(A discussion of my own approach to developing character goals, part 2) Short Story Character Goals I take a big-picture, plotter approach to developing the goals of characters within novels. But for shorter fiction, my character goal formation is more relaxed and possibly more creative. I keep in mind my basic novel order of author goal (message) first, […]
Character, Plot, or Message-Based Novels? (part 2) Read More »
(A discussion of my own approach to developing character goals, part 1) In the audience of a long-ago Christian writers’ conference, I sat entranced before a panel of book editors describing the types of manuscripts they were looking to acquire: character-driven novels and plot-based books, but never, ever stories written primarily for message. I knew right then I
Character, Plot, or Message-Based Novels? (part 1) Read More »
Pantakrator Mosaic, Leon V1, 10th century, Hagia Sophia When I was a teen, my artistic mother created a mosaic on the powder room wall: three gracious sisters in Grecian robes scooping water from a rush-lined river. Mom sketched the outline, selected the ceramic tiles for colour, snipped them to fit, and grouted the pieces into
THE MOSAIC OF HUMANITY Read More »
GRAPEVINE GRAPEVINE GRAPE BUNCH (acrylic on canvas) by Lorenda Harder My Interview with Author JOHNNIE ALEXANDER I just read a terrific novel, Where Treasure Hides, and I tracked down author Johnnie Alexander (a fellow Mosaic Collection author) at home in Oklahoma to chat about her life and writing. DEB: Thanks for joining me today, Johnnie. You’ve published quite a few books, but your
Where Treasure Hides Read More »
GRAPEVINE GRAPE BUNCH (acrylic on canvas) by Lorenda Harder I’d like to introduce you to award-winning novelist Stacy Monson, who resides in the Twin Cities and is part of Mosaic Collection, the international author’s group I recently joined. Her contemporary, faith-based stories reveal an extraordinary God at work in ordinary life. DEB: Welcome to my corner, Stacy! I see you’ve published
My Interview with Author STACY MONSON Read More »
Maybe it’s because I talk a lot that I feel my words are cheap. They slip out between my flapping lips in copious quantity, some to enter the ears of intended hearers and many to slide into oblivion. Add to this the fact that I myself often ignore what I’ve just said (causing me
RETELLING TIMELESS TRUTHS Read More »
Last week I held a little giveaway on Facebook, awarding this red leather journal to the third person who signed up for my new quarterly email newsletter (see the first edition of that newsletter here) telling about what’s happening in my writing life. This generated a bit of excitement among my friends—a dozen of them responded by clicking this link and filling in the