I haven't felt like doing my personal quiet time for a while now. Ever since I got sick where my stomach felt nauseated for over two months last August. I just have no desire to do it at all anymore. I've prayed about it but the desire is still not there. Well, I decided to spend the last couple of hours literally going through many, many reading plans on bible.com. They have tons to choose from and probably add more to their database all the time. I have now saved over 80 different plans … [Read more...]
Athena’s Poem, Unbelievably Good
I'm one proud mama because tonight our daughter, Athena, handed us a poem she wrote and dedicated to Keith and I. First off, she is one of the sweetest little girls in the world who happens to be going through a lot right now. When you read what she wrote below, I hope you can see the beautiful heart she has. Her beauty comes from the inside and exudes outward. We are so utterly blessed to be able to be her parents. I asked her if it'd be okay if I shared this and she said yes. I hope you … [Read more...]
The Journey with Max Elliot Anderson
Please welcome this week's guest Max Elliot Anderson for The Journey. He answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? A question I’m often asked is why I write for kids and not adults. Given my life of world travel and working on so many different kinds of film and video productions, why write for kids? Why not write about all those interesting countries and the people I’ve met? I could tell some wild stories. Like the film I shot in New Guinea. New Guinea … [Read more...]
Day 111: Authors on Pedestals #acfw
I really like this. As writers we have so much at our disposal to write about. Every life today is different from someone else’s life. Think about it. We all have our own unique way of looking at things. We can look at two people and think they are living the exact same life. However, if you were to step into the shoes of each one you’d find out that while there are some similarities, their lives are different. Think about identical twins. When I was growing up my mom became friends with a … [Read more...]
C is for Character Sketch
When I began to write the fiction novel I'm working on I had no clue how to really do it. There was so much I needed to learn. My true growth started after I became a member of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) and joined the large critique group they have. Over that first month in that group it was amazing how much I had learned. Yet, I had so much more to learn and am still doing so now. I came to realize that I'm a plotter. One day I had an idea to write a quick and concise outline … [Read more...]
Day 98: Ideas in Limos and Planes
I love this quote in the book: "You can’t just dance or paint or write or sculpt. Those are just verbs. You need a tangible idea to get you going. The idea, however minuscule, is what turns the verb into a noun." —TWYLA THARP Think about that. As a writer, no matter how small the idea might be, we're able to turn that into a full length book. We can get ideas from any where. Almost eight years ago I was told I needed to add fiction elements to my daughters book. The problem was I had … [Read more...]
Day 88: From the Desk of God
This one is interesting. When we write we are writing out what is playing in our heads. Read this section from the book: "Writing a novel is like living in a parallel universe. A universe that, unlike reality, you can more or less control. Every day, you find your characters sitting around like polite house-guests waiting to see what you have planned for them. It can be exhilarating on good days, and on other days so difficult and frustrating you think your head might explode. But if you keep … [Read more...]
The Journey with Emilie Hendryx
Please welcome this weeks guest Emilie Hendryx for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? In the Midst of the Journey I’ve always loved reading and writing. Ever since I was a little girl, I can remember dreaming up ideas, creating imaginary places, and compiling all of the elements of a good story into a play session with my stuffed animals. At that time, I didn’t know much about the fundamentals of writing or story telling, I just knew … [Read more...]
Day 64: Writing Is Not Pretty
Are you a little confused by today's title? To be honest, so was I. So I got to thinking. When we're writing a book, or a play, or a blog post, or whatever type of writing that needs to be done, our first drafts are anything but pretty. There are grammar mistakes galore (even though in our head it was perfect :( ). We have all the spelling errors that either our auto-correct didn't change our word automatically or we really messed up the spelling (gotta love spell check, a writer's best friend). … [Read more...]
Day 58: Retreating to Play
We can look at kids with all the energy we wish we still had and get tired by looking at them. Sometimes we joke and say, "Man, if I could bottle all that energy and sell it, I'd make millions." We all laugh and agree. I think sometimes we forget what it's like to play. I'm not saying to go out to the monkey bars or anything. I'm talking about taking time out to do some fun adult things like rock climbing, paintball or going to a dance club to just let loose. Kids are undeterred by what … [Read more...]
