The Muse has returned! Now that things are settling on the home front, I am back to writing. I’ve hit page 50 in my WIP that is tentatively titled Styled for Murder. It’s book #17 in the Bad Hair Day mystery series. What helped was taking my notes and writing a synopsis to put the … Read more
When you wake up in the middle of the night after having a vivid dream or a great idea for your novel, do you scribble in a notepad or write yourself a note on your smart phone? I do the latter, so I don’t have to turn on the light. Invariably if I think I’ll … Read more
Once you’ve written several books in your mystery series, it gets harder to come up with new and interesting material. The story has to engage your senses as a writer if you want to entice readers. You’ll want to avoid repetition such as means of murder and motives. And you need to vary the locales … Read more
While writing a novel, you are plodding along during the first half of your book, and all of a sudden you come to a halt. Now what? Are you stuck in the middle of your story? It’s too soon to start the revelations leading to the killer or to the romantic resolution. You need more … Read more
How to Write Short Fiction—and Why Your Readers Think You Should! Joanna Campbell Slan More and more authors are discovering the power of short fiction to market and promote their work. I’m certainly one of them. Several years ago, I promised my readers that I would write a short story a month in the run-up … Read more
How do you add humor to a mystery? See what I said in my guest post on the Killer Nashville blog.
Are you procrastinating about your writing career because distractions take you away from your work? Do self-doubts inhibit you? Are you unsure how to get started? Do you take too much time rereading your work and never moving ahead? Assuming you’ve created your characters and setting, follow these steps: Write a complete synopsis of your … Read more
How do you map your protagonist’s family tree? Who are your characters’ relatives? What are their birthdays? And how much should they age from book to book if you’re writing a series? Creating a Timeline is crucial to a series. Keeping records of your recurrent characters in this regard is essential. Currently I’m beginning work … Read more
Word choices are important when creating mood. Next time you read a scary story, look at the particular descriptive words the author uses. It takes work to get these right. Now let’s see how I put this to work for me. Here is my original paragraph: Outside, I locked up and then turned toward the … Read more
The words “What If?” are at the heart of every plot. Currently I’m in the throes of plotting my next Bad Hair Day mystery. Having already written the draft of a synopsis, I welcome the “what if’s” that are flying into my brain. What if the rivalry between ranchers Hugh and Raymond has a personal … Read more