The Writing Life

A Writer’s Keyboard Prayer

By Bob Hostetleron February 11, 2021

Lord God, my Father, my King,

my Sovereign, my All,

I RETURN to you with all my heart,

I ENTER your presence with gratitude and joy,

I ESCAPE into your arms and nestle in the shadow of your wing.

DELETE the stain of worldly strife and wicked desires.

SHIFT my attention and priorities to reflect your wishes.

COMMAND me and bend me to your will.

CONTROL my impulse, intellect, and intentions

until I see no OPTION

and pursue no FUNCTION

but that which is utterly and constantly

pleasing to you.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

In the late 17th century, Catholic theologian and scientist Blaise Pascal authored a book titled Pensées. In it, he wrote: What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he …

Category: Creativity, The Writing Life, Theology, Trends

Judicious Sharing

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 4, 2021

As a writer, you’ll face times of profound despair and, I hope, massive victory. When successful, you’ll want to share your news with your supporters. But I recommend muting your enthusiasm with your detractors. And we all have those. To my surprise, a person who never speaks to me or contacts me except to ask a favor linked me to a lengthy fluff piece touting sundry accomplishments. I sent …

Category: Career, Marketing, The Writing Life, Theology

How to Write Devotionals with David Sluka

By Thomas Umstattd, Jr.on February 2, 2021

Devotionals are almost unique to Christian publishing. While some non-Christian publishers dabble with devotionals of different kinds, Christians have been writing and reading devotionals for centuries. So how do you write a devotional? Well, that is what we are going to talk about today. Our guest today is the author of 16 Ways to Create Devotional Writing to Renew the Spirit and Refresh …

Category: The Writing Life

How to Write Devotionals with David Sluka

By Thomas Umstattd, Jr.on February 2, 2021

Devotionals are almost unique to Christian publishing. While some non-Christian publishers dabble with devotionals of different kinds, Christians have been writing and reading devotionals for centuries. So how do you write a devotional? Well, that is what we are going to talk about today. Our guest today is the author of 16 Ways to Create […]
You can listen to this episode How to Write …

Category: The Writing Life

Banned Books

By Dan Balowon January 28, 2021

January was a really bad month for Protestant reformer Martin Luther, 500 years ago in 1521. In fact, the entire year was the wurst. (He was German you know.) First, he was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Leo X after refusing to recant his writings. That was January 3. Then a few weeks later on the 23rd, the RCC held a meeting at The Diet of Worms in Germany, which was the …

Category: The Publishing Life, The Writing Life, Theology, Trends

How to Write a Biblically Accurate Book with Catherine DeVries

By Thomas Umstattd, Jr.on January 19, 2021

One of the big differences between Christian and non-Christian books is that Christian books have an absolute standard of truth they are compared to. Or, put another way, Christian books are all a derivative of the Bible in one way or another. We are a people of the Book, and so biblical accuracy is important. Christian readers expect biblical accuracy; and if they are not confident in the …

Category: The Writing Life

How to Write a Biblically Accurate Book with Catherine DeVries

By Thomas Umstattd, Jr.on January 19, 2021

One of the big differences between Christian and non-Christian books is that Christian books have an absolute standard of truth they are compared to. Or, put another way, Christian books are all a derivative of the Bible in one way or another. We are a people of the Book, and so biblical accuracy is important. […]
You can listen to this episode How to Write a Biblically Accurate Book with …

Category: The Writing Life

The Power of the Short Story

By Guest Bloggeron January 14, 2021

Today’s guest writer is Deborah Clack, who is a native Texan and nonrecovering chocolate addict. A high-school AP history teacher for 10 years, Deborah earned a master’s degree in education and was awarded Teacher of the Year for Arts in Education. Now she creates award-winning stories of her own with endearing characters and a hard-fought romance. She asks her heroines, as well as her …

Category: Career, Guest Post, The Writing LifeTag: short story

My Predictions for Your 2021

By Bob Hostetleron January 13, 2021

You’d think, after 2020, we’d all have learned not to make predictions, right? Right? Of course, right. But I learn more slowly than most. So I thought I’d put forth a few predictions for your coming year, if you’re a writer. If you’re not a writer, most of these won’t apply to you. But if you are, I think I can confidently offer these twenty-five predictions: You will have bad writing days. You …

Category: The Writing Life