Saturday, February 24, 2018

Deep POV - Part 3

by Elva Cobb Martin


If you missed Part 2 click here http://bit.ly/2Ex81K2

In a quick recap of Parts 1-2 we said Deep POV: 


Puts our readers into the character’s head.

➤Eliminates most problems with show/don’t tell.

➤Makes our writing fresh and alive.

➤Helps our writing vibrate with emotion.

     
      Examples/Excerpts 
     Here are examples--sentences I've underscored in novels I've read that reflect one or more of the above. It's wise to keep a notebook handy when reading.


      
A blast of heat scalded her cheeks. 
 vs. She blushed.

His sandalwood cologne wove around her.
   vs. His smell was so manly.

She scrambled through mazes of twisted metal forcing her feet across puddles of burning gasoline.
  vs. She pushed her way to safety.

Katie swatted at Jack and broiled his friends with a mock glare.
   vs. Jack and his friends made her mad.

Her charge appeared on the landing, her hair corralled in a tight burn, her cheeks pale, her gaze tethered to Callie's like a lifeline.
 vs. Her charge stood on the landing, looking older than her years, her face tight with fear.

Will sluiced water over his face, then swiped it off with a wad of paper towels.
vs. Will washed his face.

The words jerked John out of his comfort zone and tunneled him back a dozen years.
vs. The words made John uncomfortable and reminded him of the past.

A deep chuckle rumbled in his throat.
  vs. He laughed.

Fear: When he lifted his gaze to hers, the look in his eyes sent a tremor down her back. He wouldn't hurt her, would he?

The first kiss: The kiss sent a tantalizing ripple through Abigail, inviting in an ecstasy she'd never known existed.

A romantic look: He continued to stare at her, seemingly looking past the silk and lace into her very soul, absorbing her with the delight of a man who'd found a priceless jewel.

(A long sentence maybe, but one we true romance lovers will read to the very end, I betcha.)

And I'll stop on those DPOV romantic notes.

Thanks for stopping by. Do you have a sentence or excerpt to share that did put you, the reader, into the character's head, showed instead of telling, and vibrated with life and emotion? I'd love to hear from you and do share this on social media by clicking on the small links below.

Blessings,
Elva



Elva Cobb Martin is vice-president of the South Carolina Chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers. She is a former school teacher and a graduate of Anderson University and Erskine College. She has two inspirational novels contracted with Lighthouse Publishers of the Carolinas. Summer of Deception, a contemporary romantic suspense, and an historical romance, In a Pirate’s Debt. Both have spent time on Amazon’s 100 Best Sellers List for Women’s Religious Fiction. Decision, Charisma, and Home Life have carried Elva's articles. Jim Hart of Hartline Literary represents her. She and her husband Dwayne are semi-retired ministers. A mother and grandmother, Elva lives in South Carolina. Connect with her on her web site http://www.elvamartin.com,on Twitter www.twitter.com/ElvaCobbMartin; Facebook http://www.facebook.com/elvacobbmartin;  and Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/elvacobbmartin
        Link to her romance novels and non-fiction works on Amazon:http://amzn.to/2pOgVHI
         




Saturday, February 10, 2018

Deep POV - Part 2

by Elva Cobb Martin

If you missed Part 1, get it here http://bit.ly/2EyAtdK.

Deep POV makes our writing vibrate with emotion--like this snapshot from Gone with the Wind

DPOV often eliminates most problems with show/don't tell and even italics.

 A short booklet that has been a great help to me in mastering DPOV is Rivet Your Readers with Deep Point of View by Jill Elizabeth Nelson. Find it on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/2EUr7Xv

Here are some quick pointers from Jill:

♦  Never say he/she thought, felt, knew, wondered, realized, decided. 
Simply write what it is.

    Wrong: He understood how much this would mean to her. He knew       she’d be worried.
    Right: This would mean a  lot to her. She would be worried.

♦  Don’t name the emotion, describe it instead. 
     
     Shallow: Jealousy flashed through me.
     Deep: Heat boiled my insides. If that wimp could win a trophy, where was mine?

(Check out The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman for great help in describing emotions. http://amzn.to/2EUsRA1

♦  Describe physical effects on the body: 
         Anger: His hands formed into fists.
       Nervous: Sweat popped out on his palms. His throat closed.

♦  Ditch Prepositional telling phrases (of, with, in)
     
     Shallow: Desiree’s skin prickled with pleasant excitement.
      Deep: Shadows deepened. The place reeked of ancient secrets.   Desi's skin prickled.

♦  Don’t use he/she saw, tasted, smelled, heard. Simply state what he saw, tasted, smelled or heard.
     Shallow: He could see the tip of the dog’s nose peeking out of the                            closet.
     Deep: The tip of the dog’s nose peeked out of the closet.
     Shallow: He tasted bile. 
     Deep: Bile rose in his throat.

Do you have some tips to help master DPOV? Please leave a comment and share on your social media if this blog helped you.

Be blessed,
Elva

Elva Cobb Martin is vice-president of the South Carolina Chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers. She is a former school teacher and a graduate of Anderson University and Erskine College. She has two inspirational novels contracted with Lighthouse Publishers of the Carolinas. Summer of Deception, a contemporary romantic suspense, and an historical romance, In a Pirate’s Debt. Both have spent time on Amazon’s 100 Best Sellers List for Women’s Religious Fiction. Decision, Charisma, and Home Life have carried Elva's articles. Jim Hart of Hartline Literary represents her. She and her husband Dwayne are semi-retired ministers. A mother and grandmother, Elva lives in Anderson, South Carolina. Connect with her on her web site http://www.elvamartin.com,on Twitter www.twitter.com/ElvaCobbMartin; Facebook http://www.facebook.com/elvacobbmartin;  and Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/elvacobbmartin
Link to her romance novels and non-fiction works on Amazon:

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Deep POV - Part 1

by Elva Cobb Martin


One of the vital parts of writing craft we hear editors  stress over and over is the need to master Deep Point of View. 

DPOV makes our writing fresh and alive. It puts our readers into the character's head. 

Here is a recent "before" and "after" paragraph a publishing house editor sent to her authors to remind them about 3rd person DPOV. 

Before 

Kate steered her convertible over the Wright Memorial Bridge, and joined the stream of tourists and locals motoring south through Nags Head. With the top down she felt the afternoon sun warm her face and soon found herself drumming her fingers on the steering wheel to a Zack Brown song. Kate wished she’d remembered to pack her bathing suit, but in a hurry to get on the road, she’d forgotten to open the bottom drawer of the dresser in the guest room. Not that it matters, she thought. I doubt I could fit into it, anyway.

Rewrite in 3rd person DPOV by editor

Kate steered her convertible over the Wright Memorial Bridge and joined the stream of tourists and locals motoring south through Nags Head. With the top down, the afternoon sun bathed her face in warmth. She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel to a Zack Brown song. The weather was perfect and ... she'd forgotten to pack her bathing suit. She thumped the steering wheel with the palm of her hand. If only she hadn't been in such a hurry to get on the road. Her suit was still in the bottom drawer of the dresser in the guest room. She sighed and drummed along with the song again. What did it really matter? She probably couldn't fit into it anyway.

Editor's note on what she removed or changed:

she felt - this is telling, in deep 3rd POV we avoid telling         
soon found herself - you could leave this one but I prefer not to

Kate wished - this is telling
she thought - not needed, show with a question.
(Also changed the lapse into first person in the last sentence
   into 3rd person).

Are you getting it? More on deep point of view next time. What has helped you master DPOV? Leave your comment and thanks for stopping by. Please share on twitter by clicking on the small icons below.

Blessings,
Elva

Elva Cobb Martin is vice-president of the South Carolina Chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers. She is a former school teacher and a graduate of Anderson University and Erskine College. She has two inspirational novels contracted with Lighthouse Publishers of the Carolinas. Summer of Deception, a contemporary romantic suspense, and an historical romance, In a Pirate’s Debt. Both have spent time on Amazon’s 100 Best Sellers List for Women’s Religious Fiction. Decision, Charisma, and Home Life have carried Elva's articles. Jim Hart of Hartline Literary represents her. She and her husband Dwayne are semi-retired ministers. A mother and grandmother, Elva lives in Anderson, South Carolina. Connect with her on her web site http://www.elvamartin.com,on Twitter www.twitter.com/ElvaCobbMartin; Facebook http://www.facebook.com/elvacobbmartin;  and Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/elvacobbmartin


Link to her romance novels and non-fiction works on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2pOgVHI





Saturday, January 27, 2018

Plotting a Novel with Michael Hague's Steps

by Elva Cobb Martin

Michael Hague

Today I ran across Michael Hague's Six Stage Plot Structure and believe it is a good way to get a first draft outline. It will also help you write a synopsis of a finished book because it lists all the plot points needed.

Here's Act One plot points in detail with my own work-in-progress notes inserted:

Act One: Vital First 25% of your novel

0-10% The Set UP:  Protagonist (she) is in her normal life.
Spain, 1740
   Marisol Valentin is on her deceased parents Spanish estate, her uncle now owns. He has a bad gambling problem. A neighboring nobleman has a great interest in her but she has none in him.

10% Mark - Turning Point One: Opportunity or problem. Something happens to bring a change and make the protagonist act.

Marisol is accosted, knocked unconscious, and raped by the nobleman in the stables who has just won the estate from her uncle gambling. The nobleman thinks she comes with it. She stabs and kills the nobleman when she regains consciousness.

10-25% Stage Two: New Situation. She sees what life is like when she takes the opportunity or acts. It is very new, exciting, but also scary.

Marisol determines to flee from Spain, knowing no one will believe her story against the nobleman and she'll be arrested, hanged, for murdering him. She and her maid board a ship to flee to the Spanish colonies in the New World.

25% Mark - Turning Point Two: A change in plans. This launches Act Two.

Marisol's Spanish ship is attacked and overcome by pirates who take her and her maid captive and force them to sign indenture papers. The pirates head to Charles Town to sell the captives.

Briefly, here are Hague's other two main points that he also breaks down into percentages in his teaching.

Act Two 25-75% of Your Novel 
In act two, the protagonist works on changing her life and solving the problems of the plot. She isn't sure how to do that
has both victories and setbacks. 

Act Three 75-100% of Your Novel
In act three, the protagonist starts off in a bad spot, retreating to who she was and shunning who she wants to be. But she pulls it altogether and faces whatever she is afraid of, and gets ready to move on. This involves a final push and brings on the climax and final battle with the antagonist and the resolving of the story's main problem. 
Denouement: the protagonist survives and is now the person she wanted to be, has resolved the problems she faced. She sheds the old, embraces the new, and takes first steps into her new life.

For more on Michael Hague and story structure, click here.
 https://www.storymastery.com/

Thanks for stopping by. Did this help you with your plotting? If it did, please share this article by clicking on the small icons below the blog.

Blessings,
Elva Martin



Elva Cobb Martin is vice-president of the South Carolina Chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers. She is a former school teacher and a graduate of Anderson University and Erskine College. She has two inspirational novels contracted with Lighthouse Publishers of the Carolinas. Summer of Deception, a contemporary romantic suspense, and an historical romance, In a Pirate’s Debt. Both have spent time on Amazon’s 100 Best Sellers List for Women’s Religious Fiction. Decision, Charisma, and Home Life have carried Elva's articles. Jim Hart of Hartline Literary represents her. She and her husband Dwayne are semi-retired ministers. A mother and grandmother, Elva lives in Anderson, South Carolina. Connect with her on her web site http://www.elvamartin.com, her blog http://carolinaromancewithelvamartin.blogspot.com, on Twitter www.twitter.com/ElvaCobbMartin; Facebook http://www.facebook.com/elvacobbmartin;  and Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/elvacobbmartin
Link to her romance novels and non-fiction works on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2pOgVHI







Friday, January 19, 2018

Prep for an Audio Book Release

by Elva Cobb Martin


Have you noticed that audio books are selling better than ever? I actually listen to an audio book while I do my fast walking at the gym five days a week. A friend of mine with small children said the only time she had to "read"was while cooking or driving and listening to an audio book.

I was so happy when my publisher, Lighthouse Publishers of the Carolinas, sent me a form to fill out to start the process of getting my two novels into audio. This would not cost me anything, but my publisher, professional reader, and I would all earn money when the audio versions sold.

The form sent me included things like choosing the narrator's age, gender, accent, and style. I chose adult, female, American Southern, and inspirational or storyteller style.

Next, I had to give the Amazon overall rating for each novel and samples of reviews posted by the public. I also had to state how active I would be in marketing the audio books across my social media, etc. I gave my "number of followers" on Social Media.

My publisher then sent this info out to professional readers and those interested began to send me about two-minute auditions of the first pages of my two books.

A strange thing happened. I received two male reader auditions and decided the male readers were the best, even though I had originally assumed a romance novel would need a female reader. It is now my opinion the female readers who buy my audio book will fall in love with these strong male voices and thereby my hero. LOL

Here's a sample from my novel Summer of Deception.

http://bit.ly/2Fzbswr

How do you like this male voice? This man is a professional actor and we can tell it by his enunciation, emphasis, and otherwise great reading. He is busy right now finishing the audio version of my romantic suspense, Summer of Deception. I look forward to announcing it on this blog when it is ready.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you leave a comment and share this on your social media by clicking on the small icons below.

Blessings,
Elva 


Elva Cobb Martin is vice-president of the South Carolina Chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers. She is a former school teacher and a graduate of Anderson University and Erskine College. She has two inspirational novels contracted with Lighthouse Publishers of the Carolinas. Summer of Deception, a contemporary romantic suspense, and an historical romance, In a Pirate’s Debt. Both have spent time on Amazon’s 100 Best Sellers List for Women’s Religious Fiction. Decision, Charisma, and Home Life have carried Elva's articles. Jim Hart of Hartline Literary represents her. She and her husband Dwayne are semi-retired ministers. A mother and grandmother, Elva lives in Anderson, South Carolina. Connect with her on her web site http://www.elvamartin.com, her blog http://carolinaromancewithelvamartin.blogspot.com, on Twitter www.twitter.com/ElvaCobbMartin; Facebook http://www.facebook.com/elvacobbmartin;  and Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/elvacobbmartin

Link to her romance novels and non-fiction works on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2pOgVHI







Saturday, January 13, 2018

Finding a Great Trailer Deal

by Elva Cobb Martin

When I was writing my first two novels I dreamed of being able to have a video trailer made for them both, but really thought hiring it done would be out of my price range. Well, things have changed!

I recently ran across a very reasonable trailer designer. Her name is Rachel Bostwick. I stuck my toe into trailers by hiring her to do her shortest trailer for the amazing price of $5 each.  Yep, I said $5.00. I had her do one for both books.  


Summer of Deception 













In a Pirate's Debt

















Here they both are on YouTube posted by my publisher.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL0TFKkC-YhLfOnnAzoR23A

If you want to check out this designer you can reach her through Fiverr at this link. 
               http://fiverr.com/rachelbostwick

It was so easy working with Rachel. She asked me to send her three free-to-use photos and three sentences for each book and she took it from there. I was so pleased with her work and timely communications.

I would love to know what you think of the trailers. Please do leave a comment and click on the small icons below to share on your social media.

Elva

Elva Cobb Martin is vice-president of the South Carolina Chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers. She is a former school teacher and a graduate of Anderson University and Erskine College. She has two inspirational novels contracted with Lighthouse Publishers of the Carolinas. Summer of Deception, a contemporary romantic suspense, and an historical romance, In a Pirate’s Debt. Both have spent time on Amazon’s 100 Best Sellers List for Women’s Religious Fiction. Decision, Charisma, and Home Life have carried Elva's articles. Jim Hart of Hartline Literary represents her. She and her husband Dwayne are semi-retired ministers. A mother and grandmother, Elva lives in Anderson, South Carolina. Connect with her on her web site http://www.elvamartin.com, her blog http://carolinaromancewithelvamartin.blogspot.com, on Twitter www.twitter.com/ElvaCobbMartin; Facebook http://www.facebook.com/elvacobbmartin;  and Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/elvacobbmartin


Link to her romance novels and non-fiction works on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2pOgVHI

Friday, December 29, 2017

A Dry Dock Fast for the New Year

by Elva Cobb Martin

Do you do any kind of fast and prayer for the New Year? I always do some kind, whether Daniel's 21-Day prayer and fast of no pleasant bread (sweets) or just one week of fasting sweets, maybe meats, and TV to spend more time seeking God and His plan for us for the New Year.


A prayer and fast is similar to dry docking a ship.

 In my historical research of sailing ships I've learned why ships need to be dry docked after periods of service. According to Tom Hardiman, dry dock occurs when a ship is taken out of its normal surroundings in order to examine what has happened below the water line.


For example, after the USS
 USS Constitution
Constitution had been in commission for about twenty years, this vessel, which had been nimble and easily able to change course, began to slow down. In dry dock ten wagon loads of barnacles were removed from its bottom. Barnacles are living crustaceans with a glue-like substance that attach to bottoms of ships. If not removed, these barnacles grow a hair-like substance that almost looks like a beard. Sailors know this as "Satan's Beard." It's a long trail of stuff that slows the vessel down and, if not removed, the vessel will never return to its original precision.


Dry dock for modern ships is a structured area wherein construction, repairs, changes, and maintenance of merchant vessels and boats are carried out. Do you need some dry docking?

What has attached to you "below the water line" this past busy year? Fear, worry, disappointment, anger, grief, confusion? Satan's Beard, all of them. If these things aren't uprooted from your spirit, they will limit your effectiveness in 2018. They can even abort your having a successful year at all.

So I come aside in my special place, with my Bible and prayer journal, and I have some long talks with Father God at least the first week of each new year. We talk about anything concerning me, my successes, my failures, my time and how to spend it, my writing and marketing, our family finances, and any changes or wisdom needed. I date and write down what He says and confirming scriptures.

And He always also speaks something new into my life. In my year 2000 January fast when I'd been praying about our family finances and whether to make changes in our retirement investment, the Lord said, "If you don't become as concerned about your diet and health as you are with that little nest egg, somebody else will be making decisions about that money." Duh! I got the message. That whole year God began to show us some diet and exercise changes we need to make to our lifestyle if we wanted to live long and healthy. We made big changes and continue them.


Sometimes I didn't act as fast.  I think it was the 1998 January Prayer and Fast, when I was asking the Lord about our investments. He said, "Get totally out of the stock market." We had invested some retirement money in two small mutual funds that were currently earning 16-17%. (Are any of you old enough to remember those good old days?) Who wanted to move money earning good rates like that? I was sure I had misheard. So we did nothing. 



In April I had a vision of an angel in the New York Stock Market.  When I asked the Lord about it, He said, "He's there to hold back the worse losses until more Christians can get their money out." I asked where to rollover our investment, but still received no direction. So, again, I let it slip.

In July on one of my busiest days of year, I was rushing to finish a 21-page prayer booklet that would be distributed to 45 churches in our county who were helping us put a 24 hour prayer cover over our Anderson, S.C. county. God said, "Get your money out of the stock market, NOW." This voice was like a parent's last stern warning to a disobedient child. I called my husband, told him what I'd heard. He agreed, but we still didn't know where to roll the money over to. I called our broker and told him to redeem all our shares and move them into a bank money market at about 2%. He thought we were crazy but he did it that afternoon.

Two weeks later the stock market took its first plunge of 300 points. One friend told us she lost $35,000 in that plunge. Our little nest egg sat safely in a bank money market.

The Lord later showed us to invest in rental properties for retirement income, which are going great. So our "dry dock fasts" have been a realigning, a revealing, and given us wisdom for important decisions over the years.

Thanks for stopping by. Please leave a comment and share this blog on your social media by clicking on the small icons below.

Have a blessed, successful New Year!
Elva Cobb Martin

Elva Cobb Martin is president of the South Carolina Chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers (2014-2017). She is a former school teacher and a graduate of Anderson University and Erskine College. She has two inspirational novels contracted with Lighthouse Publishers of the Carolinas. Summer of Deception, a contemporary romantic suspense, and an historical romance, In a Pirate’s Debt. Both have spent time on Amazon’s 100 Best Sellers List for Women’s Religious Fiction. Decision, Charisma, and Home Life have carried Elva's articles. Jim Hart of Hartline Literary represents her. She and her husband Dwayne are semi-retired ministers. A mother and grandmother, Elva lives in Anderson, South Carolina. Connect with her on her web site http://www.elvamartin.com, her blog http://carolinaromancewithelvamartin.blogspot.com, on Twitter www.twitter.com/ElvaCobbMartin; Facebook http://www.facebook.com/elvacobbmartin;  and Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/elvacobbmartin


Link to her romance novels and non-fiction works on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2pOgVHI