Seasons

, by

Hi, all! Ava Pennington here from Florida…where the temperature has cooled to a mere 85 degrees. That’s about as much change in seasons as we’ll get until our version of winter finally arrives. Seasons. They’re not limited to the calendar and the weather. We move through seasons of life as we parent babies and teenagers, experience empty nests and become caregivers for our own parents. Writing adds another layer to already full lives. So let’s talk about seasons in a writer’s life…and in the lives of CAN members.

Read More

The Deepest Waters, by Dan Walsh

, by

The Deepest Waters by Dan Walsh   This lovely novel is inspired by a true event, the sinking of the SS Central America off the North Carolina coast in 1857. The historical facts are heartbreaking, and author Dan Walsh doesn’t shy away from the sadness, hardship, and loss of life. But he also writes about the hope and miraculous rescues involved in such a way that the reader is captivated and emotionally invested in the story’s outcome. We experience the parallel journeys of John and Laura Foster, the newlyweds who are separated when the women and children are the only…

Read More

God Will Make a Way

, by

Hi there, Sherry Kyle here, writing from my laptop in Central California.    Do you experience fog where you live? This morning as I drove my youngest daughter to the bus stop I could barely see thirty feet in front of me. When I returned home, I grabbed my cell phone and snapped these pictures.   I thought about how fog resembled the writing life. It takes a step of faith to keep pouring our hearts on the page. Some days it feels as if we're typing through fog.

Read More

Christian Store Week

, by

Aloha from Karen October 1-10 is Christian Store Week, the second annual one to be held across the US. I’ll be at Amazing Grace in Mullica Hill, NJ on Saturday October 8th, from 1-3PM to participate in the special event. What’s it all about?  

Read More

Some Basics of Writing Poetry

, by

    Hello. I'm Donn Taylor. Last month I encouraged aspiring poets to write good-quality poetry that can be understood by ordinary readers. This month we begin on basic elements that can make that poetry good.     Ideally, poetry is more compact, more intense than prose. As the late Lawrence Perrine put it, poetry speaks in "higher voltage." William Baer says further that poetry emphasizes the line, the sound of words, and compression of meaning. All of these things are true, but accomplishing them is achieved only by attention to even the smallest elements. Oscar Wilde famously said he'd worked all…

Read More

Speaking Engagements – Why Bother?

, by

Hi.  Winnie Griggs here. Over the next several months I’m going to be posting about speaking engagements – why seek them out, how to get booked, what to speak about, etc.  Since my personal experience with this subject is in speaking to groups of writers, that’s going to be my main focus.  However, much of this will translate to other type speaking engagements as well.

Read More

Ideas for Real Life Characters

, by

One day late, but I'm here. Welcome from Gail Gaymer Martin @www.gailmartin.com Writers Digest had an excellent article on characterization in January 2011 written by David Corbett. A small part of that article was subtitled Real-Life Characters, and it offered a list of possible characters you might find in your own life. The author suggested you create a list of interesting people and provide a details, physical appearance, and the effect this person had on you. This activity triggered a double idea which I’d like to share with you.

Read More

PUGS Pointers #2

, by

Hi! I’m Kathy Ide, and in addition to being a published author, I’m a full-time professional freelance editor. For CAN, I’m blogging about “PUGS”–Punctuation, Usage, Grammar, and Spelling…tips for writers based on the most common mistakes I see in the manuscripts I edit. Each blog post will have one tip for each of the four categories, as well as a reason it’s important for authors to “polish their PUGS.” (For more PUGS tips, check out my website, www.KathyIde.com, or get a copy of my book “Polishing the PUGS” (available through the website or at the conferences I teach at). If you’re interested…

Read More