Carmela A. Martino

 

     May 16, 2018 marks the 300th birthday of mathematician-turned-humanitarian Maria Gaetana Agnesi.  My research into her life led me to write Playing by Heart, with the novel's main character, Emilia, and her older sister, Maria, modeled on Maria Teresa Agnesi and Maria Gaetana Agnesi. I think it appropriate, then, to sponsor a giveaway of an autographed copy of the novel to celebrate Maria Gaetana's momentous birthday. See below for instructions on entering the giveaway. To read more about the Agnesi sisters, see this website I created in their honor.

 

Giveaway Instructions:

Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter 1, 2, or all 3 ways:

1. You must subscribe to my Creativity Newsletter to enter. (This option gives you 2 entries!)
   New subscribers: go to this page and subscribe to the newsletter BEFORE you enter your email address in the first option of the widget below. Then watch for an email confirming your subscription. After you click the link in that email, you'll have the opportunity to download a free thank you gift. 
   
   Current subscribers: simply enter your subscription email address in the first option of the widget below.
   
   
2. Share a link to this blog post on your own blog or Facebook page and provide the URL of your post in the Rafflecopter widget below.
   
   
3. Tweet about the giveaway using #PlayingbyHeart and tag @carmelamartino (my Twitter handle). Please provide the URL of your tweet in the Rafflecopter widget below.

If you have any problems entering, email me via the Contact page. Contest runs through May 31. Winners will be notified via email.

 

Open to those 18 years of age and over only. You must have a U.S. mailing address to receive the prize. Good luck!

P.S. If you've never entered a Rafflecopter giveaway, here's info on how to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway and the difference between signing in with Facebook vs. with an email address.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'll be discussing "The Pleasures and Perils of Writing Historical Fiction" at the Fountaindale Public Library this evening.

Below are the resources I'll be sharing, along with links to additional articles of interest. 

 

Books:

• Medieval Underpants and Other Blunders: A Writer's (& Editor's) Guide to Keeping Historical Fiction Free of Common Anachronisms, Errors, & Myths by Susanne Alleyn
• Writing Historical Fiction by Rhona Martin
• Once Upon a Time It Was Now: The Art and Craft of Writing Historical Fiction by James Alexander Thom
• Turning Life into Fiction by Robin Hemley

Online Resources:

• Online Etymology Dictionary
• Oxford English Dictionary 
• Social Security Administration name database
• Newspaper and magazine archives (check your local library)
• How to Write History.com 
• "Day in the Life Method of Writing Historical Novels" by Juliet Waldron
• Historical Novel Society   

Additional articles of interest:

• "How to Write Historical Fiction: 7 Tips on Accuracy and Authenticity" by Susanna Calkins
• "6 Keys to Writing a Compelling Historical Novel" by Sofia Grant
• "5 Historical Fiction Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them" by Margo Dill
• "Tips To Create Unforgettable Historical Fiction" by Ashley Hope Pérez

If you have a questions about my presentation, feel free to post it as a comment below or email me through my contact page.

 

 

I'll be presenting a workshop on "Turning Life into Fiction" at two Chicago-area libraries this spring. In addition to
Robin Hemley's writing book of the
same name, I'll be mentioning the
following texts:

• The Art of Fiction by John Gardner
• Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
• Stein on Writing by Sol Stein

Also, one of the exercises in my workshop is based on a Wednesday Writing Workout I posted on our TeachingAuthors blog in this post. 

 

If you have any questions about my presentation, feel free to post it as a comment below or email me through my contact page.

 

 

Below is a list of the resources I shared in my ACFW-Chicago presentation "Great Beginnings: How to Hook Readers and Keep Them Turning the Pages":

 

Books:

• Beginnings, Middles and Ends by Nancy Kress (Writer's Digest Books)
• The Writer's Guide to Crafting Stories for Children by Nancy Lamb (Writer's Digest Books)
• Hooked: Write Fiction that Grabs Readers at Page One and Never Lets Them Go by Les Edgerton (Writer's Digest Books)
• Your First Page by Peter Selgin (Serving House Books)
• Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence by Lisa Crons (Ten Speed Press)

Articles:

• The Deadliest First Page Sin by Peter Selgin
• Writer's Digest magazine Jan, 2011 article by Elizabeth Sims, "8 Ways to Write a 5-Star Chapter One."
• Article by Bharti Kirchner in The Writer, Dec. 2010, “The Pleasures and Perils of Prologues."

Blog posts by former literary agent turned developmental editor
Mary Kole, author of Writing Irresistible Kidlit (Writer’s Digest Books):

• The Promise of the Novel
• Writing Compelling Novel First Pages
• Your Novel's First Line
• How to Start a Novel

I didn't mention the following articles, but they may also be of help.

• How to Write a Short Story, article includes info on how to "Write the perfect first line" and links to another article specifically on that topic.
• Article listing examples of some BAD ways to start a novel.

If you have any questions about the presentation, you can post them as a comment below or email me via the "Contact" page of this blog.