Nouns (A Prayer for Writers)

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Bob Hostetler here, offering another prayer for writers: I use too many adjectives and adverbs as I write; I want the lift a good noun gives to help a phrase take flight, like dandelion, balustrade, and cricket, poppy, trough, and foghorn, meadow, cannonade, assassin, scythe, and toff, and more, I pray, from You who gave each item, object, thing, and every single noun I have to make my writing sing. _________________ Bob’s latest book is The Bard and the Bible, available via www.bardandbible.com or at fine Christian retailers everywhere.

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Tips from the Pros: Pam Farrel

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January greetings from warm, windy, but not-so-wintry Florida! Today, I have the privilege of sharing an interview with bestselling author and speaker Pam Farrel, a writer who also happens to be a friend. My husband and I have some fun memories of kayaking around Mission Bay in San Diego with the Farrels one sunny August afternoon. But I admired the Farrels first as writers and speakers who share heart-warming, life-changing truth. I know you’ll enjoy hearing from Pam today. Welcome, sweet friend! It’s good to “see” you again. How many books do you have published? What are a few of…

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A Fresh Look at Success

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On a Sunday afternoon, I moaned about my writing career to my best friend Nancy. While we washed dishes, I complained, “I’ve worked hard and published a lot, but I’m not well-known and am financially challenged. I love what I do, but sometimes I feel like a failure.”       Nancy turned to me, a dish in hand, and said, “That’s totally beside the point. You’re using your gifting. It’s not about the fame or money. It’s about doing the work.”       Nancy knows. She’s a lifetime pianist and her husband works as a composer. To keep afloat, they both teach…

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Oops, Wrong Man!

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Oops, Wrong Man! Being blind never stopped me from traveling alone across the country or abroad to speaking engagements. But in one of those rare occasions that my hubby accompanied me, a funny thing happened to me as we headed back home. At the airport, we crossed the security point. So far, so good. As I usually do, after I put my belt back on and hung my purse on my shoulder, I extended my arm and looped it around my husband’s arm. We began to walk away. Suddenly, someone gripped my other arm from behind. How rude, I thought….

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Tips from the Pros: Jackie M. Johnson

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Hello from Kevin Thompson in the abnormally warm south! A temperature of 81 in January is hot, even by Floridian standards. Something about high pressure blocking cold fronts from getting here…. Yay! The mosquitoes will be spared! Ugh. Well, it’s time for another edition of Tips from the Pros! And this go ’round, let’s welcome Jackie M. Johnson to the front porch. Hi, Jackie! Glad you could make it. So, tell us, how many books do you have published? What are a few of your latest titles? As an author and blogger, I write books and blog posts (mostly for…

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Search for Treasures in Unexpected Places

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Dianne Barker here, doing my favorite thing—spreading encouragement. I’ve chosen my verse for 2017. “…Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it” (Malachi 3:10b).

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Five Steps to Write Forward-Moving Scenes – by Gail Gaymer Martin

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Welcome to the Christian Author Network blog from Gail Gaymer Martin. Today I will be talking about ways to improvement elements of writing fiction. My experience comes from seventeen years of published fiction writing, and my pleasure is to share my expertise with you. Today I will talk about keeping your novel moving forward so that readers are caught up in the story and don’t want to put it down. Five Steps to Write Forward-Moving Scenes  A scene is part of a chapter in a novel. Some authors write only in chapters and therefore have far more chapters than a…

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What Will Your Marketing Look Like in 2017?

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by Sarah Hamaker, reluctant marketer With the start of a new year, our thoughts naturally turn to what we’ll accomplish in the 12 months of 2017. But if we don’t have a plan or idea of where we want to go, we’ll spend more time floundering and less time making progress. Top of your list of plans should be one that details what you’ll do for marketing.

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Make Reasonable Resolutions

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Hello from Kathy Collard Miller, writing from the beautiful desert near Palm Springs, California. It’s the New Year and I’m going to have to remember to write down 2017. And along with a new year often come the traditional resolutions. I’d like to encourage you to think a little differently about those. For instance, have you ever said things like: I’ll never get angry again.  I’ll always show love toward that person who is unlovable.  I’ll never be discontent again.  I’ll always be joyful in every circumstance.  I’ll have my devotions every day? It’s easy to think that such determination will…

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