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Don’t Let the Fear of Winter Steal Your Joy in Fall
“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today." Being future-focused can stifle writing.
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Eight Ways to Make an Editor Do a Happy Dance
Writing intended for publication, whether it’s traditional, partner or self-publication, should be sifted through an editor filter. Why? Because we authors tend to read what’s in our heads, not what’s on the computer screen. We also have trouble pinpointing weaknesses in our own manuscripts. Editors who have no emotional attachment to our work provide unbiased, professional feedback. Even editors need editors. My writing is always improved by an editor’s candid comments. Here are a few key things to remember to create a smooth and productive writer/editor relationship: Read As many great writers and publishers have said, “Good writers are first and foremost good readers.” Reading teaches us word usage, sentence…
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His Mercies are New Every Morning
I think the most important thing about mornings is the practice of starting over with a renewed source. There is something lovely about new days, weeks, seasons, and beginnings.
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White Noise
“…for Christ plays in ten thousand places, Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his To the Father through the features of men’s faces.” ~ Gerard Manley Hopkins Sometimes, when I can’t sleep for nightmares of our past, I’ll tune in to listen to the AIs argue among themselves. Their interaction produces an interesting kind of white noise. The sound is a strange, musical cacophony, a mélange of squeaks, hoots, bangs and crashes reminiscent of distant city sounds, in the time before this time. I wouldn’t say I find the sounds soothing, exactly. But reassuring? Yes. They haven’t even noticed we’re gone, and hopefully never will. But both the…
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Stormy Weather
It never rains but it pours, and you can hear the thunder coming, see the clouds forming...
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Writing That Transforms
I thought, “How cool is that? The idea that acceptance, simple grace, is the first step in a transformation.” The implications of that idea are mind-blowing...
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Write Regularly (Here’s How…and Why)
We all have those hours somewhere, we just don’t take advantage of them because resistance tells us they’re not enough – we’re not enough. But it will be enough, and so are you.
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Write for Yourself, First
Don't be afraid to write down the ugly, either in content or craft. God is in the business of bringing beauty from ashes. So write it out. He isn't afraid of bad spelling or grammar any more than he is of your honesty.
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The Rescue
The sweat on her skin chilled. “Every second longer we’re inside increases how hard it will be to fight our way out of here.”
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The End
“The opposite of the happy ending is not actually the sad ending. The sad ending is sometimes the happy ending. The opposite of the happy ending is actually the unsatisfying ending.” ~ Orson Scott Card “Just look at the language we use to talk about endings. Nobody ever accuses the beginning of a story of being a “cop-out,” or a “cheat,” or of “falling flat.” Beginnings don’t have to pay off anything, or explain everything. The beginning of the story hooks us, and makes a bunch of promises — and then the ending has to deliver on all those promises. So perhaps it’s not surprising that it’s slightly easier to…
