My Thanksgiving Cooking Disasters
Sharon Ward has hosted Thanksgiving dinner for her family every year for more than forty years, yet never managed to pull it off without at least one disaster or another.
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Category: Writing
Connecting Authors & Readers: Part 2
One of the first things impressed upon new authors is the importance of connecting with readers. If no one knows your book exists, they won’t read it. If they don’t read it, they can’t love it and recommend it to others. Today I’m highlighting Readerly Books, a resource for writers launched by historian turned librarian, reviewer, and book coach Robin Henry.
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Lies, Damn Lies, and Useful Misrememberings
In a very early draft of my first novel, A Dream of Death, one of my beta readers said of[…]
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Criminal Procedure for Mystery Writers
If your story includes a criminal prosecution, here is information you might find useful. Investigation Long before a case goes[…]
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Mystery of the Missing Payoff
I write mysteries and romances. And as a pantser, I don’t plan my books. I just sit down with an[…]
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Mystery Writing: Sidekicks
Sleuths and sidekicks, then and now. A look at how McDonald and Dodds inverts tropes.
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The Mystery of Desire
Why character motivations can be more important than plot, and how desire drives both. Read on for a handy chart to help if you’re stuck.
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Puzzling it Out
Ask any author. Writing is hard. And every author develops their own process or ritual for keeping their butt in[…]
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The Pinecone Method of Plotting
What is the pinecone method of plotting, you ask? You’re probably picturing a complex chart with technical terminology and arrows pointing up and down.
Trust me, it isn’t that complicated.
On Writing: The Flawed Protagonist
Numerous times I’ve seen readers roll their eyes and say, “Oh, no, not another recovering alcoholic detective.” I get that.
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