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Your Story Matters
We have a special Monday Meditation today, much longer than our normal writing devotional intended to encourage your faith-walk and writing. This is the Keynote Speech from our 2023 ICW Fall Gathering delivered by IDAhope Writers* founder, Angela Ruth Strong. This morning I paid a dollar to anyone who would tell me a story. Whether that was the first time you’ve ever been paid to tell a story or not, that dollar symbolizes that your story has value. I got to hear a story about the mysterious evacuation of a Goodwill store. And one about a woman whose namesake from the last century shares common similarities that sound like a…
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How to Never Bore Your Readers
There is deeper magic in a novel that keeps the reader from boredom—secondary additions to your plot line. These work with any genre.
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Should Politics and Fiction Mix?
While bookworms consult other bookworms for reading recommendations, there is often a common caveat to these requests. It goes something like this: “I love the suspense or thriller genre, but please no politics.” Readers have valid reasons for avoiding the political. Fiction is often viewed as an escape from the problems of the world. No one wants to be lectured from either the left or the right of the political spectrum. So why do writers, who happen to be political junkies, inject their stories with political principles, and why is it important? Here are a few reasons to consider. Education Infuse fiction with politics in order to educate. There is…
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I Want Their Career
Who wants to spend their days daydreaming at coffee shops and talking about their ideas with fans? (Especially when the misnomer of a writer’s life also includes unexpected lump sums.) Have you ever wanted the wage of a CEO but the responsibility of a middle-schooler? It’s easy to wish you had someone’s house, but not their mortgage. And it’s tempting to desire someone’s career without having to spend the years it took them to get there. Do I want their career? Sometimes I think I deserve success/pleasure/ease without sacrifice because I received salvation freely. I forget that someone else paid for it. We forget that the free cost of salvation…
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The Small Things
“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.” Luke 16:10 NLT I remember the first big party we hosted. I spent so much energy preparing, and it was a financial impact we could feel. Almost no one came. I would have done twice the work and spent twice as much if people came, ate, and enjoyed themselves. But, we wrapped up food that wasn’t designed to keep and sat down in an awkwardly clean house feeling superfluous. Some people feel destined for greatness, it’s a deep longing. But even…
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Writing Groups and The Writer
IdaHope Christian Writers has a writing group that comes together quite often to read, write, and fellowship. Why do established, mainstream authors suggest all writers join a writing group? Stay in a writing group, don’t give up, contribute, and you may be fortunate to find yourself like the man in the following joke: He pulled up to the charred ruins of his home. Smoke still drifted from the possessions they spent years accumulating. She stood out front, a pan of burned biscuits in her hand, a cell phone in the other. She sobbed. “I’m sorry. I put biscuits in the oven. The phone rang. It was your agent. And then…
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Writing Lessons from My Dogs
Sometimes, when I’m goofing with my two dogs, Baxter and Taffy, God will snap his fingers, hold his hand over my nose, and tell me to, “Sit. Stay. Listen.” And when I do, I learn valuable lessons. Almost every morning, I have the same breakfast—two slices of peanut butter toast. I love peanut butter. At one point in my (much younger) life, I was going to marry peanut butter. My siblings still make fun of me for this—I do not care. However, during the year I was working from home as a freelance editor, every morning Baxter and Taffy would come and sit attentively near the table, convinced I would…
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Write It Down
When you write it down to share with the Lord, he does not judge you or sever relationship. You do not need to fear his audience. It may surprise you to hear his voice gently expose what is false.
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The Novelist Entertainer
Jerry Jenkins once told me the number one rule of the novelist is never to bore the reader. As a novelist, you have one job—to entertain. “Yet,” someone may point out, “I’m a Christian novelist.” Indeed, you are. And to bring forward a good Christian moral is vital, to offer a moral of hope and redemption. However, you can’t bring forward a moral if no one will read your book. “I’m American,” some might add. “My Puritan background means seriousness is a Fruit of the Spirit. How does that jive with entertainment?” Ah, a dilemma. How do we make a morality tale entertaining? Look to the Bible. Literally. You can’t…
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Garlic Ice Cream and the Novelist
Niche means “a specialized market,” and your novel fills a niche. Let’s look at how best to understand your niche. I have a dream. A three-course meal should consist of an appetizer entirely of ice cream, followed by the main course—ice cream, followed by ice cream for dessert. To see if my dream is a viable dietary option, I checked online health sites. On day two or three of the ice cream diet, you’ll probably develop an intolerance to lactose. Day four or five, afib. And after a full week of ice cream, you’re on a straight road toward diabetes. And extreme dehydration and/or constipation. We’re going to need to…
