PUGS Pointers #15

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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. Each blog post will have one tip for each of the four categories. (For more PUGS tips, check out my website, www.KathyIde.com, or get a copy of my book Polishing the PUGS (available through the website or at the conferences where I teach). If you’re interested in working with a freelance editor (or know someone who is), e-mail me…

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Characters and Talking Without Words

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Hi from Gail Gaymer Martin at www.gailmartin.com. I hope you had a wonderful summer and are ready for the beauty of autumn with cooler weather and burnished colors in the trees. Did you ever think how much you say without saying anything at all? Body action tells the truth more than words spoken. It can get people in trouble as easily as what they say. As you write fiction, keep this thought in mind as you bring your characters to life with action beats. Don’t neglect this effective tool to deepen characterization and emotion and add greater conflict to your stories.

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PUGS Pointers #14

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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. Each blog post will have one tip for each of the four categories. (For more PUGS tips, check out my website, www.KathyIde.com, or get a copy of my book Polishing the PUGS (available through the website or at the conferences where I teach). If you’re interested in working with a freelance editor (or know someone who is), e-mail me through the…

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Texture In Writing. What Is It?

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Hi from Gail Gaymer Martin at www.gailmartin.com who has been traveling in Europe, but who is here through the magic of the Internet. I always enjoy sharing some writing tips with you. The question, “What is texture in writing” was asked in one of my writing groups, and many floundered to answer it. Texture is something desirous and yet it is one of those illusive craft details that most people can’t define. They just recognize it when they see it, but editors look for it and readers relate to it so texture is something to understand and develop in your…

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PUGS Pointers #13

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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. Each blog post will have one tip for each of the four categories, as well as a reason it’s important for authors to “polish their PUGS.” (For more PUGS tips, check out my website, www.KathyIde.com, or get a copy of my book “Polishing the PUGS” (available through the website or at the conferences where I teach). If you’re interested in…

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Help! Where’s my story?!

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  Hello, again! Maureen Pratt here with my monthly CAN blog about the art and craft of writing. This month’s topic is, “Help! Where’s my story?!” or, “What to do when your story goes one way while you go another.” Whether we write fiction or non-fiction, plotting or outlining is often an essential part of the publication process. From the first query to the last book cover blurb, most of us try to envision the beginning, middle and end of a work before we dive in. But, as we authors know, as hard as we might work on those early…

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MAKING POEMS DIFFERENT II

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Hello, I’m Donn Taylor, here again to talk about poetry and ways to achieve the “higher voltage” that distinguishes poetry from most prose. This month and for several more we’ll be talking about ways to make your poems different from many, perhaps most, that editors will see. Most of the new poems I’m seeing are written in the poet’s own voice, with the poet as speaker (persona) of the poem and the poet’s self as the subject. It’s safe to assume that editors will see more of that kind of poem than any other. Last month we illustrated making your…

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Intimate Storytelling – Part III Revealing Character

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Hi from Gail Gaymer Martin at www.gailmartin.com I look forward to dropping by to share a new post with you about writing Christian fiction. I’ve been blessed for the past twelve years with an amazing career – second career actually, and I’ve learned so much on this journey. One thing to know is that learning never ends. I read magazines and books on writing, continual improving my craft and loving every moment. I’ve been sharing thoughts on Intimate Storytelling which means bring the main characters to life in a dynamic way that they seem real. Today I will show you…

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PUGS Pointers #12

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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. Each blog post will have one tip for each of the four categories, as well as a reason it’s important for authors to “polish their PUGS.” (For more PUGS tips, check out my website, www.KathyIde.com, or get a copy of my book “Polishing the PUGS” (available through the website or at the conferences where I teach). If you’re interested in…

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When Something Happens

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Hello, again!  Maureen Pratt here for my monthly blog post. And what a month it’s becoming! No doubt many of you have multiple works in progress gracing your keyboards, computer screens, notebooks, and imaginations. Some deadlines, too. The life of a working writer. And then…something happens. How do we handle health and other emergencies and keep our writing in mind and heart, too? We are writers, after all, and writers, well, we write. As I write this, I am in the midst of a significant family emergency. One minute, I was working on a new magazine article, and hours later,…

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