Pace Yourself: Part 1

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Historical Post by Gail Gaymer Martin Today is the first part of Pace Yourself: Keeping Pace in Fiction. Pacing – What is it? Pacing is moving the characters from the opening situation through various growing conflicts to the resolution in a logical, realistic manner that shows character growth and, in Christian fiction, provides faith grow. Pacing is the speed at which action in the story moves and the reader gains information. Most people assume “pacing” means the book is too slow, and that is very possible. But the pacing can also be too fast if it rushes the conflicts and…

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Your Friendship Circle for Success

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Your Friendship Circle from Pam Farrel Text Message: “A frnd lvs @ al tms.* * “A friend loves at all times . . .” Proverbs 17:17 NIV My friend, Dawn Wilson, and I, wrote a book called LOL with God: Messages of Hope and Healing for Women. It is a unique devotional that has a humorous story on one page and a daily devotional on the other, and the theme through the book is “text messages” between you and God. In one of these devotionals, Dawn shared who is in her friendship circle, and at the Christmas season, as I…

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Death by Publishing Contract!

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Hi, Dave Fessenden here, to talk about writing issues, and today I’d like to discuss the issue of legalese, specifically in publishing contracts. I recently had to explain to a friend that the phrase “place of physical execution” means the physical location where the contract gets signed, and does not place the author’s life in danger! (Well, she knew that it couldn’t mean that, but it never hurts to ask!)

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Tension and Conflict Part 7 – Stretching Tension

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Welcome to CAN Blog where we share information with you on new books, writing tips, and much more. Hello from Gail Gaymer Martin. And before I begin, let me wish you a blessed and merry Christmas For the past seven posts, I’ve cover the topic of Tension and Conflict. This is a major part of writing fiction since it is emotion that captures the reader and keeps them hanging on to the pages even when dinner time rolls around. We all want readers to love our work and good conflict triggers tension which is shown through emotion. Today the topic…

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Writing the Truth

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We writers have a tremendous responsibility to write the truth. Look at what has happened to our country because the media, as a group, has refused to write and speak the truth. This failure to write and speak the truth has brought our great country to the brink of tyranny.

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Proofreading Pointers #39

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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 “PUGS”–Punctuation, Usage, Grammar, and Spelling … tips for writers based on the most common mistakes I see in the manuscripts I edit. Active vs. Passive Verbs Wherever possible, strive to use strong, precise verbs rather than weak, vague verbs. Instead of saying, “They were going,” write, “They went.” Or better yet, show how they went. “They jogged,” “They raced,” “They ambled,” for example. The more description you can fit into a single action verb, the better.

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“Just the Facts, Ma’am”

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Hi, Dave Fessenden here, to tell you what I’ve learned about writing from Detective Joe Friday, on the old TV show Dragnet. Sergeant Friday was a no-nonsense kind of guy. He didn’t let crime victims go on and on about their feelings; his motto was “Just the facts, Ma’am.” And that’s the attitude you need to take when you want to put more description in your writing.

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Proofreading Pointers #38

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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 “PUGS”–Punctuation, Usage, Grammar, and Spelling … tips for writers based on the most common mistakes I see in the manuscripts I edit. Books vs. Articles US book publishers use different reference manuals than magazine or newspaper publishers do. For book manuscripts (and some popular magazines), use The Chicago Manual of Style and Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. For newspapers and journalistic-style magazines, use The Associated Press Stylebook and Webster’s New World College Dictionary.

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What Kind of Children’s Book — Part 2

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In my last post titled What Kind of Children’s Book? I explained that it’s important for writers of children’s literature to know what subgenre they want to write for. When presenting a proposal to an agent or editor, writers need to know where their book will fit in the market. I discussed three of the primary subgenres: boardbook, preschool picture book, and the standard 32-page picture book.

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6 Essentials for a Better Working Relationship with Your Publisher

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Greetings from Jackie M. Johnson! Most first time authors seem to focus on the fundamentals: What is a query letter? How can I improve my book proposal? Or, is my manuscript well-written? When your goal is to get published, all of these are important and timely questions to ask. Both new and advanced authors need to hone their skills and produce exceptional content. But that is just the start.

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