The Meaning of Christmas

The Meaning of Christmas

As I focus on this time of year and all the craziness that goes with it, I returned to a blog I postedthree years ago about the meaning of Christmas. I revisit and update my thoughts on thiswonderful time of year. Christmas can be a season when many ponder the questions:“What’s it all about?”“Why do…

Proverbs for WRiters

Proverbs for WRiters

There is so much wise counsel in the book of Proverbs. Like many believers, I spend time in thisbook almost every day. Sometimes a single verse or a few verses grab my attention. Other times,I’ll read an entire chapter. Often, what I read will speak to a specific area in my life. Thefollowing are some…

First Page Critiques

First Page Critiques

Today, I’m sharing the first page of a story from a brave author, who shall remain anonymous. Thank you, bold author, for taking a risk to seek feedback on your story. The story is set in 1970 and describes a soldier returning from Vietnam. What follows is the original as submitted. My critique follows. Lastly,…

The Post Conference World

The Post Conference World

Hello, fellow writer!  Another way to phrase this title is, “You Just Finished a Writers Conference. Now What?”  At a conference, your mind fills with visions of submitting requested material. Then there is the looking forward to applying all you learned. And let’s not forget firming up the networks you started with other writers. Yes,…

humility

humility

There is so much wise counsel in the book of Proverbs. Like many believers, I spend time in this book almost every day. Sometimes a single verse or a few verses grab my attention. Other times, I’ll read an entire chapter. Often, what I read will speak to a specific area in my life. The…

best and worst advice

best and worst advice

Someone recently asked me, “What’s the best writing advice I ever received?    “Get up earlier.” This came from my mentor, DiAnn Mills when I whined about not having enough time to write while also working a full-time job. So I did. I began a routine of beginning my day at 4:00 a.m. This gave me one-and-a-half hours of…

what inspires my stories

what inspires my stories

I’ve shared in other posts how I receive inspiration for a story. The most common way is from an image that pops into my mind. Many times, I can’t remember what I was doing, reading, or thinking when the idea came to me. I gave up asking myself, “Where did that come from?” One story…

proverbs for writers

proverbs for writers

There is so much wisdom and wise counsel in the book of Proverbs. Like many believers, I spend time in this book almost every day. Sometimes a single verse or a few verses grab my attention. Other times, I’ll read an entire chapter. Often, what I read will speak to a specific area in my…