Hi! I’m Kathy Ide. In addition to being a published author, I’m a full-time professional freelance editor. For CAN, I’m blogging about tips for writers based on the most common mistakes I see in the manuscripts I edit.
Category: Writing craft
This is our archive pageStories, Parables & Movie Scripts — Basic screenplay writing excerpted from HOW TO SUCCEED IN HOLLYWOOD (WITHOUT LOSING YOUR SOUL) — Part III — For Better or for Worse
Stories, Parables & Movie Scripts Basic screenplay writing excerpted from HOW TO SUCCEED IN HOLLYWOOD (WITHOUT LOSING YOUR SOUL) Part III For Better or for Worse Communicating effectively requires learning and applying the basic principles of language, grammar, rhetoric, technique, and general rules that govern each genre and medium. There are three levels of such principles: general principles (which apply to most communications), genre specific principles, and media specific principles. There are also several steps involved in producing powerful communications, including movies and television programs. Here is a brief outline of the most important foundational steps in preparing your communication….
Short But Sweet: The Romantic Novella
May has opened our eyes to the beautiful of creation—flowers peaking above the ground, trees leaving and sprouting blossoms. Earth’s beauty abounds and we look forward to summer, the time of vacations and outdoor living. One thing many of us love to do in summer is sit in the shade on our porches or beneath a tree and read. Many people like shorter readers so today I’m talking about novellas, full-length stories but in a shorter format. Romantic historical and contemporary novellas are popular among readers. They are short novels, running from 20,000 to 40,000 words, yet are complete stories…
Proofreading Pointers #42
Hi! I’m Kathy Ide. In addition to being a published author, I’m a full-time professional freelance editor. For CAN, I’m blogging about tips for writers based on the most common mistakes I see in the manuscripts I edit.
Stories, Parables & Movie Scripts Basic screenplay writing excerpted from HOW TO SUCCEED IN HOLLYWOOD (WITHOUT LOSING YOUR SOUL) Part II
Communication is an important part of the uniqueness of humankind. The human drive to communicate through a variety of forms, formats and media is remarkable. In the garden of Eden, God tasked Adam with naming all the animals. That desire to name, to create, and to communicate is still one of the most essential human traits, lasting from infancy through adulthood. Christians and Jews have long been known as people of “The Book.” Since the Bible is full of stories and Christians are called by Jesus to communicate the Good news, which He did through Parables, Christians are a storytelling…
Proofreading Pointers #41
Hi! I’m Kathy Ide. In addition to being a published author, I’m a full-time professional freelance editor. For CAN, I’m blogging about tips for writers based on the most common mistakes I see in the manuscripts I edit. Cutting the Fat, Part Two Following on the heels of last month’s column, here are more ways you can tighten your manuscript.
Stories, Parables & Movie Scripts: Part I – Basic screenplay writing excerpted from HOW TO SUCCEED IN HOLLYWOOD (WITHOUT LOSING YOUR SOUL)
Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables, and He would not speak anything to them without a parable, so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: I will open My mouth in parables; I will declare things kept secret from the foundation of the world. –Matthew 13:34–35 One day more than 70 years ago, two literary giants in England stood talking about language, stories, and religion. In the middle of the conversation, the taller gentleman blurted to his slightly balding companion, “ Here’s my point: Just as a word is an invention about an object…
How’s Your Vocabulary?
Hi, Dave Fessenden here, with a suggestion for writers. Have you been developing your vocabulary lately? Usually when I ask people that question, I get a mixed response. Most writers realize that a healthy vocabulary is helpful, but they worry that their writing is going to sound like a thesaurus, fraught with obscure, many-syllabled words. But that is not at all what I mean. I mean that we need to learn the exact definitions of words, along with their connotations, so that we can be sure to use them precisely. Let me give you an example with two words which…
Subplots Can Deepen A Story from CAN
Welcome from Gail Gaymer Martin to the CAN blog. This post will be the first of three to provide helpful information for fiction writers about subplots and how to use them successfully. This post will talk about: Story Within A Story Subplots are stories within your story. They have a similar structure—beginning, middle, end—but they cannot overshadow the main plot. Instead they should enhance the main plot by providing complication to the life of a main character, foreshadowing an event to come in the main character’s life, reflecting the main character’s growth as he comes to the aid of a…
Proofreading Pointers #40
Hi! I’m Kathy Ide. In addition to being a published author, I’m a full-time professional freelance editor. For CAN, I’m blogging about tips for writers based on the most common mistakes I see in the manuscripts I edit.
