Author Archives: Steph Nickel
Do Not Despise the Day of Small Beginnings by Jack Popjes
Hearing that my wife and I had translated much of the Bible into a Brazilian indigenous language, a man asked me, “What was the first thing you translated?” He was astonished when I answered, “The story of the gingerbread man.”
New Beginnings by Pamela Mytroen
Just like bringing a baby into the world, writing may be a painful process as you conceptualize worlds, characters, and projects into being. Expect the struggle. Plan on packing patience for the process. Sometimes it is the writing that is the struggle, and other times the writing is affected by life’s surprises and hindrances. They… Read more »
Sharpening Our Focus in 2016 by Violet Nesdoly
This last December I kept bumping into goal-setting courses and e-books that promised to show me how to make 2016 the best year ever. You too? Though I’m usually a sucker for these things, this year I resisted. However, I am still using the first weeks of January to examine my life, evaluate, edit, and… Read more »
12 Ways to Make the Write Resolutions by Steph Beth Nickel
The New Year is rapidly approaching and many of us will soon be setting our goals (aka resolutions) for 2016. Where is writing on your list? If you are reading this post, it’s likely close to the top. Here are a dozen writing and writing-related goals you may want to include and tips on how… Read more »
The Tuesday Experiment by Janice L. Dick
I love a fresh start. It’s an opportunity to improve, to avoid pitfalls from the past, to review and make new plans. This past year I’ve poured a lot of my time and energy into writing weekly blogs on my website in an attempt to connect and gradually grow a following. Writing blogs was… Read more »
The Memoir of Autobiography by Brenda J. Wood
December 10 is the deadline for this page, the same day my son was born so many years ago. He came a bit earlier than expected, as I remember it. His version of the story is quite different. Pretty much every memoir we write is like that. You, the author, see it and write it… Read more »
Writing When Life Gets Crazy by Jack Popjes
Shortly after I agreed to write this blog post on the topic “Writing When Life Gets Crazy,” it did. The saying “It never rains but it pours” is apt for my life right now. I received invitations to speak at 7 events taking place within 18 days. Our chronically ill youngest daughter took a turn… Read more »
Writing When Life Gets Crazy by Pamela Mytroen
When isn’t life crazy? Job, family responsibilities, and news events crash against us like the wind batting and shaking our homes. If that’s not enough, then the media whispers ceaselessly around the cracks of our windows, letting us know that we are not beautiful, wealthy, or powerful enough. And yet we must take time to… Read more »
Nothing is Wasted by Violet Nesdoly
For most of us writers, working demands a certain amount of predictability and solitude. But life doesn’t always deliver that. Sometimes it gets crazy. Then the question becomes this: Do we continue to write or do we drop the pen and surrender to circumstances? To begin to answer these questions, let’s look at some of… Read more »