by Stephanie Morrill | May 6, 2019 | 100-for-100
Summer is upon us! Depending on your season of life, maybe that makes you think, “Excellent! I’ll have so much free time!” Or maybe, like me, you instead go, “Ack! All my time is going to disappear! My routine will be gone!” Either way,...
by Shannon Dittemore | May 3, 2019 | Brainstorming, Writing Exercise
Back by popular demand, I have another writing exercise for you all! Do you know why I love writing exercises? Because introducing you to an exercise is like handing you a tool. My hope is that in trying a variety of exercises, you’ll find a few that work well...
by Jill Williamson | May 1, 2019 | Brainstorming, First Drafts, Mailbag, Plot, Story Structure, Writing
Before I answer today’s GTW Mailbag question, I just have to thank those of you who supported my Kickstarter. It is over this Friday, but it is not only already fully funded, we made the stretch goals to record ALL THREE AUDIO BOOKS! ♥ ♥ ♥ I am so excited, I can...
by Stephanie Morrill | Apr 29, 2019 | 100-for-100, Writing Contests
I’m excited to announce that the top 15 finalists from this round’s 100-word contest are (in alpha order): Amelie Johnson Ashley Schaller BeccaDLF Chalice Sleep Em Elizabeth Hadley Grace Hannah White Isaiah Myers K.J. Haakenson Katelyn Coker Kiersten...
by Shannon Dittemore | Apr 26, 2019 | Description, Writing
My family joined a local archery club this year. I don’t have a bow, so I use the time for writing while my husband gathers up the kids and all their gear and hauls them to the range. The three of them have taken to repeating a phrase Mel Gibson’s character says in...
by Jill Williamson | Apr 24, 2019 | Encouragement, Learning from Other Authors, Writing Life
I spent last week under the redwood trees, surrounded by writers. Mount Hermon, which is just outside San Jose, is one of the most peaceful and beautiful places I’ve ever been, and each time I come back, I feel like I’ve entered a place of supernatural...
by Stephanie Morrill | Apr 22, 2019 | Antagonists, Characters, First Drafts, The Craft of Writing
**Today is the last day to enter the 100-word contest! Get your entries in by 9pm central. Details here.** Recently, I’ve come across something in a few different young adult and middle grade books that’s bothered me: The child character is absolutely...
by Shannon Dittemore | Apr 19, 2019 | Editing, Getting Published
A while back, I spent a few weeks talking about agents and query letters. To follow it up, I thought we could talk about what it looks like to be a contracted author working with an editor at a traditional publishing house. As a refresher, agents acquire projects they...
by Jill Williamson | Apr 17, 2019 | Creativity, Encouragement, Writing Life
So… I had prepared my blog post in advance of going to work on faculty at the Mount Hermon Christian Writers’ Conference. All I had to do was to–the moment I got home–fill in what I’d learned that week. I did not realize that when I got...
by Stephanie Morrill | Apr 15, 2019 | Writing, Writing Contests
I’m super excited to announce that another 100-word contest starts today! Here’s how these contests work: Your entry is the prompt sentence + 100 words. The prompt for this contest is: This might be difficult to hide. This should be the first sentence of your...
