It's a potentially restful week. This time between Christmas and New Year’s isn’t jam packed with busy to-dos, at least generally. Some people find it a great time to write. Others take the time off...
Writing to spec – you’ve heard the term. It means writing what the publisher wants. Can you do it? In our new feature - Make-A-Story™, we ask you to create a story with these elements. The story can be set in any time frame, any length, must adhere to our guidelines and have our standard Christian world...
With Thanksgiving being late this year, the Christmas season kinda just snuck up on me. Is the same is true for you? The calendar says "Advent" is here, yet up until this past week, I was feeling far...
We're still on the subject of comma placement. Here are five more rules to help you self-edit your manuscript into publication:Comma Rule #11: When composite adjectives are used, a comma is not necessary as each of the adjectives modify each other. However, when coordinate adjectives that modify the...
Writing to spec – you’ve heard the term. It means writing what the publisher wants. Can you do it? In our new feature - Make-A-Story™, we ask you to create a story with these elements. The story can be set in any time frame, any length, must adhere to our guidelines and have our standard Christian world...
Yesterday, like many other churches in the UK and probably across the world, we had our carol services. The morning was an all age service with the children taking part and the evening a traditional carol...
The Great Purse Alarm Incident of 2009My mother is, well, elderly, and we all worry about her getting out and about. My niece gave her a purse alarm, so if anyone tried to rob her, the sound would deter a would-be thief. The device hooks to your purse and the other end to your wrist. If the purse is...
Sometimes it is good to play a comma by ear: place one where there is a natural pause in narrative or dialogue. As with everything done to bring style to prose, overdoing it mutes the tone. Too much playing by ear gives the wrong impression, and not one an author would like an editor to have. What should...
Writing to spec – you’ve heard the term. It means writing what the publisher wants. Can you do it? In our new feature - Make-A-Story™, we ask you to create a story with these elements. The story can be set in any time frame, any length, must adhere to our guidelines and have our standard Christian world...
Great dialog is hard to write. No one wants to read dull words, even if they echo true-to-life exchanges, like:
“Hello, Nancy.”
“Hi, Carol.”
“How are you?”
“I’m well, how are you?”
Cue reader:...
Every year-- for the past eighteen years-- I've gotten a Christmas bell from a local potter. They're all different. Each is unique and every year there's a new design on them. Sadly,last year the shelf...
Commas are the musical notes of your manuscript. Some have mastered the melody by taking time to learn to read the music. Others simply play it by ear. Listening to the tune and playing it is fine if you have a sense of rhythm and can hear the notes being played. Take away that ability, and you’re simply...
Writing to spec – you’ve heard the term. It means writing what the publisher wants. Can you do it? In our new feature - Make-A-Story™, we ask you to create a story with these elements. The story can be set in any time frame, any length, must adhere to our guidelines and have our standard Christian world...
Tessa’s Teacakes by Mary MannersTessa, the youngest Spencer sister--and the most impulsive--rushes into the Mount Ridge crisis center bent on saving her brother-in-law. She's ready to handle Brent's...
Tessa’s TeacakesTessa, the youngest Spencer sister--and the most impulsive--rushes into the Mount Ridge crisis center bent on saving her brother-in-law. She's ready to handle Brent's abductor, with or without help. What she's not ready to handle is the effect policeman, Colin Phillips, has on her. Romance...
While recently reading the book of Jonah a thought hit me--as writers of Christian fiction perhaps there are stories we don't want to write, yet those characters and plots keep coming back to us and just won't leave. Perhaps the message is a powerful one, or a painful one. Maybe we don't feel we can...
Sometimes I’m so caught up in the day-to-day bustle of life that I forget how very blessed I am. The holiday season is a time to reflect…and hopefully take a moment to slow down long enough to draw a breath, step back, and count the many blessings that fill my life.I’m thankful for a loving husband—a...
Let’s talk about the power of the paragraph. A story, no matter how small, cannot be told without this form of punctuation. Yes, that’s right. A paragraph is a form of punctuation—a mark of separation. Used correctly, it can build your story. Use it incorrectly, and it will tear it apart. Add some panache...
Writing to spec – you’ve heard the term. It means writing what the publisher wants. Can you do it? In our new feature - Make-A-Story™, we ask you to create a story with these elements. The story can be set in any time frame, any length, must adhere to our guidelines and have our standard Christian...
1 Chronicles 16:8Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon His name, make known His deeds among the people.1 Chronicles 16:34O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good; for His mercy endureth for ever.Thanks to each author who has answered the call to Write the Vision.Happy Thanksgiving ...let the peace...
Point of view versus head hopping—what is the difference? A fine line, or in writer speak, a scene or chapter break, is usually the determining factor. Quite simply, point-of-view changes become head hopping when they are done within the same scene. Head hopping short changes the reader. The omniscient...
Writing to spec – you’ve heard the term. It means writing what the publisher wants. Can you do it? In our new feature - Make-A-Story ™, we ask you to create a story with these elements. The story can be set in any time frame, any length, must adhere to our guidelines and have our standard Christian...
Habakkuk 2:2And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables...Inspirational books are not just stories. Christian fiction has that extra ingrediant in addition to a great plot, compelling characters, and active dialog. They're more than three dimensional. There's...
When self-editing, authors should put their back stories through a rigorous interrogation, or a vetting process, to determine the necessity of the information. Here are some important questions to ask when self-editing your back story content:Mr. Back Story, how do you plan to show yourself?If Mr. Back...
I was not born an adventurer. I married into it. This because the Captain -- besides being a captain -- was a naturalist. Every chance he got on land, he wanted to walk in the woods, along the beach,...
Writing to spec – you’ve heard the term. It means writing what the publisher wants. Can you do it? In our new feature - Make-A-Story ™, we ask you to create a story with these elements. The story can be set in any time frame, any length, must adhere to our guidelines and have our standard Christian...
Over 30 years have passed since my father transplanted a pear tree in the back yard. He was big on fruit trees, nurturing them and watching them flourish. Ten years after we moved from Hickory Valley, Tennessee, Dad drove 110 miles back just to dig up a fig bush we'd left behind. It now grows on the...
Do you realize that when an author sends a manuscript to an editor, she is sending an extension of herself? What an editor sees in the first chapter is the first impression of the author—a faceless interview of sorts.Is your chapter appearing for an interview dressed in cargo shorts and a t-shirt? Is...
Writing to spec – you’ve heard the term. It means writing what the publisher wants. Can you do it? In our Monday writing prompt feature - Make-A-Story ™, we ask you to create a story with these elements. The story can be set in any time period, any length, must adhere to our guidelines and have...
I was in Utah, serving the Lord and the U.S. Air Force at Hill Air Force Base. The chaplain of the base, a friend and encourager in my life, asked me to fill in for him at a rescue mission in the city...
Good morning,
We'll soon be changing our look and our blog address. As most of you know, White Rose Publishing has been a division of Pelican Ventures, LLC for a couple of years now. With the October launch of our new Christian fiction imprint, Harbourlight Books, we've decided to build one "roof."...
Wow, I don't know about you, but we had snow this weekend! I said to one of my boys on the way to church yesterday, "It looks more like Christmas out here than Thanksgiving." :)This morning, as I was...
Why do you love reading romance? I like watching a hero warm up to a heroine, getting a peek into his heart. Or watching him pursue her. I like watching the characters go after their goals and find love. I like warmth, gentleness, and kindness, and that’s where Christian romance shines. Sure, there...
As some of you may know, my brother-in-law, John Hilger, was recently ordained as a Deacon in the Catholic Church. He'll be serving in ministry at Queen of Angels Church in the archdiocese of Fort Wayne,...