Outlining the Novel #1: Finding the Theme

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  Hello from novelist Gail Gaymer Martin at www.gailmartin.com Recently I attended the Gideon Film Festival and Media Conference at Ridgecrest and learned many techniques for writing screenplays. These same points work for fiction as well, and I believe that many screenwriting techniques can enhance fiction. In the next five weeks, I will share these points with you. The first point was: Define the overall theme or meaning of your work. What will happen and why does it matter? Why? If your story does not make a difference, if it doesn’t matter, then why write it? How can it serve the reader?…

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From Written Word to Spoken Word

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From Written Word to Spoken Word Tips by author and speaker Cheri Cowell One of the most frequent questions asked of me at writer’s conferences is “If I speak on my book and tell them everything that is in there, why would they then buy the book?” When I first began writing and speaking, I was fearful of the same thing. However, I quickly learned three valuable lessons. 1. Lesson One: Don’t Speak on Your Book- Speak on a Topic for Your Target Audience You’ve seen it on television, the “expert” author who’s every other word is, “In my book…”…

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CAN Book Feature: Kona with Jonah by Sandra Glahn

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      Kona with Jonah ISBN-10: 0899573959 ISBN-13: 978-0899573953      In Kona with Jonah, a four-week Bible study, readers encounter the character of God and their own need to embrace radical forgiveness. In seeing God’s love for the murderous people of Nineveh—ancestors of modern-day Iraqis—they come face to face with One whose mercy extends even to the most despicable.  Leader’s guide included. The Coffee Cup Bible Study series (AMG) is designed for both group and individual use with guided study on the weekdays and relevant devotionals on the weekends. Each study comes with the entire Scripture book of the Bible or passage(s) included. …

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CAN Book Feature: Christmas Homecoming by Elizabeth Goddard

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Christmas Homecoming   ISBN-10: 1602605645 ISBN-13: 978-1602605640   Last week we featuredChristmas Homecoming and one of its authors, Elizabeth Ludwig. This week we want to tell you about Elizabeth (Beth) Goddard, who also co-authored this book.   Elizabeth Goddard began her writing career as an inspirational series reviewer for ROMANTIC TIMES BOOK CLUB MAGAZINE, then continued with articles, reviews, and devotionals. Her first novel, Seasons of Love (Barbour, 2007) was repackaged into a 3-in-1 collection as CRANBERRY HEARTS and released July 2009. To date, she’s contracted with Barbour for a cozy mystery, a novella anthology, and working on a series set in North Dakota. Disarming…

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To My Fellow Hard-Working Writers

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Happy Labor Day from Jeanette! While researching a new book idea I stumbled upon this bit of historical trivia: Labor Day was official recognized in 1894 when President Grover Cleveland signed a law establishing it as a national holiday. The observance actually dates back to September 5, 1882 when workers paraded in New York City, fighting for unionization and an eight-hour work day. Declaring it a holiday was the president’s way of honoring the American workforce. By the early 20th century Labor Day marked the official end of summer. As a kid Labor Day meant: • A barbecue with neighbors • Anticipating…

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Refreshments Will Be Served

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 Dianne Neal Matthews here, wishing you a Happy Labor Day! Are you celebrating the holiday weekend by taking a break from your writing and marketing labor? That's something hard for us writers to do, isn't it? After all, we can't just clock out and walk away from our job. Even if we go on a trip, we might leave our briefcase at home but we always carry our work-in-progress around in our head. So what's a writer to do?

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Marketing Lessons from the World of Retail

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Hello all,   T.L. (Tracy) Higley here, with my very first CAN blog post! I’ll be posting on the first Wednesday of every month, and for the next twelve months I’m inviting you on a journey, through an experimental year for me, and one that I hope will prove helpful for you as well.   Before we get to the experiment, a bit of background:  Currently, I am writing historical suspense for B&H Books. The third book in my Seven Wonders series, Guardian of the Flame, releases in a month.   But as with most of you, I’m sure, the…

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Staying Prayed Up

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Hey, friends! Jennifer Devlin here with a CAN Board member post. Today, I want to focus on the importance of staying “prayed up” as we serve God through writing and speaking. Prayer is not only the foundation of everything we do in life and ministry; it is absolutely essential to our success and survival as we endure struggles, disappointments, triumphs and victories.

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CAN Book Feature: Christmas Homecoming by Elizabeth Ludwig

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We’re still celebrating Christmas in September here, with the release today of Christmas Homecoming, which includes a story by CAN author Elizabeth Ludwig.  Christmas Homecoming   ISBN-10: 1602605645 ISBN-13: 978-1602605640   Soar to new heights in this inspirational Christmas romance collection where four females encounter love amid the Colorado Rockies. A widowed grandmother, Carol Scheirer, is filled with angst, unsure that her family will accept the new man in her life. Wedding planner Noelle Evans wonders if the guy who once jilted her deserves a second chance. Old letters put writer Christmas Scheirer at odds with the guardian of her grandfather’s estate….

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