Welcome to the CAN Blog from Gail Gaymer Martin @ www.gailgaymermartin.com. Today I decided to talk about one way my writing has changed in the past few years. Although I wrote about places I knew, I didn’t worry about accuracy and often I used a fictitious location so I didn’t have to worry about accuracy. Writing Fiction Using Real Locations But over time, I learned if I want to write real, I needed to visit the location of my novel. While creating a fictitious location can be easier, I’ve found that fans love to read about real places since…
Tag: writing craft
This is our archive pageWhere to Begin the Story
Hello from Crystal Bowman! This blog post is for those who want to write fiction for children, and even for those who don’t because the more you know, the more you grow. Most of my books are for the children’s devotional or Bible storybook market. However, I have written several fiction picture books as well as few dozen I Can Read! books, so I want to share something I learned many years ago in my novice years of writing. The mistake many writers make (and I used to be one of them) is to write an explanatory introduction to “set…
Not All Conflicts Sustain A Novel by Gail Gaymer Martin
Good morning at Christian Author Network from Gail Gaymer Martin. Last month I provide information about Conflicts That Lifts the Bar, but this month, we’ll talk about conflicts again but the topic is: Not All Conflicts Sustain A Novel. I hope you find this information useful. Not All Conflicts Sustain An Entire Novel Since I’ve taught writing fiction for years and wrote the Writers Digest book, Writing The Christian Romance, I have received questions from writers about many elements and techniques of writing that they struggle with. Below is one of the questions and my response. Question: This question is about…
Paginate Please!
Hello from Crystal Bowman. I am happy to tell you that I am spending the summer in Michigan rather than my home in Florida. I have three grandhildren in Michigan, so besides the beautiful weather, those are three great reasons to be here! I have been writing for children for over 25 years and also have an editing service for children’s writers who are trying to get their books published. When I review proposals, I often see a good proposal with the manuscript tacked on at the end. What I often don’t see is a paginated manuscript.
Every Word Counts
Hello from Crystal Bowman, writing from sunny Florida where the air is getting warmer every day. I’ve been writing for children for more than twenty years and am still learning. When it comes to writing for children, the more you learn and the more you know, the harder it gets. I write mostly for the preschool market, but also write devotions for beginning readers as well as for kids ages 6-10.
Three Ways to Beat the Writer Blues
Hi Everyone, it’s Judith Couchman. My assignment for this year focuses on blogging about writing: technique; practical pointers, encouragement, and such. I hope this helps you on the writing journey. Some people call it writer’s block. I call it writer blues. You just can’t face that writing project today, or tomorrow, or next week. Or you can’t think of a stunning idea. But a deadline looms, and you need a boost. A host of suggestions can help you get unstuck. But rather than overload your brain and schedule, I’m offering a few that work for me.
Ruining Your Book At The Last Minute
Welcome to the Christian Author Network (CAN) from Gail Gaymer Martin. Winter is fading in some areas of the country. I spend the winter in Sedona, Arizona and enjoy the spring days that stay with us through the winter, and bask in God’s glorious creations from our townhouse deck. The red rocks remind us of the Lord’s might, strength, and power, and we are blessed.
Verbs
Bob Hostetler here, offering another prayer for writers: I write today, Lord. I will be using words, and some of them will be verbs. Inspire them all, God, but especially the verbs. Hover over them. Speak them into existence. Breathe into them the breath of life. All my verbs come from you. You are my “is.” My “am.” My “see,” my “know.” You are my “laugh” and “cry,” my “wake” and “sleep,” “shiver” and “sweat,” “think” and “speak,” “jump” and “skip” and “dance” and “bounce.” There is not an action in my day, a movement of my bones, a…
Slush Pile Stories
Hello from Crystal Bowman! I’ve been writing for children for more than 20 years and am still learning the process because there is always more to know. I enjoy teaching and mentoring writers and prefer a positive instructional approach. I’d rather tell writers what to do rather than what not to do. But sometimes we can learn from our mistakes and even the mistakes of others. So this post is going to focus more on what not to do in order to keep your children’s story from landing in the slush pile.
Fruit (A Writer’s Prayer)
Bob Hostetler here, offering another prayer for writers: Holy Spirit, cultivate and proliferate your fruit in my writing. Let love permeate my words. Help me experience joy in the writing, and let my readers experience joy in reading. Use my writing to spread shalom. Give me patience in the writing. Let goodness characterize what I write, and gentleness how I write it. Make and keep me faithful to you, to the publisher, and to the reader from beginning to end, and let God-given self control guide my every thought, impulse, and decision as I write, revise, edit, and review, in…
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