Rachel Held Evans | Tag Landing

What they didn’t tell me at the Young Author’s Conference….

(This young author, dressed for "career day" circa 1990) I’ve known ever since I was a little girl that I wanted to be writer, and so each year, my elementary school teachers encouraged me to attend the Young Author’s Conference at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. We had to submit our own little books in order to participate, so I grew accustomed to meeting my annual deadline and turning in a story that made me proud. As I listened to grown-up authors talk about their ... read more

Teresa of Avila on Blogging

Okay, so she wasn’t speaking specifically about blogging, having lived four centuries before Al Gore invented the internet and all, but this poem by St. Teresa of Avila is one I return to time and again when the task of keeping up with the pace of the blogosphere and subjecting myself to the criticism it incurs just seems to be too much: Let nothing upset you,Let nothing startle you.All things pass;God does not change.Patience wins all it seeks.Whoever has God lac... read more

How I Beat Writer’s Block: A Haiku

I make a cocoonOut of constraints and then waitFor words to grow wings. It may seem counter-intuitive, but in my experience the best way to overcome creative block—in art and in life—is to give myself some parameters. The composer Stravinsky said that the more constraints one imposes, the more one frees oneself. Wordsworth concurred, declaring that “the sonnet’s scanty plod of ground” provides fertile creative soil for artists who have “felt the weight ... read more

On Getting Published…

Today we wrap-our our week-long series on writing. Several of you had questions about the publishing process. Here are some links that will help you out: My Publishing Story + Tips for Getting Published Why Getting Published Didn’t Make Me Happy (a guest post for Heather Sunseri) Rachelle Gardner’s Web Site (Rachelle is my agent, and I think she’s the best in the business) Nathan Bradford’s Web Site (Sooo helpful for aspiring writers!) The 11 Secrets to Getti... read more

My favorite writing mantras….What are yours?

I've really enjoyed hearing your thoughts on writing this week! I'll tie the series up tomorrow with a short post on publishing. In the meantime, let's talk about the creative process... Above my desk I’ve assembled some of my favorite writing quotes, reminders, and mantras. These include: Trust yourself “Simplify, Simplify” – Henry David Thoreau TRUTH / DETAILS (sight, sound, smell taste, touch) / HUMOR / HOPE - I try to include thes... read more

Making More Time & Money for Your Writing

photo © 2011 Aaron Patterson | more info (via: Wylio) Our writing series continues today with a post that addresses several of the questions you posed last week, particularly those that concern making more time and money for writing. On paper, writing is a relatively inexpensive venture. All you really need is a computer and an internet connection, and you’re good to go. But what is often overlooked is the fact that writing takes LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of time&he... read more

How to build a better writing platform by being yourself

photo © 2011 linda | more info (via: Wylio) Today we continue our short series on writing with a look at platform—a favorite buzzword at writing conferences and an absolute necessity for writers hoping to bring their voice to the competitive marketplace of publishing. For a lot of writers, particularly those who write faith-related material, trying to “build a brand” can feel a bit manipulative and fake. (Doesn’t developing a marketing strategy for a ... read more

Writing, like faith, means living the questions

photo © 2010 xlibber | more info (via: Wylio) As promised, today’s post is the first in a four-part series about writing. I receive so many emails and Facebook messages from fellow writers looking for tips on how to get published, build a platform and hone the craft, I thought it might be fun to spend a few days on the topic. My hope is that even if you’re not a writer, you will learn a little something about yourself, about creativity, or about this magnificent world f... read more

Your writing/publishing/blogging questions…

Sometime in the next couple of weeks, I’d like to do a series on writing. I've found that a lot of the questions I receive in my inbox and on my Facebook wall come from fellow writers interested in blogging, publishing, the creative process, and platform-building. Is this something you'd like to talk about here? If so, what topics would you like me to address and what questions do you have? (Please take advantage of the “like” button in the comment section so... read more

Living the dream

photo © 2008 Rupert Ganzer | more info (via: Wylio) As it turns out, you don’t make a whole lot of money writing books. Which means I’ve been shopping at Wal Mart a lot lately— buying Wal Mart brand food, using Wal Mart brand cosmetics, and suffering from Wal Mart brand guilt as I begrudgingly support the evils of cheap, consumer-driven “Empire.” What will my progressive friends think? Last Wednesday, I arrived at the big box store sout... read more

An Open Letter to the Open Letter

Dear Open Letter, Seeing as how we don’t actually know one another and personal letters don’t generate any blog traffic, I’ve decided to publicly air my grievances against you in a format that positions you as the powerful elite and me as the scrappy underdog willing to take you on. I will begin with a backhanded compliment, thanking you for making it easy for bloggers like me to issue one-way rants against the people we don’t like while maintaining the appe... read more

How to Write a Controversial Blog Post with No Regrets

photo © 2008 Ben Smith | more info (via: Wylio) The nice thing about blogging is that when you first start out no one reads your posts except your mom. This gives you plenty of time to learn the ropes, find your voice, and make a few mistakes before readers start disseminating your ideas via links, Twitter, and Facebook....which is an especially good thing for writers like me who like to dabble in controversial topics like evolution, women and the church, Calvinism vs. Armin... read more

Guest Post Guidelines

photo © 2006 Chris Lott | more info (via: Wylio) By way of introduction to Shawn Smucker’s fantastic post last week, I casually mentioned that I’d be accepting guest posts for the blog. After a few hours away from the computer, I returned to find my email, twitter, and Facebook accounts bulging with requests for more information. Guess I shoulda thought about posting some guidelines first! So here’s what you need to know: Guest posts... read more

I wish I strove to live the way I strive to write

forgiving myself for crappy first drafts,allowing trusted experts to make edits, eliminating all but what is essential, paying attention to sight, sound, taste, and touch,choosing the right words,showing rather than telling, learning from those I admire while staying true to my own voice,running into my fears rather than running away from them,searching for the universal in the particular, telling a good story,counting goof-ups as “material,”venturing down r... read more

What is “faith-driven” literature?

The way I see it, a person writes a book for one two reasons: 1) She has a message that she cares about and the best way to spread that message is through a book, or 2) She feels compelled to write so she shares whatever story/experience/message most inspires her at the time. I write for reason #2, as is evidenced by this photo (circa 1989), in which I am dressed as an author for “career day” at school: Back in third grade, I liked to write stories about fri... read more

Books, Branding, and the Dangers of Building an Empire on One Idea

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."- Upton Sinclair I was really pleased to hear from a representative from Answers in Genesis yesterday who in response to Friday’s post graciously invited me to visit the creation museum in Cincinnati and maybe even speak with Ken Ham himself. I’m not sure if this counts as a truce, but I’m happy that the AIG folks are willing to talk. I plan to take them up on the offe... read more

Ask your writing/ publishing questions

So this time next week I’ll be headed to Grand Rapids, Michigan for the Festival of Faith and Writing at Calvin College. On Friday, April 16 I’ll be participating in a lunch forum from 12:45-1:45 with Jason Boyett, author of the Pocket Guides and O Me of Little Faith. We’re calling it “Naked Non-Fiction: Confessional Writing and the Memoir.” I’m told that afterwards we will be signing books—which makes me a bit curious, seeing as mine hasn’t been... read more

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