Two Key Resources for Writers

by Tim Suddeth @TimSuddeth

Once you have your novel written, all you need to do is write The End and you’re done, right? I wish. Wouldn’t it be great if that was the case? Unfortunately, that is usually when the real work begins. You have your story on paper (or the screen), now you have to make sure that other readers understand it. Thinking ‘they’ll figure it out’ is not the way to get readers. It’s the writer’s job to make sure the story is clear and to guide the readers through the action.

So how do you do this? Where can you go when you need to polish your story?

Timeless Truths that Help Us Keep Writing When the World Around Us Falls Apart

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

If world events in the past few years has taught us anything, it’s that life can change in an instant. I thought I knew that, but now it’s something I’m hyper-aware of, and it’s affected the way I do life, writing life and all the rest as well. 

But not all the chaos we experience comes from large-scale world events. Sometimes the catastrophe hits closer to home. We may be challenged by a loss of a job, losing a loved one, even a pet's passing can leave us reeling and unable to focus. 

Sometimes the chaos is born from good things—moving, new baby or grand baby, wedding—even these positive situations can cause us to be distracted and unfocused. 

Writing and Allergy Season: Unexpected Similarities and How to Survive

by Lynn H. Blackburn @LynnHBlackburn

Spring in the South is a special kind of blessing—and trial. One day you're admiring the azaleas in full bloom, and the next you're waging war against the yellow dust coating everything you own. You want to go outside, but if you do, all that pollen will be coating your lungs. 

It’s simultaneously beautiful and glorious and frustrating and annoying! 

Isn’t that also true of our writing lives? 

Going Deep into Character Descriptions to Connect with Our Readers

by Sarah Sally Hamer @SarahSallyHamer

Writers are always trying to improve the way we describe our characters. Usually, I suggest my students concentrate on four basic ways for our characters to express: dialog, body language, action, and, if in that character’s point of view, with thoughts. But today I was looking for a specific book on my shelf and came across one that might convince me add another way for characters to express. And it all comes down to what they’re holding in their hand.

The book is Fiction is Folks: How to Create Unforgettable Characters, by Robert Newton Peck. I’d never heard of him when I bought this book, used, about five years ago, but he was well-known for his children’s stories. He brought characters to life, simply by describing ordinary people with ordinary objects any of us might use in our daily lives. For instance, Captain Ahab was a whaler in the mid-1800s. “Let your Captain Ahab hold a harpoon, finger the barb of its point, and balance its shaft.” Things that make Ahab more real. Because, as Peck says, “Characterization is physical.” But it’s not the color of the eyes or hair or even the height of a character that makes the difference, unless you’re trying to force a 6’6” basketball player into a Volkswagen bug. It’s how the character uses and experiences the item that makes all the difference.

No Objections to Third Person Objective POV

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

In Third Person Objective POV, the author narrates what happens without sharing the character’s thoughts or feelings.

This perspective is characterized by the pronouns He, She, and They.

In stories told in Third Person Objective POV, the narrator is a neutral entity, relying on observations of characters rather than seeing from the character's head. The tale is told as if the author is a fly on the wall, a mouse in the corner, or a non-participating person in the background who is free to observe. 

Writing Myths, Myth-stakes, Myth-conceptions, and Poor Advice

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

I’ve been in the industry a while . . . long enough to hear some pretty remarkable myth-statements. Today I’m tackling some of the various writing myths and outright mistakes, hopefully with a touch of punny humor. 

The Whys and Hows of Creating a Writer's Mission Statement

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

Life is getting busier for all of us. And every writer I know is overwhelmed with the to-do list they’re facing and, beyond that, the opportunities to go many different directions. 

So how do we decide what to do first and which writing opportunities to pursue? 

The best answer is, “We follow God’s leading.” 

And while I agree one-hundred-percent with that answer. I also know that sometimes it’s hard to figure out which priority is God’s leading and which one isn’t.