Don’t Be a Leaky Writer

by Martin Wiles @LinesFromGod

Slowly, we filed into the room—some rubbing their sleepy eyes. For months, no alarm had governed our lives. Summer vacation still tickled our brains. A few were already seated—eager, ready to get started. Most lugged a large cup of coffee or water or something. The session before us was long. Some of us brought iPads, and others carried notebooks. Our first teacher-in-service day was at hand. 

What Happens When Your Writing Routine is Suddenly Disrupted?

by Beth Vogt @BethVogt

I had a new experience last month.

I broke two bones in my right wrist—yes, my dominant hand. This is my first time ever breaking a bone or two, and it was all thanks to our sweet dog Jo. She's 12 years old now, getting a bit deaf, and she meanders quite a bit when we take her on walks. I like to take photos when we go on our morning walks. Of the sunrise. Or the occasional deer. Some cheerful sunflowers. Her meandering and my photography spelled disaster early one morning when she tripped me. Down I went, hitting the asphalt hard.

So here I am wearing a hard cast through October, voice dictating my blog post. It's been interesting, to say the least.

Three Tips to Move Forward When You find Yourself Writing in Circles

by Lilka Raphael @Lilka_Raphael

Three Steps to Minimize Writing Frustration

“I am irritated by my own writing. I am like a violinist whose ear is true, but whose fingers refuse to reproduce precisely the sound he hears within.” Gustave Flaubert

In a perfect world, we would write from beginning to end without delay and interruption. However, life happens. A writer’s life is often circular, not linear. The process of writing is plagued with insertions, deletions, and revisions. We can have the best of plans only to succumb to circumstances beyond our control.

When Storms Disrupt Writing Deadlines

by Julie Lavender @JLavenderWrites

I’m writing my column from my 83-year-old mom‘s house, which happens to be about ten minutes away from my home, because power has not been restored yet in my house. We’re three days post-Helene ravaging our country as I write. Were you affected by this dreadful storm?

So many in our great nation have suffered devastating losses due to hurricane Helene. It will take a while to recover. But as the saying goes, and one I firmly believe, nothing catches God by surprise. God knew about the winds and the waves, calms the winds and the waves, and always always brings good out of devastation.

Three of the Most Important Things for New Writers to Know

by Linda Gilden @LindaGilden

As new writers one of the first things we learn is there is so much to learn we couldn’t possibly put it in a few pages. However, I thought it might help to know a few of the most important things to find out as you start writing. I thought if we started with three of the most important things that would at least get us started. 

CoWriting Rules to Make Writing with Others Easier

by Cindy K. Sproles @CindyDevoted

Cowriting sounds like such fun and it indeed can be. But there are things to consider before you enter into the cowriting world. You've heard the adage, "Never lend money to a friend," and co-writing can be similar. Here's why we have the adage about lending money. When we lend money, we expect repayment, and often, that doesn't happen, or if it does, it happens slowly. Friendships are lost over less. 

Choosing to join a like-minded friend in a writing adventure can be a wonderful experience, but there are things you should know before entering this "marriage" of words. Every writer has expectations for their work, and your expectations must be placed on the table before you begin. Cowriting is a give-and-take thing, and setting the boundaries of expectation is vital.

10 Ways to Boost Your Blog Visibility Using Pinterest

by Ginny Cruz, MPA, PT

You've written a beautiful blog, but notice in your site's statistics that few people have read it. All that work to compose, edit, and get it online failed to reach your target audience. What's a writer to do? I suggest using Pinterest to find more organic readers.