Writing Craft

Realm Makers 2016

By Steve Laubeon August 1, 2016

I just spent the last few days with a lot of fun people! The Realm Makers conference was held on the Villianova University campus in Philadelphia with nearly 200 in attendance.

I had the honor of teaching nearly six hours in a continuing session on the spiritual life of the writer. It is truly great when many like-minded people gather to explore the Word together.

The costume banquet on Friday night was a sight to behold. I suspect you can find a number of wild photos on Facebook. I got to sit with Commander Riker from Star Trek: the Next Generation. Stood in the serving line with The Last Unicorn. And the Weeping Angel from Dr. Who made threatening gestures at me. Also there was Hagrid (almost the same size!), Mrs. Weasley, an Amish Zombie, Monsters, fairies, warriors, animals, creatures from nightmares…and even a literary agent – the scariest of all.

It was stunning to have two Enclave titles win special awards for Excellence in Editing. Waking Beauty by Sarah E. Morin and A Time to Speak by Nadine Brandes won both awards. Fun to have Nadine sitting next to me when her book was announced as winner!

And then John Otte’s The Hive won the Genre Award for Science Fiction!

In some ways Realm Makers is a mini-ComicCon but where all those in attendance want to write books! That is really exciting.

They announced that next year’s event will be held in Reno, Nevada. July 27-29, 2017 with Ted Dekker as the main speaker. See you there!

Five Dollar Words

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon July 28, 2016

“Don’t use a five-dollar word when a fifty-cent word will do.” – Mark Twain One of my daughters is an Arts and Visual Technology major, so of course she has to read articles about art. Here are a few sentences from an eight-page article, “Modernist Painting” by Clement Greenburg. The footnotes inform us that this article was both published and broadcast on the radio. I identify Modernism …

Category: Art, Craft, Creativity, Writing CraftTag: Craft, words, Writing Craft

6 Excuses (That Don’t Work) for Not Attending a Writers Conference

By Guest Bloggeron July 18, 2016

Our guest today is Linda Taylor, an author, an editor, a writer, a college writing instructor, and a constant learner. She teaches in the Professional Writing department at Taylor University and continues to do freelance editing and proofreading. She blogs about the joys of editing and grammar at www.lindaktaylor.com ___________ In our extremely virtual world, we have gotten used to our …

Category: Conferences, Get Published, Guest PostTag: Get Published, writers conferences

What’s Wrong with my Book?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon July 14, 2016

As you can imagine, we see hundreds of proposals and manuscripts each month. And, as you can also imagine, we must decline most. However, there are a few mistakes you can avoid to help your submission rise above others: Not beginning the story in the right place. All too often, an author will tell us about the main characters’ backgrounds before getting to the crux of the story, where the …

Category: Book Proposals, Craft, Editing, Get Published, RejectionTag: book proposals, Get Published

Theological Accountability Partners

By Dan Balowon July 12, 2016

Just because an author is a mature Christian, doesn’t mean they are immune from writing something containing shaky theology. In an effort to craft compelling phrases and stories, orthodox theology can sometimes be a casualty of creativity or even carelessness. Most often it is entirely accidental. I referenced this issue in a post over a year ago. A significant function of a traditional Christian …

Category: Career, Christian, Communication, Editing, Theology, Writing CraftTag: Career, Theology

What You May Not Know Before Going to a Conference

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon July 7, 2016

Have you ever been surprised by what you’ve learned at a conference? A couple of my meetings I’ve had over the years surprised me. To wit: Theology A few years ago, I interviewed a novelist at a fifteen-minute appointment. I read through her summary, and realized that the theological position of the story wouldn’t fit with most CBA houses. I made several suggestions on how to bring the story in …

Category: Conferences, Get PublishedTag: Get Published, writers conferences

The Dark Side of Silence

By Karen Ballon July 6, 2016

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It took me a long time to be comfortable with silence. I am, in essence, a Golden Retriever crossed with an otter, so I’m all about fun, fun, fun! I gotta play, gotta move, gotta be in the middle of whatever is happening. Whee! Ain’t life a barrel of puppies?? But plunk me down to sit still and be silent? AAAHHHHH! I used to think I was alone in fidgeting when it got too quiet. As for flat-out …

Category: Creativity, The Writing LifeTag: Silence, The Writing Life

What Editors Wish You Knew about Meeting with Them at Conferences

By Karen Ballon June 29, 2016

Thanks to Becky McCoy for requesting advice for conference meetings with agents and editors at conferences. You can find a lot of counsel for meeting with agents on the different agency blogs, but I thought I’d supplement those posts with advice from some of the in-house editors you’ll find at this years’ conferences. So I emailed said editors and asked them to share their wishes with you. Here …

Category: ConferencesTag: Pitching

Show Off Your Emotions!

By Karen Ballon June 22, 2016

You’ve heard it over and over: Show, don’t tell. Well, I agree with that sentiment when it comes to important emotional scenes. Fiction, nonfiction, doesn’t matter. If you want to stir your readers, learn to show powerful emotions. As I thought about this blog, though, I figured you all don’t need yet another how to. Instead, I want to challenge you to share the most powerful emotion you felt this …

Category: Craft, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Emotions, show don't tell, Writing Craft

Once You’re at the Conference…

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 9, 2016

Conferences are fun and busy. Here are some tips on how to enjoy them even more! Be Mindful of What You Eat Since many conferences have plenty of delicious food, it’s easy to overindulge. I find that if I don’t overeat, I feel better. It’s extremely important for those with allergies to avoid food with mysterious ingredients. You don’t want to find out too late that you accidentally ate a food …

Category: Conferences, Get PublishedTag: Get Published, writers conferences