The Writing Edition of What Worked and What Didn't

by Lynn H. Blackburn @LynnHBlackburn

For the past few years, I’ve created a What Worked/What Didn’t Work list as a way to review the previous year. **

I love this process because it allows me to acknowledge places where I struggled and shine a light on the things I want to change in the upcoming year, but it also gives me room to celebrate what went right.

I make this list for my personal life which includes how things went for my family, in my home, with my health, relationships, etc. But I also make a separate list for my writing life, and that’s what I want to share with you today. 

The Magic of Motivation in Your Novel

by Sarah Sally Hamer @SarahSallyHamer

Why do characters do what they do? Just like real humans, characters have extremely good reasons. Knowing WHY a character does something is essential – they MUST have a reason, even if the reader doesn't get it at first. But that's only half of the equation. Writers must also understand and express the reaction that follows.

Know the (Writing) Rules to Break the Rules Well

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

One day, my daughter practiced music while I mixed together a favorite recipe in the kitchen for scones.

“Mama, was Bach a nice man?” My six-year-old called to me from the piano in the living room. 

Get Busy on Your Waiting (Writing) List

Edie here. I'm super excited to introduce you to our newest TWC monthly contributor, Kristen Hogrefe Parnell. I'm a super-fan of her books and so excited to have her sharing her insight and wisdom here in our community! Be sure to give her a warm TWC welcome!

Get Busy on Your Waiting (Writing) List

by Kristen Hogrefe Parnell @KHogrefeParnell

For something we writers have to do so often, we aren’t very good at it. Waiting, that is.

Do What is Possible

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth to Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her. Firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping with her their flocks at night (Luke 2:4-8).

It is most often when we are doing what is possible that the impossible happens.

Are You Including God In Your Publishing Plans?

by Tim Suddeth @TimSuddeth

“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they have been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” Muhammad Ali

But [Jesus] said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.” Luke 18:27

Leave Space for Grace In Your Writing Goals

by A.C. Williams @Free2BFearless

I raised and trained 4-H market lambs for two years when I was in junior high. The profit I made helped me buy my first laptop, yes, but it was hard, exhausting, dirty work. (If you’ve never scrubbed the lanolin out of all a sheep’s nooks and crannies before a show, consider yourself fortunate to not have experienced that particular smell.) 

The second year, I ended up with a lamb who pushed every button I had. She was stubborn and scared of everything. I named her Meg, after a book character who (to this day) frustrates me with her hard-headedness. I couldn’t even train her using the traditional belly-rubbing method we’d been taught. No, Meg the sheep required my knee in her chest to get her to set up properly. It was a constant fight, a constant struggle to get this sheep to behave and perform. But we did it. We made it to the county fair.