Outlining #2 – Creating Character Arcs

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 Hi from Gail Gaymer Martin at www.gailmartin.com The last time I blogged about outlining, I covered the first point from the Gideon Film Festival on Outlining for Screenwriting. The first point was on creating a theme. The next point deals with the topic of creating characters arcs. Whether writing a novel or screen writing, character arcs are a vital element of good writing.

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Essential: Writing Nonfiction with the Reader in Mind

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Jan here, enjoying a beautiful fall afternoon in the foothills of the Sierras. Today I’m considering the readers of the books we are writing–the essential person that we must keep in mind. Over the years I’ve critiqued quite a few nonfiction proposals and manuscripts. The writers pored out their souls in their manuscripts, sometimes to the point of (figuratively) bleeding on the page. Each hoped their story would make a difference in the lives of others who had experienced similar struggles. I found the ideas of many of the stories compelling. And yet, for some, the delivery left me feeling alienated from or…

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Meeting Our “Big Face” Needs

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    Hey, friends! Jennifer Devlin here. As this is my monthly board post, let me begin by saying how proud I am of our CAN board. Together, our team is praying, serving, and sharing our love for writing and reading. We are bonding as a group of leaders, and gearing up to offer some new and exciting things to our membership and readers. I ask you to continue praying for us as we serve you, that we would be obedient to God’s will for this network, and that we would boldly proclaim the truth of the gospel. Now, you may think…

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OUTLINNG THE NOVEL #2 – CREATING CHARACTER ARCS

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Hello from novelist Gail Gaymer Martin at www.gailmartin.com In the Outlining for Screenwriting which I attended at the Gideon Film Festval, the second point deals with the topic of creating characters arcs. This is an important element in writing novels as well. 2. Create individual character arcs. What does the character want? What does the character need? The need factor is often the hidden desire of the character. The difference between the want and the need are sometimes in conflict and an effective technique is to create a situation where to gain what the character needs means to give up what he…

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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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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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