Greetings from Sarah Sundin in California! Today I have the joy of interviewing Lynda Young, who has turned her heart for hurting families into the You Are Not Alone series of books for families with children with cancer, with congenital heart defects, and on the autism spectrum. Since April is Autism Awareness Month, this is the perfect time for Lynda to share with us! Lynda, please tell us about your book, Hope for Families of Children on the Autistic Spectrum. “I feel so alone and no one understands,” say many parents of autistic children. This book provides the soft landing…
Tag: storytelling
This is our archive pageOnce Upon a Time – The Craft of Storytelling: Basic screenplay writing excerpted from HOW TO SUCCEED IN HOLLYWOOD (WITHOUT LOSING YOUR SOUL) Part VIII
A story is a connected narration of real or imagined events. There are many types of story, including science fiction, romance, myth, fairy tale, tragedy, and adventure. The full range of storytelling is limited only by the human imagination, yet there are key principles that apply to all stories, and all stories can be classified in different categories or subgenre. Stories have an internal logic driven by a premise acting through characters and conflict to move the plot from a beginning point of attack, through one or more crises, to a climax that resolves into a resolution. There is a…
Stories, Parables & Movie Scripts: Part I – Basic screenplay writing excerpted from HOW TO SUCCEED IN HOLLYWOOD (WITHOUT LOSING YOUR SOUL)
Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables, and He would not speak anything to them without a parable, so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: I will open My mouth in parables; I will declare things kept secret from the foundation of the world. –Matthew 13:34–35 One day more than 70 years ago, two literary giants in England stood talking about language, stories, and religion. In the middle of the conversation, the taller gentleman blurted to his slightly balding companion, “ Here’s my point: Just as a word is an invention about an object…
Beyond the Movie in Your Mind
Hello! Maureen Pratt here with another blog post about the craft of writing. I’m typing this just before I leave to see one of the "blockbuster" movies coming out during this holiday season. Many films are timed to open during the next couple of months so that they can be eligible for award consideration, so the selection these days is varied and abundant. Anticipating seeing "Lincoln," (my movie of choice today), I thought I’d talk today about fiction writing and a very specific way of filtering that "movie in the mind" to better hone story telling and characterization. The concept…
Intimate Storytelling – Part III Revealing Character
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…
Intimate Storytelling – Part II Character’s Feelings
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…
Intimate Storytelling – Part I Character Viewpoint
Hi from Gail Gaymer Martin at www.gailmartin.com One of an authors goals is to have our characters connect with our readers. They begin to care about them and to relate to their joys and sorrows. They don't want to put down the book because it's like saying good bye to a good friend. As writers, then, we try to use writing techniques that connect in an intimate way with our readers and this can happen by our storytelling style. One thing that first person offers that third doesn’t is an intimacy between the POV character and the reader. In first person,…