Stories

Have you ever told yourself you can’t write? Not “don’t feel like it today,” but something deeper — like the words have actually disappeared, like your creative mind has gone silent and nothing will ever come back. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Every writer hits that wall at some point. The difference is […]

“I’m there, God. It’s me, Iris,” I whisper, standing in front of the bedroom mirror like I’m practicing something I don’t fully understand yet. My reflection looks back at me like it knows more than it’s telling. “Iris! If you don’t get your butt downstairs right now, that bus is gonna leave without you!” Grandma’s […]

A woman stands in front of the bathroom mirror and takes a sharp breath. A thin bead of sweat slides down the curve of her right armpit. The room feels too bright, the lights too close, as if the walls themselves have leaned in to watch. In the mirror, everything doubles: her face, the sink, […]

There was a time, not too long ago, when I nearly walked away from writing altogether. It was a gray, rainy afternoon, the kind that seems to seep into your bones and make everything feel heavy. I had just received yet another rejection email, and this one hit harder than the others. It wasn’t the […]

Have you ever had writer’s block? You sit down at the computer and gaze into the blank screen. You wait for the muse to fill you with words to spill out onto that canvas. Did she get your address wrong? You drink a cup of coffee hoping that will bring your creativity out. Nope. You […]

Are you writing your first novel? The journey from the first page to the last was different than you thought it would be, isn’t it? Kris Loomis knows how you feel. In this post, she shares the lessons she learned along the way that surprised her. In the spring of 2016, I published my first […]

Photo Credit: Tuomo Lindfors Flickr via Compfight cc Are you a writer who wants to go pro someday? Do you have a book inside you that you’d love to sell? Do you have something to teach that the world needs to hear? You need a network. To build a network, you’ve got to connect with […]

Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash Have you ever thought of turning your blog into a book? Maybe you’ve written a series that did well with your readers. You’re probably thinking, if it did well here, will it do well in the bookstores? There’s only one way to find out. Put on your entrepreneurial hat […]

You’ve probably heard a lot about how to find your calling. There are scores of books. You could listen to hundreds of speeches. They might even talk about it at church. Today I’m going to boil it down to one sentence. Your calling is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger […]

Photo by Rana Sawalha When did you say to yourself, “I know I’m a writer? Was there a specific moment you said it? Or did something happen to confirm it? For me, several times stand out. First, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to write. When boys my age were playing war […]