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Awaiting the Unexpected

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given…” Isaiah 9:6 What a joyful event we will celebrate in just a few more days! As I have every year for as long as I can remember, I’ve spent these...

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Facing a Fickle Crowd?

When Jesus finished telling these stories, he left there, returned to his hometown, and gave a lecture in the meetinghouse. He made a real hit, impressing everyone. “We had no idea he was this good!”...

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All the World’s A Page: The 9 Woes of the Writing Life

At work  on the world of the page. Recently at the end of a creative nonfiction class I taught, a student came to me with a helpless shrug of her shoulders. “I want to write. I want to be a writer....

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What Do I Write About? Tendering Your Witness

Like many of you creative writerly types, I have a new book or essay idea about once a week. Any casual observer will know when this happens. My eyes gain x-ray vision, I will wear mismatched clothes...

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When Your Book Doesn’t Sell: Separating the Writer From the Wannabe

http://www.stockfreeimages.com/ “I’m so glad it is our first year here so that the pressure’s off to win an award. I heard you have to be returning to be in the running,” my friend Kim leaned over and...

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Already Loved: Encouragement for This Writing Life

Another rejection. My agent gently relayed that though my dream publisher had said “yes” to a proposal all the way up the chain of command to the last committee, they finally decided to nix it. As I...

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How to Get Started Writing: Hamster Wheels and Hurdles

Of all that a writer can and should do—how, actually, does one get started? It would be possible, in assembling writing advice from just a handful of the people who are giving it, to come away with the...

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A Note to Young Writers: Honor Your Obscurity

In the last month, I spent time with two younger women, both of whom had just released their first book. Sarah and Andrea are both fine writers whom I expect will continue to write and publish books....

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Craft of Writing

“Craft – an activity involving skill to produce something by hand” says my newly installed Oxford English Dictionary. The origin of the modern word ‘craft’ is to be found in the Old English word...

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Unpacking a Rebuke

We’ve all met at least one—the writer who simply cannot take any criticism of his work. Such folk gleefully hand you their writing for review. But when you offer a tiny suggestion about a passage...

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They Also Serve Who Drink and Weep

Coming home .. .. The writing life takes me away from home often. I write this the day after returning from 2 weeks of travel, home to Kodiak Island, to my husband and sons and daughter and Yorkshire...

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Avoiding the Comparison Trap

Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else.  Galatians 6:4 Nothing stops the flow of creativity more than...

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Writing With a Day Job

Juggling a Day Job With a Writing Career? Are you a writer, or an aspiring writer with a day job? Ever get tired trying to juggle at least two careers, (day job and writing), along with mommy, daddy,...

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Perseverance: Keep Moving and Writing!

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak … those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength … they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Is....

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Are You a Good Literary Citizen?

Are you a good literary citizen? I’ll never forget it. I was probably eight or nine years old, and my family had gotten up early to get a spot in the front for the Blossom Time Parade in a neighboring...

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Editing Tips

 Books aren’t written, they’re rewritten. Including your own. It is one of the hardest things to accept, especially after the seventh rewrite hasn’t quite done it… Michael Crichton The workshop leader...

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Live It Before You Write It

Often, I try to shortcut beyond my own abilities. Nowhere is this more true than with writing. As a non-fiction author, I lean toward meeting felt needs in storied, practical, and spiritual ways. These...

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Shameless: How to Fail a Book Signing (but Not the Writing Life)

“Art is born out of humiliation.”  W.H. Auden I had a fantastically unsuccessful book signing in a big box store not long ago. (Yes, signings still occur, despite the takeover of social media.)...

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Four Promises for Facing Self-Induced Pressure or Deadlines

“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32 NLT). Sometimes I feel like I can’t breathe because of self-induced pressure or someone else’s expectations of me. And at...

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The 15-Minute Writer: Taming the Social Media Monster

This is part five of a series. Read parts 1-4 here. Ever wonder how top authors (especially those with families) do it all–write, read, speak, tweet, pin, travel, correspond and more? I’ve got a hunch...

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