After sporadic posts for the last four months, I believe I'm finally back onboard with blogging! For that last four months, I've been hurling along the rails of high-speed writing travel. In November I jumped on the NaNoWriMo train, writing a 50k word novel about a girl who lost her mother three years earlier and has … Continue reading All aboard!
God speaks
Sometimes God speak so directly we can almost hear his whisper in our ear. For several weeks, this blog has been primarily in silent mode while I work hard to complete a devotional manuscript. [I'll post more specifics about that when appropriate.] With my intense writing schedule, the most I've managed is posting the occasional … Continue reading God speaks
NaNoWriMo: The End
Yesterday afternoon, I reached "The End" in my NaNoWriMo novel. This very rough draft requires extensive revision, including incisive surgery. But yesterday I found out how it ends. And I validated my word count over at the NaNoWriMo website. I squeaked past the 50k word goal with 50,007 words. Tentatively titled Recipe for Disaster, the … Continue reading NaNoWriMo: The End
NaNo News: No Time To Lose!
News from the NaNo front is grim: 33,054 words at Day 25. At this rate, I'll reach the 50k word count goal on December 7. To finish on time, I'd have to write 2,825 words per day, but I have family commitments tomorrow and I don't write on Sunday. So I actually have only four … Continue reading NaNo News: No Time To Lose!
NaNo News
Those of you not on Facebook may be interested to know that I'm now over 10k words in this year's NaNoWriMo novel. Then again, you may not be interested at all, but NaNoWriMo will likely be the subject of Fiction Friday posts during November. Just to bring you up to date, I wrote 3,193 in … Continue reading NaNo News
Reader Research: Jr Hi girls
On this wonderful Wednesday, I wonder about many things. Most of them are research questions related to the NaNoWriMo novel I began yesterday. In three hours, I wrote 3,193 words. That couldn't be considered a terrific sprint, but it was a very satisfying beginning that put me 693 words above yesterday's scheduled goal. This is what I discovered: … Continue reading Reader Research: Jr Hi girls
Reformation resources
You won't see John Calvin bobble-heads or Martin Luther window clings in the seasonal aisle of your local discount store, but Reformation Day is right around the corner. Many Reformed churches sponsor conferences this time of year, which recharge adults' Reformed batteries, but what about the kids? How does your family or church jumpstart children's … Continue reading Reformation resources
The two-edged sword of promotion
On this wonderful Wednesday, I'm wondering about promotion, which is a two-edged sword for the Christian who writes. One side of the blade cuts with the necessity of self-promotion, while the other side slices with the desire for kingdom promotion. I write to glorify God. When I begin thinking about my name on the cover … Continue reading The two-edged sword of promotion
Fiction Friday-Dawn’s early light
Today's Fiction Friday here at Cottonwood Hollow. Dawn's roses and golds glow behind black silhouettes of cottonwood trees. Most of their leaves blew off in yesterday's strong wind and now lie strewn over the green grass in a haphazard pattern of brown and gold. A double mug of steaming coffee, laced with almond toffee creamer, … Continue reading Fiction Friday-Dawn’s early light
Redeeming YA fiction
Janie B. Cheaney and Emily A. Whitten write discerningly about Young Adult literature over at their Redeemed Reader website. Yesterday's intriguing post by Janie piques my interest in the "Use and Abuse of Youth Literature." The two recently interviewed Meghan Cox Gurdon who wrote in June for the Wall Street Journal a controversy generating review about the "Darkness … Continue reading Redeeming YA fiction
Glenda Faye Mathes 