Dad playing his position on the family team
1I have been working on a book about the family functioning as a team, and a spin-off sermon series on the family in our church. Here is a snippet of the intro to a chapter called “Team Captain: Dad playing his Position” and a link to the [...]
Read More →
Café Closed for a two week writing holiday
Most publishers I have approached do not ask first about an author’s experience, qualifications, or even writing samples. They ask about platform. This is the number of people who know the writer well enough to probably buy a book of his. The stats for this metric are [...]
Read More →
Of Marxists & Bloggers: The Writer’s Manifesto
Publishers used to try their best to keep trash off the market (unless they were particularly strapped for cash that year), or at least clean up the frightful grammatical atrocities most contemporary writers inflict on their readers. Now with the bittersweet advent of self-publishing and inhibited blogging, [...]
Read More →
“Shall Shock” How to exploit the shall/will dynamic duo.
“Shall Shock” How to exploit the shall/will dynamic duo. This is a brief grammar post I’m presenting at TheWritePractice.com, but I thought I’d test it out here. So feel free to proofread and make suggestions. Unless you are auditioning for a role in Downton Abbey, [...]
Read More →
How you Know You’ve Arrived as a Writer
Writers are seers. We view the world coded in apt words, crafted phrases, tweaked syntax, and fine-tuned paragraphs. New vocabulary titillates us, while mangled grammar irritates like a crooked painting in a gallery. We are connoisseurs of catchy copy, and we always recognize with admiration [...]
Read More →
Dissent: “The Indomitable Andrew Smidt”
The submission to a writing competition each month usually ends up as an eBook. But I thought I’d just post it for your enjoyment. The topic was “Dissent.” This is a true story–as I remember it “The Indomitable Andrew Smidt” I was a [...]
Read More →
The Preacher’s Payday – Available on Amazon!
Finally The Preacher’s Payday has arrived. Well, not the actual Day, just the book about it. Giddy with delight, and basking in God’s graciousness to me, I got to grasp in my hand a copy of my first (Lord willing) published book. In seminary I [...]
Read More →
Announcement: Guest Post at The Write Practice
Today (Saturday, 14 April) I have the privilege of presenting a guest post on the writers’ community blog, The Write Practice. Woo-hoo. I am coaching on how to craft memoir short stories. No pressure. The post will feature my (very) short biographical story, “Love in a Time [...]
Read More →
