Straight talk from the sisters about blood, sweat and ink
I have begun outlining a horror story, something that has turned out to be so much fun that I wonder why it took me so long to seize this genre and make it my own. But better late than never! Last week I blogged about the one simple rule of writing horror. This week I’m …
Continue reading “4 Emotive Tools of Horror”
Heist fiction is not easy to write. It’s fast paced and twisty, and it takes a lot of characters. Over the last two Wednesday posts, I’ve been throwing open the vault and letting out all crime writing secrets. If you need to catch up, you can get more help for your story with Tips for …
Continue reading “Writing The Heist Novel: 7 Character Tips”
Top Ten Tuesday is a list created by the book loving crew at The Broke and the Bookish. Every Tuesday is a different topic and everyone is invited to join in the fun. So let’s do this! Everyone loves romance, even if you don’t specifically read romance novels. No matter what genre you prefer, there …
Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday: 5 Pet Peeves + 5 Fab Fixes for Romance in Books”
I love scary stories! As a kid, I devoured every R.L. Stine, Christopher Pike and Lois Duncan on my small town library’s shelves. When the Scholastic Book Fair came to my school, I ordered more spine-tingling novels. I would read them under my covers with a flashlight, not for atmosphere but because I was supposed …
Continue reading “One Simple Rule of Writing Horror”
As I mentioned last week, I’ve amassed a huge collection of tips on writing a heist. Now, I’m throwing open the vault and letting all my research secrets out. I hope these tips can help my fellow crime writers craft the caper of their dreams. Today it’s all about: The Loot! The prize in a …
Continue reading “Writing a Heist: 5 Tips for Picking the Perfect Loot”
I’ve had many false starts on my writing journey – stories that started strong and got lost in the middle, stories that fell flat and forgettable at the end, stories that had a debilitatingly weak character arc. I found ways to address all those problems, but in the process still wasted a lot of time. …
Continue reading “3 Things That Make A Story Worth Writing”
Most writers don’t naturally possess the best skills for a life of crime. We can’t crack a safe. We don’t have a clue how to forge documents. And we wouldn’t feel comfortable holding a gun, let alone pointing it at another human. That’s why research is often our best friend. The moment I decided to …
Continue reading “Throwing Open the Vault: Tips for Writing a Heist”
I read a lot. And since I’m a writer, reading isn’t just entertainment, it’s instructional. I learn from every book, whether good, bad or middling. That’s what inspired “Reading For Writers 101.” Today’s lesson: Character Motivation. Have you ever read a book where the hero does something that seems forced, out-of-character or unbelievable? I have. …
Continue reading “Reading for Writers 101: Character Motivation”
Every year I learn new things about writing. Every. Single. Year. But in 2014 I feel I really topped up the ol’ brain with writing tips. Maybe because this was my first full year blogging, and creating a post every week forced me to learn by analyzing the mistakes I made, dissecting problems I encountered, …
Continue reading “Top 10 Writing Tips of 2014 + What’s New for 2015”
I don’t know anyone who would call a private investigator mystery a cozy. Now there might be some, but I am unaware of them. However, Jinx Schwartz has a series with a snarky female PI that is tightly plotted and fun to read. Similarly, in Sue Grafton’s series, the violence is not graphic. I guess …
Continue reading “The Mystery of Mysteries: 11+ Elements in a Private Investigator Mystery”