Writing on Deadline When You Feel Sad

by A.C. Williams @ACW_Author

The Christmas season is upon us with all its tinsel and lights and general chaos. I love Christmas. It’s my favorite time of year. But the pure joy of the season has changed a bit from when I was younger. Sometimes this whole adulting thing really stinks.

It’s a natural part of life that what brought us joy as children will change as we age, and it’s not even bad that it happens. It’s part of growing up, where your perspective matures and your relationships change. But along with that change often comes sadness. 

Grief and sorrow hit harder during the holiday season. Sometimes it’s missing a person who isn’t with you anymore. Sometimes it’s memories of how things used to be, how you wish they still were. Sometimes it’s just being around other people who are celebrating when you don’t feel like celebrating. 

A Writer's Christmas Wishes

Edie here. I have a Christmas wish too. We'd all be so honored if you'd nominate The Write Conversation for the Writer's Digest 2025 Best Writing Websites! All the details are below Lynn's post. THANK YOU!!!!

A Writer's Christmas Wishes

by Lynn H. Blackburn @LynnHBlackburn

Ah, December. 

That glorious time of year when children try to be on their very best behavior, parents try to find the perfect gift that their child didn’t decide was the perfect gift until December 23rd, and writers wonder how many times they have to tell their significant other that all they really want is three days alone to write. 

When it comes to Christmas wishes, my motto is “Go big or don’t bother,” so here are a few things I think most writers would love to find under the tree this year. 

1. A notebook that is beautiful AND makes you WANT to write in it. I can’t be the only one with a stash of notebooks that I simply can’t bring myself to sully with ink! #unicornnotebook

2. A writing spot where no one texts, calls, or comes to “check to see if you’re alive” — except for when you *want* them to bring food or coffee. #yesIamalive #noIdonotneedtoseethefunnymemeonyourphone 

3. A muse that shows up during daylight hours. Or, really, at any time other than thirty seconds after you go to bed or ten minutes after your available writing time. Mine has been a bit overactive around midnight lately. #dobetter 

4. A revision Brownie. No, not that kind of brownie. I’m talking about the mythical kind of Brownies that come in, clean up the mess, and can never be spoken of. Of course, an actual brownie to eat while doing revisions would be great, too. But a revision Brownie? Come on! Why can’t these be real? #revisionsmakemecry

5. A perfect plot twist—the kind that makes readers tell all their friends that they have to read your book. Now. To be clear, we don’t want this plot twist to come to us through any negative real-life experiences. We want to make our characters suffer, but we don’t want to suffer! #toomuchtoask?

6. A first draft that flows without any hiccups. As opposed to the normal kind. You know, the kind that leaves writers curled in the fetal position while questioning all their life choices, crying in the shower, and/or looking up employment opportunities in the Caribbean. #IhearArubaisnice 

Okay, so I know that if this is my wish list, I’ll be disappointed on Christmas morning, but it’s fun to dream a little, right? 

I’ll leave us with one final, far more realistic Christmas prayer for all of us. 

I pray we find pockets of creativity in the chaos of the season—whether it's scribbling a sentence between holiday parties or dreaming up plots while untangling lights. And may the new year bring us stories that fire our imagination, inspiration to fuel our craft, and just enough typos to remind us that perfection is, indeed, overrated. 

Grace, peace, and merriest of Christmases to you all!

Lynn

TWEETABLE

A Writer's Christmas Wishes from @LynnHBlackburn on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Lynn H. Blackburn is the award-winning author of Unknown Threat, Malicious Intent, and Under Fire, as well as the Dive Team Investigations series. She loves writing swoon-worthy southern suspense because her childhood fantasy was to become a spy, but her grown-up reality is that she's a huge chicken and would have been caught on her first mission. She prefers to live vicariously through her characters by putting them into terrifying situations while she's sitting at home in her pajamas! She lives in Simpsonville, South Carolina, with her true love, Brian, and their three children. Learn more at www.lynnhblackburn.com.

NOMINATE THE WRITE CONVERSATION!

Here's a link to the page on the Writer's Digest Website, explaining the process:

https://www.writersdigest.com/be-inspired/call-for-27th-annual-101-best-websites-for-writers-nominations?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR14DSaKo9gbfZ2miI9oTFKH-e7X8w9-fT2kvpMAj2I8aRKopuZET7gfs-Y_aem_sdTZ4zkPCQQH8L3wnUp2_w

If you want to go directly to the nomination form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeNSzfth0NdK3Mu38LTtDW4lvAy5QVhByn1NHkJZahtognX8Q/viewform?fbzx=1230564438574371411

Just click on this link to nominate The Write Conversation—and any other sites you love. 

No matter whether we make the list or not, I KNOW we have the best community of any blog on the internet! 

Thanks & Blessings,

Edie & The Write Conversation Team 

Finding Power When We Find our Point of Difference and Write From There

by Sarah Sally Hamer @SarahSallyHamer

No matter what we write, no matter who we are, there is a point of difference between us and every other writer and, ultimately, between every other person. This is an amazing part of the What is our point of difference? It's what makes us who we are, it's our core, our belief system, the way we express ourselves, and the things we write about. It's the part that makes us real. 

It also directly affects what we write and how we do it. 

Writing in First Person Personal, The POV Jefferson Used To Write The Preamble

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

First Person Plural POV is one of four subcategories under the category of First Person POV.

While the pronouns I, me, my, and mine are found in First Person Epistolary, Flashback, and Cinematic, as the name implies First Person Plural shares events from a group of people. First Person Plural uses We and Us, Our and Ourselves.

3 Reasons You Need a Writers Conference for Christmas

by Ginny Cruz, MPA, PT

It’s that time of the year again when loved ones ask, “What do you want for Christmas?” As writers, we often dream of more books, a better computer, or maybe a writing shed in the backyard surrounded by chirping bluebirds, buzzing bees, and the sweet scent of jasmine. But perhaps that’s just me. Those are all great things to want for a Christmas gift. But what do you need?

Even With Your Writing, Nothing Will Be Impossible

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank

For nothing will be impossible with God. Luke 1:37

I have been on a steep unlearning curve since I moved to Italy. I had to unlearn American driving rules to pass the Italian driving exam. I am unlearning English syntax and grammar as I begin writing in Italian. The arrangement of lines on a road and commas on a page are annoyingly essential to getting where I want to go and conveying the meaning I intend.

In Luke 1:37 the Greek phrase πᾶν ῥῆμα (pan rhēma) is combined with a negation and translated as “nothing.” This syntax gives the phrase an emphatic position, making it the primary lesson in the entire discussion. This particular arrangement of words is a call for faith. 

Learning to Battle Writing Doubt and Emerge Victorious

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

It’s incredibly difficult to follow God’s path without defeating the doubt that has taken up residence in our souls. 

Doubt can be crippling to a writer. Like fear, doubt comes bubbling up from deep inside of us. It can handicap us in ways that are obvious and ways that kill us from the inside out.