The Art of Writing

  • Meet Finn & Gabby

    ByDani

    As you may know, my tenth full-length novel—The Killing Tide—is releasing August 6th. I’m so excited to share this new set of characters, a new setting, and a whole heap of mystery and adventure with you. Today, I’m going to give you a sneak peek by introducing Finn and Gabby! I hope you’ll come to love them.

  • 3 Tips for Writing During the Summer

    ByDani

    When I think of summer, I think of sunshine, flip-flops, long days, ice cream cones and relaxing. Summer is the best! Unfortunately, it’s also full of temptations to keep us from meeting our writing goals.

    I used to look forward to summer with a mixture of excitement and dread. On the one hand, no more getting up at the crack of dawn to get the kids off to school. On the other hand, kids at home for three months did not equal writing bliss!

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    Friends Who Fall in Love

    ByDani

    I’ve now published eight full-length Christian fiction romances.  But my new release, Sweet on You, is my first attempt at a story about two adult friends who fall in love.

    My husband and I were friends for a year before we started dating!  I’ve known other women who ended up marrying men who were first their friends.  I’ve read a few books with this premise and thoroughly enjoyed them. Thus, when I sat down to write Britt and Zander’s story, I imagined I had a good handle on my task.

  • Scenic Settings

    ByDani

    So happy to be back with you this week. Today, I’m going to be sharing about my favorite settings to write about. I adore Costal areas. The beach is my absolute happy place. I grew up a few hours away from Ocean City, Maryland and my family spent our summer vacations split between there and Hilton Head, SC.

    As a kid through my teenage years, my family sailed often, and I spent lots of time in and

  • Writerly Wednesday–Interview with the Awesome Susie Larson!

    ByDani

    Hi friends,

    Welcome to Writerly Wednesday. Today I have a very special guest–Susie Larson is joining us from Minnesota. If you aren’t familiar with Susie, boy are you missing out. Susie is a radio host, writer, encourager and she runs a fabulous conference for Christian Writers.

    The amazing thing about Susie is how you open one of her books and you feel like you’ve stepped in the room with her and are chatting over a cup of coffee. Her words speak deep to the soul and I’m honored to have her sharing with us today.

    1) What Bible story are you most thankful was included in Scripture and why?

    What a great question! Can I give you three answers?

    Yes ma’am! 

    My first choice would be the story of Joseph of the OT. His story of vision, hardship, training, trust, and breakthrough speak volumes to me. I’ve returned to this story time and time again as I’ve walked out my own faith journey. Second choice would be the story of Ruth. Her grit and courage and conviction to face the unknown and to follow a God she trusted but could not see…well, it inspires me to no end. And finally, the woman at the well constantly reminds me that Jesus changes us when we’re willing to be honest with Him. I love how most of the town was transformed because she was willing to be known as someone who needed to be saved. When saving grace upstages saving face, everything changes.

  • Writerly Wednesday with Zachary Bartels

    ByDani

    I was on an author panel a few years—the kind where I don’t remember much of what we discussed, but I do remember that someone asked us, “What kind of books do you read to prepare yourself for writing?” My friend Tracy Groot said Steinbeck, I think. Someone else said they read John Ashbery.

    I said I don’t read anybody. I watch an episode of Breaking Bad. And I have a cigar and a cup of coffee. Then I’m ready to write.

    I should have felt silly about that, but I didn’t. I know what triggers get my mind in the right head-space to write what I need to write and I’m very intentional about using them. I know that I do my best writing on a particular bench overlooking the Capitol building and the Lansing skyline (you may never have heard of Lansing, which is weird because it’s the capital city of Michigan) while writing on this decade-old word processor I bought on eBay. It’s called a “Dana” and it has no internet, e-mail, twitter, or anything like that to distract me. I know that music and surroundings tend to affect how I write.

  • Writerly Wednesday–The Creation of a Novel: Publication

    ByDani

    Hi friends,

    Thanks for joining me and the lovely Becky Wade over the past few months as we’ve video chronicled the Creation of a Novel. If you’ve missed any of the posts, you can find them on my sidebar and I hope you’ll take a peek.

    Today, however, we’re talking about the most exciting part (well, one of them)….Publication. The stage where your novel is finally in print and available for readers. It’s a wonderful, exciting, fulfilling nerve-wracking stage where you wonder how your readers will enjoy the story you just spent anywhere from six months to a year working on. Hope you enjoy the video!

    [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSM2nHnAMvE&feature=youtu.be[/embed]

    What about you? Did anything about the Creation of a Novel surprise you? If you’re published, what emotions do you feel when your first hold that bound-book in your hands?