by Lynn Blackburn @LYNNHBLACKBURN My family vacations every summer at a small lake house in the mountains of North Carolina. It’s now one of our favorite places in the world but as I recall, my first trip to the house wasn’t particularly pleasant. My aunt and uncle own the house and…

By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin David Smith loved language and ignited an excitement in his English teaching at Peru High School in Peru, Indiana during the late 1960s. Of modest height with receding sandy hair and a bug-eyed appearance, Mr. Smith loved his students and reached out to challenge them. As…

by Katherine Hutchinson-Hayes, Ed.D. @khutch0767 As Christian writers, we often encounter moments of self-doubt and insecurity. There have been times when I've questioned whether my voice truly mattered or if my words could inspire change. However, I've come to understand that our perceived limitations do not define us—our aspirations can triumph…

by DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills The Blue Ridge Conference is fast approaching, and writers are polishing their manuscripts and proposals One of the conference highlights is the ability for the writer to schedule two face-to-face appointments with an agent, editor, or professional writer. We want that event to be a positive…

by Ane Mulligan  @AneMulligan The back cover copy is usually what sells a book, along with a killer first line. While deciding how I wanted to write this, I surfed the web to gather a little fodder for the post, see what others are saying. Do you know over 90%…

by A.C. Williams @ACW_Author Do you use formulas in your writing projects? No, it’s not a trick question. The idea of formulaic writing might concern some people, especially because the industry-wide demand for originality, but we need to understand an important truth about storytelling: There are no new stories. Sorry…