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Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

What Makes a Great Villain? 

March 9, 2022 By Dani Pettrey

I’m happy to say I officially signed off on The Deadly Shallows a few weeks ago. It’s finished with editorial and on to paging. Phew. That book was literally the hardest I’ve ever written. I couldn’t tell you why. Well…five surgeries between the end of May and the end of August didn’t help, but well before that, this book was wrestling inside of me. It ended up causing me to have two years between … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: storytelling, villain, writing

Overcoming Story Obstacles

January 12, 2022 By Dani Pettrey

Happy Wednesday, friends! I hope your New Year is off to a great start. I thought it would be fun to answer a variety of reader questions I’ve received in my next few posts. Two questions I often get are: “How do you stay inspired to write?” and “How do you overcome writer’s block?” I’m mentioning both questions because I believe the answer is the same, and I found it in a book that I read years … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: inspiration, Writer's Life, Writer's Block, writing

My Favorite Year End Task

January 5, 2022 By D'Ann Mateer

Some seventeen years ago, I was discouraged. After five years of writing, my motivation to continue was waning. I had written three complete novels, and while my rejections always came with good feedback, it wasn’t easy to find the will to keep going. Especially when I felt like I had less time than I wanted for writing, even with my kids in school all day. Maybe God was trying to tell me I had … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: spreadsheets, writing

A Writing Life…Missing ACFW!

September 9, 2021 By Cara Putman

This weekend is the ACFW national conference. This year we are online, and oh how I miss seeing my writing buddies. It's one of the reasons I started Book Talk with Cara. It was a good excuse for me to get to spend time talking with the writing friends I've missed catching up with at ACFW. On Friday, I'll open the conference and then on Saturday I'm teaching a workshop on writing proposals. It's … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Assorted & Sundry Tagged With: cara putman, Podcast, reading, writing

Where would you live?

September 8, 2021 By Dani Pettrey

Hi friends, Happy Wednesday! Always glad to spend a day with you. A friend asked if I could live in any book, which story world would I choose. This is a writer and reader’s delight—at least for me. Books started racing through my mind. Stories I’ve treasured and the world they’re set in. I immediately thought of Dee Henderson’s O’Malley family and how I’d love to meet each member of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Movies & TV, Reading Tagged With: imagination, reading, writing

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