Research For Fiction Writing — Part I

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  Happy New Year from Gail Gaymer Martin at www.gailgaymermartin.com I hope this new year brings you blessings. No matter what month or year, I always look forward to sharing some of my expertise in writing fiction. This year I’m celebrating my 50th published novel. It will be in stores at the end of month and if you’d like to take a peek or pre-order you can do that from my website link at http://www.gailgaymermartin.com/books/her-valentine-hero/ It’s the first in the Sisters series. If you take a look, leave a comment and you’ll be entered into my free book drawing in March….

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Dissecting Your Novel – Part 2

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  Wishing you Christmas blessings from Gail Gaymer Martin at www.gailgaymermartin.com Drop by and see my lovely new website. On November 9, Dissecting Your Novel – Part 1 covered three aspects of editing your own work with a fresh look to tighten and brighten your novels. The elements I covered were: Motivation-reaction unit, cause/effect arrangement of sentences, and the plight of using adverbs. This post will continue with the last three elements:   Placing the most important/emphatic in a sentence. Margie Lawson, Lawson Writer’s Academy http://www.margielawson.com/ and Strunk & White, The Elements of Style Use beats instead of tags. Browne…

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Dissecting Your Novel – Part I

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  Happy November from Gail Gaymer Martin at www.gailmartin.com They say "Better late than never" and for some reason my blog didn’t publish on the right day so here I am again. Late but at least here. Editing your own work is difficult, because in our minds, each sentence was a gem when we wrote them, but stepping back and looking at your work with new eyes, often means doing some dissecting Sometimes we need to tighten a novel for the publisher’s word count,and always, we know the process improves our writing and gives us a better story. If you…

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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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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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Intimate Storytelling – Part IV

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Welcome to the CAN blog. I hope you're having a wonderful summer, and I'm happy to be with you today to share the final part of Intimate Storytelling. The topic: Sentence and Thought Tags A simple method of improving your writing is learning how to use dialogue tags and presenting character’s thoughts. Though this may seem trivial, these techniques are important in helping you become an author who knows how to write. One way to approach this is to ask yourself how would a real person say this or do this. Then bring that to life by using the following techniques.

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Intimate Storytelling – Part II Character’s Feelings

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It's Friday and I know you're looking forward to the weekend.  Most of us are, but a wirter often writes seven days a week with a few hours squeezed in for family, church, exercise and eating. But it's always nice to share some thoughts with you about wrting techniques that makes our books the best they can be. Hi from Gail Gaymer Martin www.gailmartin.com Part I covered some of the elements of staying in a POV character’s viewpoint, but intimate storytelling needs more than a character’s viewpoint. The reader needs to feel the story through the character’s impressions and experience….

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Intimate Storytelling – Part II Character’s Feelings

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   Warmest winter wishes from Gail Gaymer Martin at www.gailmartin.com It's amazing how the winter has marched by with warm temperatures in many of the colder states. It makes us anxious for spring, especially those places that have experienced the horrible tornadoes so early in the year. Prayers go out to all of them. I believe that intimacy in our storytelling style helps us to touch readers in an amazing way. Part I of Intimate Storytelling covered some of the elements of staying in a POV character’s viewpoint, but intimate storytelling needs more than a character’s viewpoint. The reader needs to feel…

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REALITIES OF “MARKETING” Part II

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    This follow-up article is a continuation of James Watkins article on Self-Publishing And Piranhas . He is graciously allowed me to share this information with you. Feel free to visit Jim’s web pages filled with wise thoughts about writing, publishing, and marketing at: http://www.jameswatkins.com/marketing.htm. This discussion covered warnings for writers considering self-publishing on the many scams and poor choices that are beckoning to eager writers. The next point talks about the number of copies that must be ordered and finallly, the question regarding your niche market. I hope you find this article helpful.   

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SELF-PUBLISHERS AND PIRANHAS (Part I)

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Welcome to the CAN Blog on this wintering morning in Michigan. Hi from Gail Gaymer Martin @ www.gailmartin.com This excellent article by James N. Watkins appeared a while ago in his newsletter. I asked him if I could share it with you, and he had no problem with that. I’m glad because every writer who considers self-publishing needs to be aware of the scams and poor choices they can make. Since this is a long article I will beginning and continue with a link so you can read it all. The next article will continue with Jim’s thoughts on the…

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