Love That Travel, But. . .

, by

Hi from Gail Gaymer Martin at www.gailmartin.com  Traveling is a passion of mine along with writing fiction. I’ve had the pleasure of traveling to so many countries and every state in the union, and I love setting stories in those places. Some of my travel is the result of teaching writing at conferences or speaking at various events around the country, so my writing career offers me opportunities to do two things I love at one time—talk about writing in other places than home. But. . .

Read More

Description II: Purposeful Details

, by

 H from Gail Gaymer Martin at www.gailmartin.com. Right now, I am away from home on staff at the American Christian Writers conference in Dallas, Texas, and today I want to give you some information on purposeful details. Description can connect with readers when it evokes emotion, and it can also deepen characterization by helping expose characters’ attitudes. When you use detailed descriptions in your novels, think about the affect the details have on readers. Develop them to get the most emotional impact you can. And how do you do that?

Read More

Helpful Tools for Writers – Text to Voice

, by

Wishing you a Happy New Year filled with blessings from Gail Gaymer Martin at www.gailmartin.com I have tried various tools for brainstorming plots and deepening stories, but I’ve usually given up and found the programs more trouble than they’re worth. One of the least expensive programs I’ve found and one you can even download free for a trail is Natural Reader, a text to voice program.

Read More

Outlining #5 – Pacing Needs Planning

, by

Today is December 25.  Wishing you a blessed Christmas from Gail Gaymer Martin at www.gailmartin.com The screenwriting outline article I have been sharing with you lists a fifth and final major point for creating a dynamic story—pacing. Pacing is not only important for screenwriting. It is vital for plotting a novel. I’ve stressed this before in other articles on writing, but this will be a good review. 5. Pacing needs to flow like a river with all its hidden dangers. Through outlining the author can visual pacing before writing the book. He can see the river's calm and the turbulence and then…

Read More

Outlining #2 – Creating Character Arcs

, by

 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.

Read More

Outlining the Novel #1: Finding the Theme

, by

  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?…

Read More