How to please the Spirit of God? How to create something He delights in? I’ve had many beautiful moments of the Spirit telling me how much He loves what I’m creating. There’s no feeling quite like it: knowing the Holy Spirit is enjoying what you have made. How to do this though? It doesn’t seem…
It’s hard to believe sometimes that the creator of the universe would stoop so low to use us and our work. But the thing is, we aren’t low when we’re in Christ, He sees us as partners and his own children. Princes and princesses in the greatest kingdom of all. He wants to use my…
It seems easy enough to include Jesus in our Church life, or Bible time in the mornings, but what about our writing life? Writing is such a personal thing, and often feels very singular, like we have to do it on our own. Inviting someone else in – especially the Spirit, and not a physical…
Let’s start at the very beginning. When did I start writing stories? My earliest memory of story writing was likely when I was four. I was stood by our deep blue couches with the green striped arm covers while mum sat with a pen in her hand. I dictated a story about a group of…
To me, a description is something that paints a place, person, emotion – and so much more. It can either leave your reader feeling bored and with a blank page, or can spark pictures in their brain and begin to reveal the aesthetic and mood of your book. Of course, we all want the former…
There are hundreds of ways for a book idea to spark in our minds. For me, dreams play a big part in this. I can think of three or four book ideas which started from dreams, just off the top of my head. I believe they are a gift from God, a sort of vision,…
A few years back I finished writing the first draft of my second novel. It was done and dusted, and (as I had no intentions of editing said novel) I was ready to dive into writing my third book. The ideas were plentiful, from period dramas to adventure sci-fi, I had plenty to go off….
We can’t just discover the time to write, like finding someone in hide and seek. It’s not the sort of thing that just happens upon us unexpectedly (or at least, not most of the time). Unless you have an appointment cancellation, or plans postponed, you’re probably not going to just “find time” lying around. You’re…
I have written on a grand total of two different writing software throughout my life so far, and I think sometimes it is true that we should just keep it simple. With all the options out there, it can be overwhelming. The whole point of being a writer is to write, not research the oodles…
There are times in my writing life when I feel like I’m Jo March, or Jane Austen. Not all the time (at all!) but there are certainly moments. I don’t want to jump on the whole “main character moment” trend too quickly, as I’m not completely on board. I do think that there are special…