Charlene Lamy Edge Speaks about Writing

Charlene pictured in a Winter Park, Florida, shop, with copies of her memoir, Undertow , on the shelf. 2017. Hello, readers. Today's post is included on this blog because it cites serious issues about The Way International's founder, Victor Paul Wierwille, plagiarizing the work of other writers.  What about writers and self-respect? Self-respect is connected to today's topic: writers and AI. Remember, AI stands for Artificial Intelligence. I know, I know. This issue of AI is all over the map. Some believe it's helpful in certain fields, like those pertaining to science and math. But if you ask some of us who care about literature, you might get a different response. We say something like this: If you want artificial novels, plays, poems, memoirs and articles spit out by a machine (in part or in whole), fine. But some of us don't. We don't want literature like that, and we sure won't write it like that. We refuse to use AI to create any literary works, i...

Greetings, readers! Today I share great joy over my daughter, Rachel Chase, having her autobiographical story published. It appears as a chapter in the anthology, Unbreakable Spirit: 18 Stories of Feminine Resilience,Blessings and Renewal . (Laura Joan Cornell. Ananda Press. July 17, 2025.) This is a beautiful book full of wisdom borne from women's trials that turned to healing when they chose a different path—a path towards light, love, and creativity. Rachel's story Some of you know I spent many years as a leader and Biblical researcher in a fundamentalist cult, The Way International™. I wrote and published my memoir, Undertow, that tells that story. Rachel was born while our family was enmeshed in that cult. In 1987 when we escaped its headquarters in New Knoxville, Ohio, Rachel was only twelve years old. In Rachel's story, included in Unbreakable Spirit , she describes that part of her life, the confusion that followed after we escaped, and her journey to wholeness. N...

Photo: Charlene L. Edge with her husband, Hoyt Edge, at a book fair presenting Undertow. December, 2016. The question is, are the sentences any good? How do they make you feel? Sentences: words put in a certain order to achieve a pre-determined effect. Or, as Merriam-Webster says, “A group of words that expresses a statement, question, command, or wish. Sentences usually contain a subject and verb. In written English, the first word of a sentence is capitalized, and the sentence ends with a period, question mark, or exclamation point.” In Catholic school grammar class, I learned that sentences “express a complete thought.” Hold that thought. When people ask me how I produced Undertow , my memoir,  an d how long it took to write it, I say that in my case, it “took” about ten years. But if I gathered up the scattered bits of time spent thinking about it and scribbling notes, ten years stretches into twenty or more. I can tell you I began “writing it” in on napkins, in black and white...

  By: Tim Green This post is for writers looking for ideas about self-publishing their books. To Self-Publish or Not? Are you considering shaping your stories into books, trying to find an agent or publisher—or thinking about publishing your books yourself (GASP!)? For your consideration, I offer my experience to help in your decision-making process. I self-published two books: Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way International (2017) and From the Porch to the Page: A Guidebook for the Writing Life (2022). The following is a slightly edited version of an article of mine first published nearly ten years ago in Florida Writers Magazine , April 2017. Off the Cliff: From Manuscript to Printed Book By Charlene L. Edge Writing a book is like jumping off a cliff. But fear not. As Annie Dillard says, grow wings on the way down. For authors, a safe landing transforms a manuscript into a printed book. If you’re adventurous, I’m here to tell you that you c...

Feeling down and out? In a slump? Distracted by the not-so-great world news? Here's some comfort food from my book, From the Porch to the Page: A Guidebook for the Writing Life (New Wings Press, LLC. 2023), from the chapter, "Writing the Truth."  ~~~~"No matter what awful situation surrounds us, as writers, we know a secret that can rid us of the blues. What is it? On the nearest blank page, write whatever comes to your mind. And keep writing. Write what you really feel, smell, see, hear, and touch. No one is watching. You're free to lose yourself in some messy sentences, brainstorm new characters...in your journal, which no one should ever read without permission, write the truth about what bothers you, what helps you." (Pg 17)~~~~ Thanks for reading! Charlene *I do not use AI to write any of my blog posts.