What I learned can give you a running start in researching your own historical:

● Including too few historical facts may allow for a clean, straight plot, but will leave a book barren of reader delights.

● Too many historical facts can smother the story.

● Errors in fact or chronology — failing to catch anachronisms — can cost you savvy readers.

● The bulk of your focus must be on the story.

● Read a variety of historical sources. You’ll tend to gravitate toward historians and biographers who take the same views you do, but you may glean some of your most useful facts from those who don’t. When writing To Die For, I relied on Eric Ives, Anne Boleyn’s principal biographer. We both viewed Anne sympathetically.

But to get a well-rounded picture, as well as to maintain credibility with readers who don’t hold Anne in affection, I also read historians who viewed her in a different light.

I also relied on books long out of print, often available on Amazon.com or Alibris.com. I found a 1964 biography on Thomas Wyatt, a key character in my story.

Local universities will often help you find academic articles through JSTOR (a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources). Google Books offers a wide variety of out of print works now in public domain.

Never has historical material been so readily available. But it is also allows readers to check your facts.

● Highlight principal sources, then log the information.

I often have an office supply store chop the spines off my research books, then coil bind the pages to make them easier to turn and highlight.

I then transfer these notes onto one chronological outline so I have in order, in one document, all the events I deem important. This does more than help keep my facts straight. The facts themselves suggest plot story ideas.

● Organize your notes by topic. If you’re looking for wedding traditions in the Regency era, you won’t have to wade through pages of off-topic materials. Later, when you write promotional blogs, you’ll have these sources at hand.

Next: Enlisting help and visiting locations.

Bestselling author and Guild Craftsman mentor Sandra Byrd has published more than forty books. Her adult fiction debut, Let Them Eat Cake, was a Christy Award finalist, as was her first historical novel, To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn. Library Journal named To Die For a Best Books Pick for 2011 and The Secret Keeper: A Novel of Kateryn Parr a Best Books Pick for 2012. Her most recent book is Roses Have Thorns: A Novel of Elizabeth I.

About CWG:

For more than forty years, the Christian Writers Guild has trained people to sell their writing.

Explore www.ChristianWritersGuild.com to learn more about our:

● writing courses

● critique service

● webinars

● Writing for the Soul conference

● Operation First Novel contest for unpublished writers

Also, consider publishing your book through Christian Writers Guild Publishing — a unique service that combines:

● quality education

● mentored guidance

● professional production

● effective marketing tools

Finish the course — and we’ll publish your book.

When he passed away June 9, 2011, our sons said, “Let’s finish that book.”

Can a committee write a novel?
Steve’s editor gave us a four-month extension and the project became a family affair.

The boys have their dad’s creativity and wit. I would write and they would provide their father’s input. I soon discovered the value of their feedback and encouragement. I couldn’t have done it without them.

The same, but vastly different

Stephen A. Bly

Steve left us 7,000 words, a synopsis, and a few character names. We read his sample chapters and surmised that the story read more like a mystery than a western.

While the book needed to resonate like a Stephen Bly novel and resemble the early titles in the Stuart Brannon series, this story was different. Brannon’s older and he’s struggling to fit into the 20th Century, while grappling with the game of golf for a charity tournament.

We immersed ourselves in the originals and scanned others of Stephen’s novels for Brannon mentions. I scoured Steve’s resources to ground myself in the Western world he knew so well. I also skimmed fiction writing books and printed excerpts for our sons.

Key decisions
We focused the novel’s main theme of fighting for justice, truth, and mercy.

We met weekly to brainstorm and critique. Spirited discussions stirred debate as we worked toward consensus.

We assigned topics to research, then roughed out random scenes. Next we drafted an outline, including important plot points and scenes.

We strove to include as much of Steve’s writing as we could.

To help keep the constant additions straight, I used a different color type each week that turned the manuscript into a rainbow. Our key challenge was to keep the story’s timeline straight.

Details and deadlines
I took a trip to Oregon to discover what Steve knew and we didn’t. This added much needed color and revealed critical mistakes.

Our deadline loomed as we aimed for 75,000 words. I struggled to eke out 2,000 words a day. When Aaron devised an adventure scene and Mike produced the golf tourney and poker game settings, I knew we had enough to hit the target word count.

In fact, we exceeded our goal and had to delete scenes and characters that didn’t move the plot. During the last hours of the last days we were frantic to get it perfect.

At 10:36 a.m. on November 1, 2011, Mike emailed me, “Well? Are you ready to push ‘send’?”

And I was.

Janet Chester Bly has authored 30 books, 18 with her Christy Award winning husband. Titles include The Hidden West Series, The Carson City Chronicles, Hope Lives Here, and The Heart of a Runaway. She resides 4,200 feet above sea level on the Idaho Nez Perce Indian Reservation and has three married sons, Russell, Michael, and Aaron.

They hate trying to boil down their beloved story into two to three double-spaced pages. They agonize over it, throw fits, and start the occasional fight. They would rather run in front of the bulls at Pamplona than write an overview of their novel.

But don’t buy your ticket to Spain just yet, because it’s really not that hard. If you follow these guidelines, you’ll always have a solid synopsis — one you can proudly show any agent or editor.

1. Opening Paragraph

This tells us who the main character is, what he does (vocation), and what he wants at the present moment. (I’ll base my examples on the classic film Double Indemnity.)

WALTER NEFF is a hotshot insurance salesman on the make for more business. He likes making money and having the occasional fling with women on whom he makes house calls. Even if they’re married.

2. Second Paragraph

What is the incident that gets the story rolling?

One afternoon he calls on a client and finds the client’s wife, delicious blonde PHYLLIS DEITRICHSON, wrapped in a revealing towel while sunbathing. She gets dressed and meets him in the living room. During his pitch, Neff makes little comments about her looks, and a game of sexual cat and mouse ensues. One thing for sure, when Walter Neff leaves the house he knows he’s gone overboard for Mrs. Phyllis Deitrichson.

3. Basic Plot Paragraphs

Now you lay out the main plot, and I mean main. The synopsis is not the place to detail all the subplots, though you should mention them briefly. Write about them in a way that shows how they complicate the main plot.

Phyllis and Walter engineer her husband’s death, and Walter dresses like Deitrichson, getting on a train as part of the scheme. A man on the train speaks to him in the dark, interrupting his plans, but eventually he succeeds in jumping from the train. He and Phyllis then plant the body.

Walter comes in to work the next day, and sitting in the hallway is the last man he wants to see — Jackson, the guy from the train who talked to him in the dark. BARTON KEYES, the smartest claims man in the business and Walter’s superior, has brought Jackson in because the account of the “accident” is starting to stink. Walter has to keep from being recognized as Jackson tells his story. Keyes slowly pulls in the net, though around whom he doesn’t know yet. All he knows is that the “little man” inside him tells him this is murder. And Walter knows all about how dangerous that little man is—to him and Phyllis.

4. Final Battle Paragraph

Here you cover the biggest crisis point your lead character faces: what’s at stake, why it’s a battle to the death. (It should at least feel that way to the character).

With Keyes closing in, Walter and Phyllis grow increasingly agitated. They try to meet in secret, but the strain begins to show. The seeds of distrust are sown. Then Walter discovers that Phyllis is seeing another lover. Now he must choose whether to run or take out his revenge — even if it sends him to the gas chamber.

5. Resolution

The last paragraphs (try to keep it to one or two) tell how the story ends.

Walter confronts Phyllis about her lover. Phyllis shoots Walter, wounding him, but can’t finish the job. Running to his arms she declares her love for him. He doesn’t buy it. “Good-bye, baby,” he says, then shoots her in the gut.

Losing blood, Walter dictates a confession to Keyes at the office late at night, then turns to see Keyes listening. Walter tries to get out, but doesn’t make it past the front door. Keyes calmly calls the police.

Rewrite and rewrite until your synopsis sounds like the marketing copy on dust jackets and back covers, only on steroids.

James Scott Bell is the author of the #1 bestseller for writers, Plot & Structure, and numerous thrillers, including Deceived, Try Dying, and Watch Your Back. A winner of the Christy Award, he has been a finalist for the International Thriller Writers Award. He has written popular craft books for Writer’s Digest Books including: Revision & Self-Editing, The Art of War for Writers, and Conflict & Suspense. At the 2014 Writing for the Soul conference, he will teach six classes on the craft of fiction:

● Why Your Plot Stakes Must Be Death

● Three Pillars of Perfect Structure

● Page Turning Techniques of the Pros

● Scene Building Through Fear

● Essentials of Great Dialogue

● How to Build an E-book Career

About CWG:

For more than forty years, the Christian Writers Guild has trained people to sell their writing.

Explore www.ChristianWritersGuild.com to learn more about our:

● writing courses

● critique service

● webinars

● Writing for the Soul conference

● Operation First Novel contest for unpublished writers

Also, consider publishing your book through Christian Writers Guild Publishing — a unique service that combines:

● quality education

● mentored guidance

● professional production

● effective marketing tools

Finish the course — and we’ll publish your book.

Find out more at CWGPublishing.com

Inventive

Wile E. constantly comes up with fresh ideas to achieve his goals, learns from his mistakes, and moves forward. Not afraid of technology, he sees it offering new ways to become more productive. He lives on the cutting edge.

Driven to Succeed

Wile E.’s desire to succeed allows him to overlook the odds. Where others give up, he never takes his eye off the prize or allows failure to cause him to shift his goals. He believes he will ultimately succeed.

Increasing in Knowledge

Though Wile E. lives a solitary existence, he consults with others. He not only seeks advice from the folks at Acme, but his extensive library includes such works as How to Build a Burmese Tiger Trap, Hunting Birds, The History of Speed, and How to Sail.

Inspired by Rejection

Wile E. Coyote never gives up. He takes risks that seem illogical to those with mathematical minds, knowing risks can provide the greatest rewards. So he sees rejection as just another challenge.

Anyone in the creative field crashes and burns more than those who take normal routes through life. Yet if we truly believe in our message, we press forward. Our stories are worth the pain of trying to get them to the public.

Like Wile E. Coyote, we constantly try to capture the prize. Even a lifetime of rejections can’t keep us from what we feel called to do.

Ace Collins has penned more than fifty books, including biographies of Evel Knievel, Bette Midler, Pam Tillis, and The Dixie Chicks, as well as how-to books, a historical children series, and two best-sellers with one of the biggest stars in the history of entertainment: Lassie. His recent novels include Darkness Before Dawn and The Yellow Packard. Visit him at www.AceCollins.com

About CWG:

For more than forty years, the Christian Writers Guild has trained people to sell their writing.

Explore www.ChristianWritersGuild.com to learn more about our:

● writing courses

● critique service

● webinars

● Writing for the Soul conference

● Operation First Novel contest for unpublished writers

Also, consider publishing your book through Christian Writers Guild Publishing — a unique service that combines:

● quality education

● mentored guidance

● professional production

● effective marketing tools

Finish the course — and we’ll publish your book

Find out more at CWGPublishing.com

What are the stories of your life? A personal experience article begins with your story and ends with a universal truth your readers can embrace, such as:

● what God taught you

● how you grew through the experience

● how you learned to relate to others

A faith journey

God uses our experiences to teach us profound lessons. Consider an experience that’s taught you:

● about worship

● where you need to grow

● to trust Him more

● to encourage others

● to develop the fruits of the Spirit

● to love your enemy

Everyone loves a story. Yours can encourage readers to examine their lives and see things anew. You can show them God is still at work.

It might be something your child said or a time when you had nowhere to turn but to God. It’s your story — but the lessons can help others.

From story to solution

Have you ever read someone else’s story and seen an answer to your problem? Maybe you needed help with your child’s disobedience or struggled with an illness. The story gave you insights about your next step.

You also have stories to tell:

● what you learned from a job crisis

● what happened as you cared for aging parents

● how you learned the value of friendship

● how you experienced forgiveness

Readers don’t want to be bludgeoned with “you should do this.” But if they can see themselves in your story, they’ll consider your insights.

A personal experience story needn’t be epic. Sometimes you find the most profound lessons in the little moments.

Keep your eyes open. Journal. You’ll find the stories you need.

Deborah Christensen is a mentor for the Christian Writers Guild. She has been freelancing since 1989 and works full time with Lighthouse Christian Products Co. as a writer/editor.

About CWG:

For more than forty years, the Christian Writers Guild has trained people to sell their writing.

Explore www.ChristianWritersGuild.com to learn more about our:

● writing courses

● critique service

● webinars

● Writing for the Soul conference

● Operation First Novel contest for unpublished writers

Also, consider publishing your book through Christian Writers Guild Publishing — a unique service that combines:

● quality education

● mentored guidance

● professional production

● effective marketing tools

Finish the course — and we’ll publish your book.

Find out more at CWGPublishing.com

Here’s the full pitch:

The Crafty Possum (name changed) Book Awards Contest is now open for early registration. Enter now and save up to 25%.

* Digital e-book formats only

* No publication date requirement

* Five award levels

* 75+ categories

* Free book review with each primary category

* Win prizes valued up to $5,000!

Use the following links for more information …

The meaning of “award-winning author” just slipped several notches. My sympathy to those who’ve earned genuine awards.

To enter that “contest” regularly costs $70 — but with the amazing discount, only $50.

To be eligible, a manuscript must be converted to an e-book format (a service Crafty Possum happens to offer for “…As Low As $299!”).

The “gold medal winner” in each category receives a passel of stuff tied to Crafty Possum’s services:

* Eligible to win (my italics) 1 of 3 advanced e-book formatting and distribution packages from Crafty Sloth Media ($1,000 value)

* Eligible to win 1 of 3 pro video book trailers from Crafty Slothio

* Eligible to win 1 of 3 express author interviews on the Crafty Sloth Book Podcast on Blog Talk Radio

* 6 months promotion in our featured book section

* Online medal award ceremony

* Gold digital medal for websites and e-book covers

* Print-on-demand personalized certificate

Check your spam filters for details about prizes at the silver, bronze, wood, hay, and stubble levels.

Andy Scheer, the Guild’s Editor-in-Chief, also works as a freelance book editor and an agent with Hartline Literary.

About CWG:

For more than forty years, the Christian Writers Guild has trained people to sell their writing.

Explore www.ChristianWritersGuild.com to learn more about our:

● writing courses

● critique service

● webinars

● Writing for the Soul conference

● Operation First Novel contest for unpublished writers

Also, consider publishing your book through Christian Writers Guild Publishing — a unique service that combines:

● quality education

● mentored guidance

● professional production

● effective marketing tools

Finish the course — and we’ll publish your book.

Find out more at CWGPublishing.com

Apprentice Learn to write fiction, nonfiction, short stories, and more. Save $100!

Journeyman Specialize in fiction or nonfiction and advance your writing skills. (Prerequisite: Completing Apprentice or passing a proficiency test.) Save $100!

Articles That Sell Turn your craft into cash by learning the secrets of selling to magazines and newspapers. Save $100!

Fiction That Sells Transform your creativity into stories and novels. Save $50!

Building Your Social Media Platform Learn the essentials of creating your online presence. Save $25!

Bonus! When you enroll in any of our courses, you automatically become a CWG member, a $99 value.

No other discounts apply. Prices effective through May 31.

● After submitting a manuscript, you send a corrected version because you spotted a typo. Or you want to change how you worded something.

● Your cover letter details your thought process in creating the manuscript.

● You email the editor to confirm your manuscript arrived.

● You repeatedly ask if the editor has decided to purchase your manuscript — or when you can expect an answer.

● You ask what you can do to improve the manuscript.

● You phone the editor for any reason.

 I’ve concluded this about working with nervous writers:

● I’m paid to assemble publications, not hold writers’ hands.

● I don’t have time to exchange 20 emails with one contributor.

● Rather than try to decide which “corrected version” is the right one, it’s simpler to pass altogether.

● Someone high-maintenance in the submission process will probably be high-maintenance the rest of the way.

● It’s easier to reject a piece than to endure a worrisome writer.

Take a deep breath

If you discover a submitted manuscript has a typo, leave it. Editors will not think less of you. Resist the urge to send improved versions.

Concerned about email delivery? BCC your own address so you can see if your email goes through. If you fear it didn’t get to your editor, let them know you’ve had email problems and just want to check.

Don’t ask editors for feedback. Get input at critique groups, conferences, or through manuscript critique services.

Be patient. A manuscript goes through multiple evaluations as editors determine if it fits their needs.

As a freelancer, you are trying to sell to your client. Act professionally and play by the buyer’s rules. You’ll soon become a confident professional.

Jeanette Littleton is seeking anecdotal manuscripts for books she’s editing (including Angels, Miracles, and Other Heavenly Encounters, for Jim Bell and Bethany House). To receive her project guidelines, email her at Jeanette@Sliceoflifebooks.com.

About CWG:

For more than forty years, the Christian Writers Guild has trained people to sell their writing.

Explore www.ChristianWritersGuild.com to learn more about our:

● writing courses

● critique service

● webinars

● Writing for the Soul conference

● Operation First Novel contest for unpublished writers

Also, consider publishing your book through Christian Writers Guild Publishing — a unique service that combines:

● quality education

● mentored guidance

● professional production

● effective marketing tools

Finish the course — and we’ll publish your book.

Find out more at CWGPublishing.com.

June 4: Gary Hensley

The Business Aspects of Being a Professional Writer

Whether you’re a beginning or an established writer, learn how to keep more of your writing income. In plain language, veteran tax advisor Gary will address business organization, how to determine if assignments are financially viable, and tax strategies.

He will review:

● The Best Business Organization for Writers

● How to Obtain Optimal Business Results

● Your Best Accounting Choice: Cash Basis

● How to Act Like a Business

● Form 1099 Requirements

● How to Avoid Contact with the IRS

● Four Tax Forms You Need to Understand

● Allowable Business Expenses

Gary A. Hensley is a 35-year veteran in the fields of accounting, auditing, and federal taxation. Gary has served as a tax consultant to the Ford Motor Company and an auditor with the Michigan Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service, working for national and local CPA firms, and managing his own practice. Gary has had numerous articles in publications such as Writer’s Digest, Writer’s Yearbook, Christian Communicator, and Writers Journal.

June 13: Janet Bly

10 Research Tips for Authentic Fiction

How can you discover the background details to make a historical novel feel authentic?

When my sons and I determined to finish Stuart Brannon’s Final Shot, the western my late husband began, we had a tight deadline. Our goal: accomplish enough research to create as close to a Stephen Bly novel as possible. We put our whole heart into it, but it was Stephen’s genre and comfort zone, not ours.

We’ll share what we learned about the process, including:

● Travel the Terrain

● Tick off a Timeline

● Spy out Local Lore and Legend

● Bother with Brands

● Be a Movie Critic

Janet Chester Bly has authored 31 books, 19 of them co-authored with her late husband, Stephen Bly. Her co-authored fiction titles include The Hidden West Series, The Carson City Chronicles, and Stuart Brannon’s Final Shot, a Selah Award finalist. She lives at 4,200-foot elevation. on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation in Winchester, Idaho.

Thoreau (1817-1862) wrote about his culture’s soul-crushing routines. An abolitionist and a naturalist, in his book Walden he advocated simple living.

He lived and wrote in that Massachusettswoods for only two years. Thoreau also wrote during his time in prison for refusing to pay taxes to support the Mexican War. Behind bars, he wrote Civil Disobedience, which would influence the thinking of Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. 

A Good Place for Escape

Thoreau found his cabin in the woods because he needed to get away to write. I also need to get away, if I am to write effectively.

I find my cabin wherever I can. Over the years, it has been a room in the basement, a quieter part of an airport terminal, a motel room, a restaurant, the bathroom in the middle of the night, and even a rock in theSinaiDesert.

Whatever gives us escape is a good place to write, whether in the backyard on a summer day, in the car waiting for the kids, or tucked in a spare bedroom closet. 

Writers need to get away, to think, to create. We can’t do it with distractions bashing our senses or with demands coming from everywhere. A writer needs his quiet space, and part of our task is to find that space. 

When we find it — whether it lasts for 15 minutes or a whole day — it is good space. It is our cabin in the woods. Every writer needs one.

Roger Palms, a longtime Guild mentor, is the former editor of Decision magazine and the author of 15 books and hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles.

About CWG:

For more than forty years, the Christian Writers Guild has trained people to sell their writing. 

Explore www.ChristianWritersGuild.com to learn more about our:

● writing courses

● critique service

● webinars

● Writing for the Soul conference

● Operation First Novel contest for unpublished writers

Also, consider publishing your book through Christian Writers Guild Publishing — a unique service that combines:

● quality education

● mentored guidance

● professional production

● effective marketing tools

Finish the course — and we’ll publish your book. 

Find out more at CWGPublishing.com.