A Conversation with Laura Jensen Walker
- September 14, 2020
- Connie Berry
I am so excited to introduce my friend and fellow mystery-writer Laura Jensen Walker, whose first cozy Murder Most Sweet was officially launched on September ninth!
Read More- Named One of the 101 Best Web Sites For Writers in 2017
Author: Connie Berry
The Real World Or Fiction?
- July 27, 2020
- Connie Berry
Should writers incorporate real-world events into the fictional world of their novels? The question isn’t how much your characters actually know about these events but rather why the events matter to them. That takes perspective.
Read MorePure Word Music
- June 12, 2020
- Connie Berry
I was about thirteen, an impressionable age, when among the stacks in my small hometown library, I stumbled upon the novels of P. G. Wodehouse (pronounced “Woodhouse,” by the way). For the first time in my life I realized that a story could be brilliant, not only for what was said but also for how it was said.
Read MoreMany Voices, Many Stories
- June 11, 2020
- Connie Berry
Voice isn’t content; it’s the way that content is translated onto the page. Voice is easy to recognize in music. Take the same song lyrics sung, for example, by Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Dolly Parton, and Little Richard. You’d never mistake one for the other. In the same way, you’d never confuse Charles Dickens with J. R. R. Tolkien or Hawthorne with Louise Penny. Your voice as an author is yours alone. Developing your authorial voice takes time.
Read MoreOn The Short Side
- June 10, 2020
- Connie Berry
“Surely, moving to Columbus is all Gerald and Annette Reed need to start a new life and escape their demons…”
Mercedes King is the author of “An Agreeable Wife For A Suitable Husband,” one of the stories in the newly published Columbus Noir anthology by Akashic Books. Columbus Noir was the 101st installment in the series—and the first for Ohio.
Taking Your Own Path in Publishing
- June 9, 2020
- Connie Berry
We all know there are different paths in publishing. Some writers love not only the actual writing but also the full production of a book, from formatting the pages, producing cover art, and developing publicity materials to setting pub dates and generally seeing things through from plotting to launch and beyond. Eileen Curley Hammond is such a person.
Read MoreWhat On Earth?
- June 8, 2020
- Connie Berry
The earth is a treasure of biodiversity. Each living thing, each culture, each individual human being, has its place in the grand scheme of things—a gift to be nurtured, protected, and celebrated.
Read MoreWhat I Love About Writing, Part 5: Revision
- April 24, 2020
- Connie Berry
One of my fantasies is dreaming up a complete plot and typing it into my computer, full-blown like the birth of Venus. Maybe that happens for some writers. For me, the reality looks nothing like that.
Read MoreWhat I Love About Writing Fiction, Part 4: Romancing the Words
- April 23, 2020
- Connie Berry
“I hate writing. I love having written.” –Dorothy Parker
One aspect of writing is pure joy for me, though–romancing the words.
What I Love About Writing Fiction, Part 3: Weaving a Twisty Plot
- April 22, 2020
- Connie Berry
What does it take to keep the reader turning pages? Story structure. Rules are made to be broken, but first you have to know the rules.
Read MoreFeatured Posts
Recent Posts
A Conversation with Laura Jensen Walker
- September 14, 2020
Those Damn Drafts in the Desk Drawer
- September 4, 2020
Reading to escape. . . to India.
- August 19, 2020
Summer reading while (not) at the beach.
- August 17, 2020
The Real World Or Fiction?
- July 27, 2020
Breaking the Rules: The Guest List by Lucy Foley
- July 16, 2020
A Book Long Enough to Suit
- July 11, 2020
Social (Network) Distancing
- June 17, 2020
