by Jill Williamson | Jul 17, 2020 | Characters, Guest Posts, Learning from Other Authors
Paul’s spinal cord was damaged in a car accident, so now he uses a wheelchair for mobility. Timothy has intermittent muscle spasms and weakness after the magical attack that nearly killed him. Alison’s acute synesthesia leads to panic attacks when her senses are...
by Jill Williamson | Jul 15, 2020 | Author Life, Encouragement
I am on vacation today, likely winding my way through a national park, gazing at trees. I thought I’d leave you all with some words of encouragement from some wise people. Some of these quotes have really made an impact on me. Which quote did you like best? Do...
by Stephanie Morrill | Jul 13, 2020 | Beginning Writer's Guide To Finishing A Novel, Editing, Theme
The word “theme” can still cause shivers because it calls up my memories of high school English when I had to identify elements like theme or symbolism in five paragraph essays. (The only thing worse was analyzing poetry.) Those essays always left me...
by Shannon Dittemore | Jul 10, 2020 | Author Life, Creativity, Encouragement, Getting Published, Writing, Writing Life
There’s a question I get asked a lot. The question can take many forms, of course: What’s your favorite part of writing a book? What do you love about this job? Why do you choose to do this to yourself? Lots of incarnations, but really, the same question....
by Jill Williamson | Jul 8, 2020 | Fantasy, poetry
We have reached the end of our summer poetry unit. I hope you all had fun waxing poetic. I’ve certainly enjoyed reading your clever creations. I’ve decided to end this unit with a retro repost from 2013. I’ve updated it a bit, since I’ve...
by Stephanie Morrill | Jul 6, 2020 | Beginning Writer's Guide To Finishing A Novel, Characters, Editing
I hope our U.S. writers had an enjoyable and safe 4th of July! Ours was weird with fireworks shows cancelled, but I did go to a friend’s house and watch Hamilton on Disney+. After years of hearing about how great the show is, I was happy for the opportunity to...
by Stephanie Morrill | Jul 3, 2020 | Guest Posts, Reading, The Craft of Writing
Taylor Bennett is a dandelion-wishing, world-traveling lover of books, words, and stories. Based in the PNW, she dreams of seeing the world and writing stories set in unique locations. Although she dreams of traveling to many different places, her favorite destination...
by Jill Williamson | Jul 1, 2020 | poetry
A haiku (pronounced Hi-KOO) is a traditional Japanese poem that seeks to capture a moment in time, like taking a snapshot, usually about nature. Considering the history of Buddhist influence in the country of Japan, the haiku also often conveys a profound statement of...
by Stephanie Morrill | Jun 29, 2020 | Writing
Stephanie here. I’m so excited we have Shonna Slayton with us today! Shonna has written a book on fairy tale retellings, which I know many of you write! Not only does she have wisdom to share today, she is giving away two copies of her ebook Lessons Learned From...
by Stephanie Morrill | Jun 26, 2020 | Characters, Guest Posts
Stephanie here! We are so thrilled to have Roseanna with us today! Roseanna and I have been friends since 2007 when we met at the American Christian Fiction Writers conference. We both had baby bumps, the same red briefcase, and were much younger than most attendees...
