Writing Craft

ACFW 2011 Report

By Steve Laubeon September 26, 2011

by Steve Laube

This past weekend nearly 700 novelists, editors, agents, and industry professionals gathers in St. Louis for the 10th annual American Christian Fiction Writers conference.

It is always invigorating to be with so many highly creative people and to be a part of the discovery and development of tomorrow’s bestselling authors.

I had over 30 one-on-one appointments and editor meetings, taught three classes, and had dozens of “hallway” meetings of all kinds. Our agency had 47 clients in attendance too. This was the first time Karen Ball, Tamela Hancock Murray, and I were together at the same event since they joined the agency. What a blast! It is so great to have them as a part of our agency.

Saturday night was the Awards Banquet Gala and our agency had five clients who were award winners.
Genesis Awards (for unpublished authors):
Historical Fiction: Johnnie Alexander Donley
Historical Romance: Sarah Ladd

Carol Awards:
Novella: Carrie Turansky
Mystery: Elizabeth Goddard
Long Historical: Susan May Warren

Congratulations to all!

In my opinion, if you are a novelist writing for the Christian market, you owe it to yourself to consider attending next year’s event which will be held in Dallas. Check the ACFW (www.acfw.com) for more information.

Save Your Inbox!

By Steve Laubeon September 19, 2011

Like you, I have a love-hate relationship with email.
I love it because it allows for quick and easy communication.
I hate it because the flood in the inbox can be overwhelming.

(I also get irritated with that hyphen! email or e-mail?)

A "solution" may be at hand! Some pretty smart folks have created "The Email Charter." Please do yourself a favor, click this link to The Email Charter, …

Category: Book Business, News You Can Use, Steve, TrendsTag: Book Business, News, Trends

Nameless Waterfalls

By Steve Laubeon September 5, 2011

by Steve Laube During a recent vacation we visited a place in Alaska called the Tracy Arm Fjord. The picture above was one that I took during that visit. As we past through these amazing waters it was bitter cold (note the icebergs in the water), in the early morning around 6 a.m., and with a chilly wind to accompany us. But rather than be frozen by the weather I was mesmerized by the number of …

Category: Encouragement, Get Published, Personal, Steve, Writing CraftTag: Personal, Rejection, Writing Craft

En-TITLE-ment: Finding the Perfect Title (Part Three)

By Karen Ballon August 31, 2011

Remember that old adage for retailers, “The customer is always right?” Well, for novelists seeking the perfect title, that should be “The audience is always right.”

Tip #4: Remember Your Audience! Novelists do a great job, on the whole, of keeping their audience in mind as they write. But sometimes when trying to come up with a catchy title or cover image, they go a bit far afield of that …

Category: Book Business, Craft, Creativity, Get Published, Karen, Marketing, Writing CraftTag: Book Business, Karen, Titles

A Matter of Perspective

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon August 25, 2011

During a recent visit to my local bank, I produced a document bearing the Virginia State seal. The banker commented on how terrible the seal is for men.

What an odd thing to say!

Mrs. Judith Gue taught third grade at the small private school I attended in a bucolic part of Virginia. Mrs. Gue was a plump woman who favored silk dresses, kept a paddle on her desk as an unspoken and ever-present …

Category: Book Business, Get Published, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Book Business, Writing Craft

En-TITLE-ment: Finding the Perfect Title (Part Two)

By Karen Ballon August 24, 2011

First, here are the answers to last week’s questions:

Name That Tone!
The Boneman's Daughters--chilling
Redeeming Love--romantic
The Shunning--Amish
The Riddlemaster of Hed--fantastical
A Vase of Mistaken Identity--whimsical
Without a Trace--suspensful
Three Weddings & a Giggle—humourous and romantic
Name that Genre!
Kidnapped--adventure
Sister Chicks Down Under—witty women’s …

Category: Book Business, Creativity, Get Published, Karen, Marketing, Writing CraftTag: Karen, Marketing, Proposals, Titles

En-TITLE-ment: Finding the Perfect Title (Part One)

By Karen Ballon August 17, 2011

One of the most difficult—and important—things we did when I worked in the publishing house was come up with titles for our authors’ novels. Sometimes it was a breeze, either because the author’s title was spot-on or because the story lent itself organically to a certain title. But more often than not, it was a long process of back-and-forth with the author, marketing, and sales. So how can you, …

Category: Get Published, Karen, Marketing, Trends, Writing CraftTag: Book Business, Craft, Karen, Pitching, Titles, Writing Craft

Show or Tell: How Do You Know?

By Karen Ballon August 10, 2011

As we discussed last week, it’s okay to tell at times, but in fiction you want to show the important, emotion-laden scenes. That way the reader gets the vicarious experience along with the character. So how do you know when you’re telling rather than showing? Here are a few tips:

Beware the dreaded –ly adverbs.
“Get out of my novel, you –ly adverbs!” Alice said angrily.
Ah-ah-ah! Any time you …

Category: Craft, Creativity, Karen, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Karen, show don't tell, Writing Craft

Show, Don’t Tell

By Karen Ballon August 3, 2011

Tweet5

I’m From Missouri—SHOW me!

Okay, truth be told, I’m from Oregon. But in the 30 years I've been editing fiction, I've discovered a number of issues almost all writers face, regardless of how much they've written or been published. If I had to pick the top issue I see over and over, it would be Show, Don't Tell.

What, you may ask, does that mean? It's actually pretty simple. It's the …

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

The Wrong Point-of-View

By Karen Ballon July 27, 2011

Last week we identified Point-of-View (POV). This week, let’s consider some common POV misteps.

What's My Line?: When POV/voice doesn’t fit the character.

Here's an example. The POV character is male and a construction worker. So is the following appropriate for his POV?

Category: Craft, Karen, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Karen, Point of View, Writing Craft