Hello! Maureen Pratt, back again, for my monthly CAN Blog post. I’m very happy to be blogging today about the craft of writing and, specifically, the huge difference "writing positive prose" can make in describing characters, painting pictures, and conveying the heart of a story, be it fiction or non-fiction. What do I mean by "positive?" Given two possible ways of writing the same sentence, the more positive can be the strongest one to choose. Consider this description: "Amy didn’t necessarily think she was beautiful, but she couldn’t believe that the casting director put her in secondary roles that…
Category: Writing Business
This is our archive pageR. J. Larson’s journey to publication
Greetings from fall-draped Colorado. Davalynn Spencer here, visiting with author R. J. Larson whose second book of her Books of the Infinite series hits stores in November. Rarely is publishing success an overnight venture, R. J. How did you get into writing? My personal road to publication was actually a long twenty-years-plus hike through the publishing field. I’ve been a book fanatic since my parents first placed books within my reach. But writing…well, writing books never occurred to me until my sister-in-law, Kathi Macias, became an editor/writer and inspired me to write. I cut my author-teeth, so to speak, on…
Tips from the Pros: Becky Melby
Greetings from Sarah Sundin, recently returned from a literary agency retreat in Monterey – where I got to hang out with Becky Melby! Becky’s warm humor and gentle spirit shine as well in person as they do in her delightful stories. Becky, how did you get into writing? I started writing when I was eight, but my big break didn’t come until fifth grade when my teacher tacked my bunny poem on the hall bulletin board. I knew right then what I wanted to be when I grew up. Still waiting to grow up, but I still know what I…
Do You Need An Agent?
Good morning from Gail Gaymer Martin www.gailmartin.com The world of publishing has changed rapidly in the past two years–even the past year. Digital has opened doors for authors out-of-print novels and for unpublished writers to make their books available as ebooks. But one thing we know about all books is if they are not well written, if they do not hook the reader and hold them captive, the reader will not return for another try with this author. Authors who have not honed their craft and who've written a novel that only their friends and family love have not truly tested…
Tips from the Pros: Tiffany Amber Stockton
Greetings from Sarah Sundin, currently in gorgeous Monterey for a retreat! But I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to interview Tiffany Amber Stockton. Tiff is my website designer (Eagle Designs), a multi-talented and creative woman who talked me through a gazillion of my techno-idiot moments. She and her husband, Stuart Stockton – also an author – put together a fabulous interactive map on my website which is getting lots of raves. But Tiff is more than a techno-whiz – she’s a multi-published author of historical romances, with two new releases this month! Tiff, how did you get into writing? I…
Thinking Outside the Bookstore
One of the questions most often asked by new authors is when do I start making money? The truth is if you are in this to make money, you are in the wrong place. But there are ways we can make some money and the place to begin is by thinking outside the bookstore.
MESSY DESK, PRISTINE PROSE?
Hello! Maureen Pratt here with my monthly CAN blog about writing. Today, I pose a question, "Messy Desk, Pristine Prose?" or, "Does your writing environment help you or hurt you?" I recently saw a picture of a writer at work. Everything about her desk and surroundings was streamlined and clean. Not a pencil out of place, not a book up-ended. There were no sticky notes affixed to the computer screen, and no cork bulletin board groaning with mock-ups of book covers, flyers, and a scribbled-upon calendar. Even this writer's shirt looked as if it had just been ironed! If this…
Tips from the Pros: Eleanor Gustafson
Greetings from Sarah Sundin! Today I have the honor of interviewing Eleanor Gustafson, who has been published in fiction and non-fiction since 1978! Ellie recently had the book of her heart published, The Stones: A Novel of the Life of King David, which has an accompanying study guide, the perfect blend of her fiction and non-fiction background. Ellie, how did you get into writing? How many do you have published? As a child, I loved stories and read myself into needing glasses, then began making up stories in my head. When I finally started writing them down, my mother and…
Hard Sell
Hello from Ava Pennington, CAN Secretary. I’m enjoying the fall weather in south Florida, which, of course, for us, just means temperatures in the high 80s instead of the low 90s! I’m sure I’m not the only person to see subject lines like these in my email inbox: Check this out! Sale! New discounts! New Prices! Get it now! Order now!
Tips from the Pros: Sharon K. Souza
Greetings from Sarah Sundin in California. Today I have the joy of interviewing novelist Sharon K. Souza. I met Sharon at Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference in 2009, the year she and Kathleen Popa won the Mount Hermon Writer of the Year Award. Sharon’s writing receives much praise, and her group blog Novel Matters promotes taking our fiction to loftier heights. Definitely a blog to follow. Sharon, how did you get into writing? I’ve always had an artistic bent. When I was younger, it was expressed through drawing and painting. I can’t remember back far enough to remember when I…
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