April 2019 Writing Update

No, I've not yet fallen off the edge of the world, though I must admit that the view is pretty spectacular from the edge. J

Nonetheless, while I have been digitally silent for a while, silence does not equate with inactivity. Indeed, often when I’m hardest at work in life is when I’m the most inactive on-line. But I find myself with a breather, and I figured I was long overdue for another update. So what has been filling my days as a writer?

• The critiquing of other writers’ work. I have several friends for whom I read and critique their stories before they turn them in to their editors. The most significant of the projects has been the Christmas novella, The Old Lace Shop by Michelle Griep. A fun historical romance about a widow who inherits a lace factory run by an old flame, The Old Lace Shop releases next fall, just in time for the Christmas season. So make sure to check out this story along with Michelle’s previous two Christmas novellas, 12 Days at Bleakly Manor and The Tale of Two Hearts.

• Teaching a writing course. The American Christian Fiction Writers, a professional group to which I belong, does monthly online writing courses for their membership. I had the honor of teaching February’s course, which was on creative ways to handle difficult material in fiction.

• Preparing for home school conferences. Yes, it is that time of year again! I am once again knee-deep in books—quite literally!—as I sort, inventory, and prepare for vending. There are three conferences I am scheduled to attend this year: MACHE April 12-13 in St. Paul, MN; SECHE (CHCSD) May 10-11 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and NICHE June 6-8 in West Des Moines, Iowa. If you or someone you know will be in attendance, please stop by Imagination Investigation and say hi!

• Recording workshops. Unlike in the past, I will not be teaching workshops at the conferences this year. But I have been hard at work recording the past six I’ve presented, and I’m compiling those for sale.

• And of course, writing! Even within this busyness, I continue to work and make progress on my fiction. My current project is the first of a science-fiction/supernatural suspense trilogy, tentatively entitled Virtually True. I’ve completed most of a first draft last fall. Now I’m working through the exercises found in the Break-Out Novel Workbook by Donald Maass in order to add complexity to both the characters and the plot.

So that’s a snapshot of where I’m at and what I’m up to. With such a busy start to the year, I have to wonder what God has in store for the next nine months!

Dreaming bigger, growing deeper,

Chawna Schroeder