Michelle Medlock Adams is an award-winning journalist and best-selling author, earning top honors from the Associated Press, the Society of Professional Journalists and the Hoosier State Press Association.
Author of over 80 books with close to 4 million books sold, Michelle’s works have been the recipients of a Maxwell Medal, 2 Illumination Awards and multiple Selah Awards.
Since graduating with a journalism degree from Indiana University, Michelle has written more than 1,000 articles for newspapers, magazines and websites; acted as a stringer for the Associated Press; written for a worldwide ministry; helped pen a New York Times Bestseller; served as a TV host for TBN’s “Joy in Our Town” show; judged writing contests for Writer’s Digest; and served as a blogger for Guideposts. Today, she is President of Platinum Literary Services—a premier full-service literary firm—and co-owner of PlatLit Books. She also serves as chairman of the board for Serious Writer Inc., and teaches courses for Serious Writer Academy (online education).
When not working on her own assignments, Michelle ghostwrites books for celebrities, politicians, and some of today’s most effective and popular ministers. Michelle is also a much sought after teacher at writers conferences and universities around the nation. In fact, she has taught at more than 100 writers conferences, including keynoting at Liberty University and the Todd Starnes Inaugural Fall Retreat at The Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove. She has also served as an adjunct professor at Taylor University twice, teaching “Writing for Children” and is currently teaching again this Spring Semester. Michelle also loves speaking to women’s groups, youth groups, and congregations, encouraging others to discover their destinies in God.
Michelle is married to her high school sweetheart, Jeff, and they have two grown daughters, Abby and Allyson, two son-in-laws, and one grandson, as well as a miniature dachshund, a rescue Shepherd/Collie mix, and two cats. When not writing or teaching writing, Michelle enjoys bass fishing and cheering on the Indiana University Basketball team, the Chicago Cubbies, and the LA Kings.
Show Notes:
Caleb: Why did you choose to write in this genre?
Michelle: I’m a non-fiction girl by trade. I went to journalism school at Indiana University. I grew up in this non-fiction world because I truly like to interview people and tell their stories, and get the bottom line. It only made since that when I became a children’s writer I would still love to tell the truth in such a way that kids are enjoying it. It was really a natural fit for me to transition from writing non-fiction for adults to writing nonfiction for kids.
Caleb: How did those experiences help you in your research and in honing your craft?
Michelle: I always say the best training you could have as a writer is to work for a daily newspaper. You learn how to write accurately, and you learn how to write tight and very quickly. I think that really did set me up to be able to write for children, because I learned how to write tight and say a lot in a few words. And with kids, when their attention span is that of a fruit fly, you have to learn how to make it interesting.
Caleb: Is it easier to write for children or easier to write for adults?
Michelle: Having written for adults and children, I would say writing for kids is way harder. It’s also more rewarding. Now, it is more work because, especially with nonfiction you have to take facts, and figures and interesting things and make sure you write it in such a way that it doesn’t read like a report.
Michelle has written many types of Children’s Nonfiction, including celebrity biographies, activity books, coloring books and devotions for women and children.
Caleb: What inspired you to write devotions for children?
Michelle: I learned how to write tight early in my career. If you’ve written devotions, those are usually around 225 words, maybe 50 for the prayer and the scripture. You don’t have a lot of words there. I love to write for kids, and I love to write devotions. Let’s do devotions for kids! That was a no-brainer! Anytime you can take something that kids are fascinated with and make it into a scriptural lesson for them, that is a great way to make nonfiction fun.
Caleb: What are the Hallmarks of Children’s Nonfiction? What are things that editors, agents and publishers will be looking for? Also, what are some landmines that you’re going to want to avoid?
Michelle: You can use all of your fiction skills as a writer – the storytelling skills. It can be nonfiction and still be super interesting. Put me right there in the scene, and let me smell what you smell. Let me hear what you heard. Sometimes in nonfiction, people will take liberty that they shouldn’t. If it says “nonfiction” you have to just stick with the facts. That’s one of those red flags you’ve got to watch out for. If you can’t find it and back it up, don’t put it in there. You’ve got to have your source!
Caleb: Do you have any tips on how to properly conduct research for nonfiction?
Michelle: You want to have 2 to 3 sources for everything, so make sure you keep track of your sources in a separate file so that when you turn it in, you’ll be able to prove where everything came from. That’s one of the other things you’ve got to be careful of with nonfiction – you need to know where you got the information and make sure it’s a credible source. If Wikipedia is your main source, then you are never going to get another assigned work from that publisher.
Michelle suggests finding credible sources such as museum websites, other books that have been written about your topic, scholarly journals, university presses and the Library of Congress website.
Caleb: Most books for kids are significantly shorter than books written for adults. What are some other ways to compensate for a child’s short attention span?
Michelle: Always have a story. Draw them in with something they can relate to. Keep it funny.
Michelle uses the Children’s Writer’s Word Book by Alijandra and Tayopa Mogilner, which can be used to help children’s writers find words that are appropriate for their audience’s reading level.
Michelle: Keeping your sentences shorter will obviously make it for a lower grade level. But even when you’re doing that, I don’t like it to read choppy.
Caleb: Great advice! Just because something needs to be digestible, doesn’t mean it can’t be eloquent.
Michelle: I think some people think, “I can write nonfiction, and it doesn’t have to be as good.” No, it has to be better. It’s like digging for those pearls – those stories that maybe nobody else knows, or at least hasn’t been told in the way you’re telling it.
Sometimes in nonfiction books, they want you to provide activities so that you drive home the message in that chapter. I think that’s a great idea, because sometimes we don’t remember things until we apply them. There are also some topics that we call “evergreen.” Forever and ever people are going to need them (books about bullying, fear and concept books such as ABC and counting). Write about some of those hard issue needs, like what happens when somebody dies. That’s a nonfiction book that has to be written, because kids need to know what happens.
Caleb: Do you spend a lot of time around kids?
Michelle: I always say my best friends are 3 feet and under. Every summer I go to Camp Challenge, and I hang out with them for an entire week. I’m just listening to the kids and hearing how they phrase things, how they talk and things that are important to them. If you don’t love kids, this is not for you. You have to really love your audience. You should be reading what they’re reading.
Michelle can be found on social media and on her website, MichelleMedlockAdams.com.
Michelle’s newest book, “Dinosaur Devotions: 75 Dino Discoveries, Bible Truths, Fun Facts, and More!” is available for purchase on Amazon.
Michele Chynoweth is the best-selling and award-winning author of The Faithful One, The Peace Maker and The Runaway Prophet, contemporary suspense novels that re-imagine Old Testament stories in the Bible. Michele is also an inspirational speaker, giving workshops at writers conferences across the country, a college writing instructor and a book coach, helping other writers become successful authors through her editing services and assistance with publishing and marketing their books. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, she and her husband have a blended family of five children and live in North East, Maryland.
Michele Chynoweth – Contemporary Bible Stories
Caleb: Tell us more about yourself and the different things you’re involved in.
Michele: I am the author of three books that are out so far with the fourth coming out next year. I’m also an inspirational speaker. I speak at a lot of writer’s conferences about what I do as an author. That led me to become a writing instructor at Cecil Collage in my hometown of North East, Maryland. I teach “Writing Your Book” and also “How to Get Published.” I have 30 years of marketing experience. After I graduated collage, I was a news reporter. Then I went into marketing and the advertising world, and had my own ad agency for 20 years. Of course I became an author along the way, and love teaching what I know. I’ve always had my hand in writing.
Caleb: I wanted to talk a lot about your contemporary Bible stories. First, can you define your genre in a little more detail and explain why you decided to write these types of stories?
Michele: I’d like to say it chose me. My novels are contemporary suspense with a little romance. I call them Edgy Inspirational Fiction. They’re based on Old Testament stories in the Bible. You could consider them “Christian Fiction”, but also outside of that – they cater to a non-denominational and even universal audience. They re-imagine the stories in the Old Testament in a contemporary way with characters and plots we can relate to today. But I stay true to the plot.
I’ve always wanted to write since I was ten years old, and life happened. Along the way that writing bug bit me again and I wrote what I thought was the Great American Novel. It won the drama fiction contest for the Maryland Writers Association. The prize was literary agency representation with Writer’s House in New York. Then 9-11 happened, and they were in New York. We all lost the prizes and that book never saw the light of day. I was devastated.
I was driving along one day and the thought hit me out of the blue, “You should write a book based on the story of Job.” At the time, I wasn’t a big Bible reader. I just wanted to be rich and famous at the time. I thought “How is that going to get me there?” But it wouldn’t let go. So I started writing it, and I realized God was trying to tap me on the shoulder. I was going through a lot of Job like stuff: losing my marriage, losing my business, losing my health. I had the family disease of alcoholism. In the end, God brought me through all that, and in the end it helped me and now I help others. Fast-forward to today and I’m living my dream as an author, speaker and book coach. That book became “The Faithful One”, my first novel, and set me on the path to this genre.
Caleb: What inspires you to modernize these stories? How do you go about choosing what to change and what to keep the same?
Michele: That story hit me. I got it self-published originally. Then a Christian publisher picked it up and published it. They were coming up with a new genre – re-imagined Bible stories. A friend of mine suggested that I write the next one based on Abigail. I said “Abigail who?” and he said to look her up in the Bible. Abigail becomes the second wife of King David. Before that she was originally married to Nabal, who’s a mean, narcissistic bad guy. I thought that if I modernize it, David and Nabal could be running for President of the United States and Abigail gets stuck in the middle. That idea became “The Peace Maker”, my next novel.
I had been fighting this whole idea of “do I want to write in this genre?” At first, I just wanted to be rich and famous, now I realize it’s more about following God’s call and helping others. Bits and pieces of me are in there, or people I know. So I piece those stories together, but I really stay true to the plot and re-imagine them in a modern day way.
Caleb: What do you find is the main difference between writing in this genre and writing other types of fiction? What is different and what is the same?
Michele: This is somewhat of a new genre. What makes it different is that it bridges the gap between Christian fiction, which tends to be very clean. My books are clean and meet those Christian guidelines, but they’re also universal. They have themes and characters that are real. “The Runaway Prophet” is set in Las Vegas, and there’s prostitution and there’s gambling, and drug-addicts. There’s an underground, radical Islamic terrorist group trying to destroy Las Vegas, which is like a modern-day Nineveh. It’s real. It’s gritty. And that’s really what’s in the Bible.
Caleb: One of my writing friends, Molly Jo Realy, pointed out to me that you can’t really show how God can rescue you, until you show what He can rescue you from.
Michele: And sometimes when you help rescue someone, God rescues you in the process. That’s part of the message as well. I try to get to that underlying message that I think we miss in those Old Testament stories because they’re hard to read – hard to comprehend. So I try to uncover that, but not in a preachy or religious way.
Caleb: How has this given you more insight into the Bible? I’m guessing you had to really dig deep into these characters for research. Has this helped you more in your spiritual life?
Michele: Absolutely! I’ve actually sat down and read the Bible cover to cover. What I do is start with good research tools that get into the history, the wording and God’s messages. And then I also authenticate each novel with somebody in the clergy in various denominations. I want to make sure I’m following the Scripture’s story.
Caleb: How do you research your characters? What tools have you used to help get in the mindset of someone who lived thousands of years ago?
Michele: I do it more in a contemporary way. I really base my characters on bits and pieces of people I know. When I visualize them, I tend to think like a movie director. When you’re writing that kind of contemporary, fast-paced fiction, it should unravel like a movie.
Caleb: Tell us a little more about your writing process. Are you an organic writer or an outliner?
Michele: I’m a big advocate of a chapter outline. I feel like I need a road map. You’re going to veer off a little, as it changes and evolves. But at least you know where it’s going.
Caleb: If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring author, what would that advice be?
Michele: Don’t lose your passion. Stay at it! Carve out your writing time and carve out time for you. You’re worth it!
Michele can be found on social media and through her website: Michelechynoweth.com
Michele offers book coaching through her website Bookcoachmichele.com
Beckie Lindsey is the author of the Beauties from Ashes series of books and co-author of a devotional study journal called Legacy: Living NOW for Future Generations. She is also the editor of SoCal Christian Voice—a division of One Christian Voice media with over 20 divisions across the United States. Beckie also dabbles in poetry, writes freelance for her local newspaper, magazines, web articles as well as devotions and studies.
Young Adult Fiction – Show Notes
Caleb: What inspired you to write Young Adult Fiction?
Beckie: I love kids and I love young adults. I’m around kids a lot, and I also know what they’re reading and know what they’re watching. When I discovered some of the things they were reading and watching, that was an inspiration.
I am dealing with some very difficult issues in this book, and I did that on purpose because of my contact with kids and what I know is going on today.
Caleb: What are some of the hallmarks of Young Adult Fiction, and what is it that makes this genre so relatable to every age group?
Beckie: We all remember back to that time when we were young adults. There’s still that teenager living in all of us. This is that time in your life where you’re becoming who you’re going to be. We all can identify back to that time in our lives.
The Most Popular Themes in YA Fiction: – The Quest: a solo team trying to save the world from evil forces. – The Love Triangle: it’s still popular in YA and adult books. – Dystopian: a futuristically dark setting. – Paranormal: stories with supernatural elements. This could also include vampires, werewolves and the like. – The Coming of Age Story: young adults discovering their own abilities.
Caleb: Which sub-genre do your novels fall under?
Beckie: Supernatural/paranormal because of the angels and demons aspect. Coming of age, and there is a love triangle. Good versus evil is in there as well.
Caleb: What’s the greatest lesson that you’ve learned while writing YA?
Beckie: Some of the stuff that I needed to heal from, myself. I went back in my mind to that teenage girl who struggled with some of these issues. We’re all still teenagers inside.
Caleb: How did writing these stories impact your spiritual life?
Beckie: I do believe that it’s a big part of why God put it on my heart to do. We were on a journey together and learning more about what I needed healing from. I’m walking along with people in this. I got deeper into researching spiritual warfare and a lot of prayer went into that. Warrior – that’s my word of the year.
Caleb: Besides drawing from your own experiences, what else did you do to get into the mindset of a teenager?
Beckie: Whatever genre you’re going to write in, you need to read in that genre. As authors, that’s how we’re going to grow. It’s important to be familiar with who your audience is. Hang out with teenagers. Know what’s going on in their world. You need to be authentic.
Caleb: Are you an organic writer or an outliner?
Beckie: I am a person who likes discipline and routine, so it just seemed like outlining was going to be the best way to go. And I found myself trying to fit within this outline and it was squashing me creatively. Slowly I was emerging from this outline. I felt like God was saying, “Have a loose outline. After that, you’re ‘pantsing’ it with me.”
Caleb: If you could give a single piece of advice to an aspiring YA author, what would that advice be?
Beckie: You have to read. We learn by reading. And don’t give up. We are our own worst enemy, sometimes. Do not give up. Keep writing. You have to be disciplined. Set a schedule for yourself. Get it on the page, because there’s bound to be some good stuff in there.
Beckie can be found on social media, as well as on her website,
Hope Bolinger is a professional writing major at Taylor University. She has served in various roles at IlluminateYA Fiction, Hartline Literary Agency, N 2 Publishing, and The Echo. Over 200 of her works (plays, poems, articles) have appeared in various publications. Her most recent success is having her YA novel “Den” contracted by Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, scheduled to release June 3, 2019.
Lynette Eason grew up in Greenville, SC. After graduating from the University of South Carolina with a Business Degree she used for a very short time, she moved to Spartanburg, SC to attend Converse College where she obtained her Masters degree in Education. She started her teaching career at the South Carolina School for the deaf and blind. In 1996, she met the man she would marry—the boy next door! She is married to Jack Eason, who speaks, leads worship, and consults ministries around the country. They have two teenage children. Lynette’s books have appeared on the ECPA and CBA bestseller lists and have won several awards.
How can you meet your favorite athletes and do what you love? Del Duduit has the best of both worlds as he pursues his passion for sports writing.
https://youtu.be/mE8ecR2TK6s
Del Duduit is a life-long resident of the Southern Ohio area and an award-winning writer with two Associated Press awards and the Ohio Prep Sports Writers Association. As a broadcaster and news director, he won an award from the Ohio News Network.
Del is a contributing writer for OneChristianVoice.com, Sohiovoice.com, and also a guest blogger for Almost an Author, and is published in The Sports Column as well as ToddStarnes.com.
In addition, Del writes for PM Magazine, a quarterly publication that highlights the positive aspects of Southern Ohio, where he lives with his wife Angie. They have raised two godly men who are both preachers, and Angie sings and plays piano at Rubyville Community Church.
