The 2023 Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference 12th annual Selah Awards ceremony took place at Ridgecrest Conference Center in Ridgecrest, North Carolina on May 31, 2023. Contest director Eva Marie Everson greeted over 600 people who gathered in Spilman Auditorium before awarding over 90 awards to nearly 100 recipients.…

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Writers are often stalked by a predator called stress. It’s a nasty physical, mental, and spiritual disorder that can cause headaches, back and body pain, nausea, depression, problems in relationships, doubt in God’s calling, and a host of other ailments. Not a pleasant malady. The causes…

by Sally Cressman @scressman The first session of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference would begin that evening. With sweaty palms, I sat at our kitchen table while my husband prayed. An inner voice taunted me. What’s the point? This was my fourth or fifth time going to the…

by Cindy Sproles @CindyDevoted One of the joys of becoming a published author is the experience we gain in learning the craft of writing. None of us began this path having all the answers or understanding all the implied things that aren’t written in stone. Writing is a process –…

by Ane Mulligan  @AneMulligan I've heard it said, "Psychologists are analysts; writers are psychological engineers. They use psychology to engineer story characters." Characterization is complex. Among other things, writers need to know how to engineer characters, design character arcs, weave sympathy and empathy, set up character conflict, show and reveal…

by Lynn H. Blackburn @LynnHBlackburn Creatives are not generally known for their organizational skills. But authors who want to be in the publishing game for the long-term know how important it is to find a method that works for them and keeps all the aspects of their writing life organized. Why…