September 2020 Wrap-Up

September 2020 Wrap-Up

Posted on by R.M. Archer

Writing

I have two more chapters to go with this round of Calligraphy Guild edits, which I’m hoping to get done today so I can switch my whole focus to The Half-Elves in October and November. For some reason, while working more emotion and description into others’ books is a strong suit of mine, it’s an area in which I’m quite weak when it comes to my own work, which has been frustrating through this part of the process. :P But I’m hoping to strengthen that skill as I go through further rounds of editing, and hopefully that will not only benefit this project, but also those that come along down the line. :)

A lot of my focus this month, though, has been on Continue reading “September 2020 Wrap-Up” →

Why Christian Fiction is Important

Why Christian Fiction is Important

Posted on by R.M. Archer

Now that I’ve established the different kinds of stories that I mean when I say “Christian fiction,” but before I get into my encouragement posts, I want to explore a few of the reasons Christian fiction is important, in all its forms.

Fiction Impacts Culture

Everything we take in affects our worldview and our behavior. Fiction—whether in the form of books, movies, TV, or music—is something that we take in a lot of, and it shapes our thinking and our approach to certain issues. Just as one example, taking in a lot of media with Continue reading “Why Christian Fiction is Important” →

Flavors of Christian Fiction

Flavors of Christian Fiction

Posted on by R.M. Archer

Something that’s been on my mind a lot lately is the idea of Christian fiction. That specific phrase, “Christian fiction,” puts an unfortunately sour taste in my mouth. “Christian fiction,” to me, means a lackluster story that really only serves to push the gospel and be squeaky-clean and happy-go-lucky and show that Christians are good and nothing bad ever happens to them and non-believers are either malicious or stupid. But “Christian fiction” isn’t what I’m going to be talking about today (and over the next few blog posts). For the purposes of this post, and those that follow, I’m using the term to refer, quite simply, to fiction that is written by Christians. No Christian themes attached, no specific “cleanliness” level… just fiction that is written by Christians. And I specifically want to talk about two varieties of fiction-by-Christians (though I’ll mention three). Continue reading “Flavors of Christian Fiction” →

NaNoWriMo Alternatives – Word Count Tracker Options & Community

NaNoWriMo Alternatives – Word Count Tracker Options & Community

Posted on by R.M. Archer

I participated in National Novel Writing Month from 2014 all the way through 2020 or so, and I think the challenge of writing 50,000 words in 30 days is a great tool to get people writing and foster community among writers and just overall encourage authors. Toward the end of that run, however, the NaNoWriMo organization began making a lot of decisions based on politics, decisions that I personally found detrimental to the encouragement of community that is central to what NaNoWriMo has to offer—and only continued to make more and more controversial and outright unhealthy decisions until they were forced to shut down altogether. If you’re looking to replace a long-standing tradition of NaNoWriMo participation, or you’re looking for additional resources for a separate word count tracker or more targeted community, here’s a gathering of resources—both those that have been around for a while as well as those that have popped up since NaNoWriMo began to decline.

As a note, I do update this list periodically with new resources! If you have suggestions of your own, feel free to drop them in the comments as well. Continue reading “NaNoWriMo Alternatives – Word Count Tracker Options & Community” →

Book Review: Of Myth and Monster by The Phoenix Fiction Writers

Book Review: Of Myth and Monster by The Phoenix Fiction Writers

Posted on by R.M. Archer

PFW is releasing another anthology, so you know I jumped on it. I’m super thankful to have gotten another of their ARCs, and this one is quite possibly my favorite yet. It’s definitely their best anthology yet, and if they keep improving their quality at this rate I’m going to have to create a six-star rating or something. XD Anyway, into the actual review. (And here’s the necessary disclaimer that even though I got an ARC I wasn’t required to give a positive review and this is all my honest opinion.) Continue reading “Book Review: Of Myth and Monster by The Phoenix Fiction Writers” →