The hard thing about writing Christian novels–and this is a self-imposed standard, mind you–is that for the novel to be good, it has to (1) have a good story, and (2) have a spiritual message. That’s not always easy to manage, and one finds many Christian novels out there that are good in one or … More Shuffling the Cards
After a year of not writing, I am back in front of the keyboard, working on book #26. I use the term working loosely for two reasons. First, because like most writers, I am finding every excuse in the book to procrastinate and do everything else but write. I tolerate that to a certain degree … More Shaking off the Cobwebs
Every year I look forward to summer, telling myself that it will give me the opportunity to hole up in my house and spend some quality time writing. Well, guess what. My teaching situation has changed. As of Monday, I will be teaching the rest of the semester from my study in my office. Shelly … More Be Careful What You Ask For
Over the years, it’s my privilege to rub shoulders with many creative people that I have learned from. One of my recent colleagues was Kyle Portbury, filmmaker and scriptwriter who shares an Emmy win with me that we won a year ago today. One of the stories he tells is of a famous scriptwriter–whose name … More Stuck? Consider the “Dora” Approach to Writing
I’m invested in National Novel Writing Month for what I think is the seventh time. I’m not doing as good as I should. I think I have just over 9,000 words written. I can blame it on having a more challenging book this time, one that calls for me to research every time I turn … More “This Above All: To Thine Own Self Be True”
People say that the Root of All Evil is the love of money. But I’ll wager that it’s just money, period. The fact that we need it, and most of us don’t have it. Right now, it’s pretty much running my life. And I’m sick of it. I’m not writing right now. Okay, I’ve admitted … More The Root of All Evil
Ever since I started this blog back in 2006, it’s been my pledge to be totally honest about the writer’s life and what’s going on in mine. And so it’s time to talk about the dark side that happens to some of us. I’ve been struggling with a bout of depression for the past ten … More Dealing with Depression as a Writer
Famous? No. Rich. Definitely not. Established? Check. If you’ve been writing a while, been around the block, had a few titles published under your byline, you get to the point where putting sentences together become, well, while I won’t say easy, I would say tolerable. Writing the blamed story isn’t your biggest challenge. You can … More The two biggest challenges for an established writer
Yeah, I know. Physician, heal thyself. I’ve written about writer’s block many times before. What it is, how to deal with it, how to get over it. I’ve talked about it in class. I’ve helped students with writer’s block. But for some reason, it’s different when you’re the one that has the problem. I’m at … More Welcome to Writer’s Block City.
I have a very bad habit. Somehow I have gotten in my mind that if I don’t finish something, then nothing bad will happen. It started when I wrote my first book. I knew that the editor was waiting for it. I put it in an envelope, addressed the envelope, put stamps on it, and … More Avoiding the Last Chapter
The Great Adventure 