen tales from snippets of life and from our own imaginations. We search out …
Bookworms and Brain Surgeons
As a teen-ager, the town I lived in was very small. There were a handful of gas stations and convenience stores, two or three smallish supermarkets, a consolidated school, one caution light midway through town, and an old white house that had been converted into the town library. Our home was about four or five blocks from the library, and …
Anyone Have a Flashlight?
A few years ago when we visited Eureka Springs, Arkansas, one of the places we toured was Onyx Cave—a small, but unique delight. The tour is self-guided and fairly easy to navigate, and the folks there are very helpful and courteous. Families with children and teens would enjoy it. Now, a word of caution. Don’t venture down inside this cave …
Silver Linings
Despite the clouds sometimes, the sky is so beautiful! When I see white tufts of cotton against the backdrop of blue sky, I immediately begin to daydream and I wonder about what’s contained within. Some clouds will bring raindrops. Others will give way to sunshine. A few will bless us with silver linings (with the Lord’s help, of course.) Writing is …