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by Lucinda Secrest McDowell @LucindaSMcDowel Imagine my surprise when, at age fourteen, I actually got to meet my idol � Hayley Mills!  We were both aboard the final voyage of that great ocean liner,  Queen Elizabeth I.  It was a heady moment, I assure you. And, of course I have an old-fashioned �selfie� to commemorate it. For those of you too young to remember,  Hayley Mills  was the Disney darling who starred in many films such as  Pollyanna  and  The Parent Trap . Not only was I a fan and admired her, I actually wanted to  be  her.  To the extent that for at least a year I had styled my hair the same as she did in  Pollyanna  and even wore drop waisted dresses with black stockings. Oh yeah.  That was my dream. One day, at age ten, I sat down and wrote Hayley Mills a letter.  (This is your first hint that I am destined to become a writer�)   I had decided if I couldn�t be her , I could possibly b...

Edie here. Today I'm thrilled to introduce you to another regular contributor. In addition to be a good friend, Tammy Karasek is an experienced editor and writer. Her insight and humor are a huge blessing in my life and I know she will bless you as well! A Writer, Even in the Silence by Tammy Karasek  @ tickledpinktam   There are times as a writer that we can feel at a total loss for words. Have you experienced this? As a lover of words, this can make us wonder or doubt if we are in the correct field. We want to write, but we sit in silence.       If I�m a writer, why can�t I find the words I want to say? In those times where we have the lack of words, we can learn to use this quietness for our good. Often as writers our thoughts race faster than our fingers can tap on the keys or write with pens. But when the words seem to elude us�no matter how much we stare at the blinking cursor�we can become impatient and frustrated. We can yell out a groan or huf...

by Susan U. Neal RN, MBA, MHS  @SusanNealYoga Physical activity is one of the best things you can do for your health. However, how can you exercise when you are sitting on your behind writing? This post provides tips about how to add movement into a writer�s daily routine. Manage Your Schedule You�ve got a deadline, so how in the world can you add a workout into your routine? You don�t have to stop working to be active. Instead, every time you take a bathroom break, do ten squats and lunges before plopping back down in your chair. Merely add a little movement during every bathroom break.  Become consciously aware of every opportunity you can add movement to your daily routine. So when you are waiting for the coffee to brew or tea to steep, go ahead and stoop down and touch your toes�do this ten times. Intentionally add little blips of movement into the cracks of your day. Like when you are waiting for the dog to finish his business, perform some squats. When I realized how sed...

by Linda Gilden @LindaGilden Who doesn�t love a good quote? After all, why should we try to put into words something that someone else has eloquently said? As writers, we are always looking for and finding good quotes to strengthen our books and articles. Using someone else�s words brings credibility to our work. But when is it necessary to ask permission to use a sentence or two from someone else in our writing? Some of the top questions from writers on this subject are � �When do I need permission?� �I�m only quoting a little. Won�t that be good publicity for the other person?�  �The person who originally said this is dead. So anyone can quote him or her without permission, right?� Great questions. There are several factors that enter into the answers. One of those is fair use. But who determines fair use? Unfortunately, fair use is determined on a case-by-case basis by the courts, which makes it somewhat of a gray area for writers. However, knowing a few guidelines will help us ...

by Cindy Sproles @CindyDevoted We�re preaching to the choir and it�s time to look past that and venture into the world. Why? It�s easy. The world needs us. People outside the church, need to be reminded of who Christ is. It�s time Christian authors begin to focus on the general market non-Christian reader and start to gently teach a Christian World View.  The world has lost the absolutes of Christ. According to an older Barna poll, 80% of the children growing up in the 1950s and 1960s had attended church. They knew who God was. The coin has flipped and now, 80% have no idea who God is. The children of today, Generation X, Millennials, and Gen Z need to know Christ and Christian authors can reach them if they approach it in the right manner. Preeminent among Christ�s commands are these three: 1) to love God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and spirits. 2) to love our neighbors as ourselves  3) to go into the world, teach, and make disciples.  And we can�t do th...

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson I read somewhere once that good dialogue is a conversation with the boring parts taken out. I completely agree. Just record and transcribe a normal conversation and you�ll see that it isn�t all that interesting to read without a lot of judicious editing. But even armed with that knowledge, how do we as writers, determine what�s boring and what�s not? That�s a skill that takes practice.   I believe good dialogue is more like music than anything else. We start with the rules, learning the craft and the technique. But to become masters we must develop an ear, a sense if you will, of what translates well to the page and what does not. Today I�m addressing how to develop an ear for dialogue. The foundation for that lies in eavesdropping. Although we rarely reproduce something we hear word-for-word. There is a natural cadence to dialogue that comes only by listening. We must learn to edit dialogue down to its essence  without  loosing that rhythm. Too...

by Tim Suddeth @TimSuddeth I was so excited about doing this post. I�d just completed the climax for my work-in-progress and it looked like I would be writing those beautiful words, The End, just as I would start writing this post. It was all going so well, until . . . It wasn�t. For the last few days my writing has been stuck. But the clothes basket is empty, and my email box. And I keep looking out the window at things that need to be done in the yard. I�m looking anywhere but at the computer. Four scenes from the end of the book that I�ve worked on for nearly six months and suddenly it looks like a bowl of overcooked Brussels sprouts. Eew. And I�m not surprised at all. See, I�ve been through this before. And, after reading  Finish,   by Jon Acuff, I�ve learned that others have, too. This is a book Cynthia Owens recommended and mentioned in her December 5, 2017 post. Coming close to the end is just one of three hurdles our brains, or what he calls perfectionism, throw in fro...