A part of our mission here at Castle Gate Press is to nurture authors. We know what it’s like to work hard polishing a novel only to receive rejection after rejection in response to query letters. Sometimes all it takes is a nudge in the right direction to get on the right track. Other times, […]
Writers, how to make a great plot
If you hang out with other writers in critique groups, you may get lots of advice about the mechanics of good writing. Watch the passive voice. Use strong verbs rather than adverbs. Use the five senses in descriptions. And so on. But what about the overarching story? Are your critique partners watching that too? Often, […]
Who’s my gatekeeper?
Why is it that fantasy fiction has done well in the secular marketplace, but has bombed in the Christian marketplace? Why has it been so hard to get speculative Christian fiction published? Jeff Gerke of Marcher Lord Press had some insight about this at the 2013 Realm Makers Conference in St. Louis, where Christian speculative […]