A Guide to Getting Away to Write

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by Judith Couchman At some point in a writing career, most authors entertain the idea of getting away to write. We think about peace, quiet, focus, solitude. No interruptions. And the beauty of working in a seaside condo or a woodland cabin. Sounds wonderful, right? It can be. Or it can balloon into disappointment. It depends on how we prepare for it. Yes, prepare. Prepare by setting guidelines for an enjoyable writing venture. Guidelines can sound like knocking the romance out of a get-away dream. However, if we adopt a laissez faire approach to a writing trip, we can wind…

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A Gift for Your Writing

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by Judith Couchman It’s a few days before Christmas and honestly, we’re caught in the activities, expectations, and last-minute details before ribbons and wrapping paper decorate our floors. But eventually, after gathering the torn and discarded, we sometimes participate in a quieter post-holiday ritual. How will we spend that gift card, cash, or check? If you’re blessed with plastic or money, I’ve a writerly suggestion. Purchase items to usher you into a new writing year. Items that affirm your calling and confidently usher you into the new writing year. How about these ideas? A book that inspires your call and…

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Watch what you research!

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Watch what you research! by Mary L. Hamilton My husband, Wayne, doesn’t quite know what to make of my turn to the dark side as I write mystery/suspense stories. But when I was trying to figure out a good place to hide a body in our area, he arranged a meeting with a man he knows who has worked as a police officer in our area off and on for thirty years. For thirty minutes, this friend and I discussed ways and locations for disposing of dead bodies, while Wayne listened and wondered what had happened to his sweet, innocent…

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For Things Important to a Writer

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Bob Hostetler here, offering another prayer for writers: Abba, Father, Lord God, thank you that I can type so fast, that the internet makes research relatively easy (if dangerous), that I can work at home or in a coffee shop. Thank you that I can send manuscripts and galleys via email, that I can quickly search a document, that I can access, order, and download books online.

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The Naked-Fear Dream

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The Naked-Fear Dream By Sydney Avey Dreams come out our deepest anxieties. In a classic fear dream, you stand naked in a public place and no one hands you a cover-up. Often this dream calls you to face the unknown with a sense of confidence. It was not my dream to sing on a praise team. I’ve been hiding in the church choir for years, but our choir aged and our numbers shrank. When the choir disbanded, I found myself on a small worship team…behind a microphone…in front of guitars and drums. Now I could really be heard! Praise music and hymns have…

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Be An Effective Mentor

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Be An Effective Mentor. Hello from Kathy Collard Miller, writing in the very hot desert near Palm Springs, California. One of the many goals of mentoring is helping our mentee identify her motive for the choices she makes. She may not realize it but all of us react, respond, and choose based upon what we desire and want. Or what we think will prevent some kind of emotional pain, maybe even physical pain. Helping our mentee to recognize what can seem well-hidden is a challenge. My husband and I are lay-counselors and as we try to help people make wise…

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Holiness Feels Like…What?

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Holiness Feels Like…What? Hello from Kathy Collard Miller in the Southern California desert near Palm Springs where I’m feeling the heat. Have you ever wondered what holiness feels like? Malachi 4:2 expresses what God might like us to experience when we see the fruits of holiness that he is producing in our lives: “But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.” Have you ever “leapt” in your spirit after recognizing that your trust in God had expanded to include forgiving…

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