Review of The 90-Day Novel, by Alan Watt

Book description:  Alan Watt wrote the first draft of his novel Diamond Dogsin just under 90 days, and later sold the North American rights for $500,000 to Little, Brown in a bidding war. The book became a national bestseller, won a slew of awards and is soon to be a major motion picture.Get the first [...]

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“Wrestling with Point of View in Writing,” by Holly Robinson, author of SLEEPING TIGERS

When I was in first grade, I had an art teacher who shamed me into crying in front of the entire classroom. She had given us an easy assignment. Handing out blocks of wood, she asked us to draw faces on them. I loved art, and happily got to work drawing a man’s face. When [...]

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“The Balancing Act,” by Jacqueline Paige

I was asked to write about how I’ve managed to write ten books in the past three years and the system I use to keep myself organized and productive. The first part would be having the ideas to write about.  I actually have a note book filled with ideas and partial plots. This way I [...]

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“Filling the Creative Well,” by Trish McCallan, author of Forged In Fire

I’ve always loved to read. If I’m waiting somewhere and I’ve forgotten a book, I’ve been known to read the back of a match stick booklet, or every single item on the menu. In high school, college and early in my working life, I’d often read a book a day. I was voracious, devouring authors [...]

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“First Novel Pains,” by JC Andrijeski

I read somewhere that the average apprenticeship for a novelist is ten years. The other I’ve heard is “1 million words” before most can produce a novel worth reading. For some reason, for me, most of those words ended up being spent on the same set of characters. I wrote different books, mind you. That’s [...]

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How To Fix Your Plot Problems, by Harry Bingham

You’ve been there. I’ve been there. We’ve all been there: the one-third slump, when a manuscript runs out of steam maybe thirty-thousand words in. Something about the story simply isn’t working. So what’s gone wrong? When I first started out as a writer, I read up on the different approaches used by novelists I admired. [...]

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How Creating an Imaginary Friend Can Make You a Better Writer

Most kids ditch their imaginary friends along with their sippy cups and security blankets. That’s a good thing, right? Well, marketers have discovered a new benefit to finding (and keeping) those imaginary friends again. One top advertising agency –- Organic in Detroit –- even gave its imaginary friends their own office space. Why? Because these [...]

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“Writing Paranormal Fiction,” by Justin Gustainis

In order for paranormal fiction – any fiction, really – to have an impact on the reader, you’ve got to strive for that old cliché, “the willing suspension of disbelief.” In effect you’re inviting the reader into funhouse of your own creation. You meet him at the entrance and whisper in his ear: “Hey, look, [...]

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LASSITER IS BACK: SEVEN E-BOOKS WITH A NEW HARDCOVER ON THE WAY

LASSITER IS BACK: SEVEN E-BOOKS WITH A NEW HARDCOVER ON THE WAY By Paul Levine “When is Jake Lassiter coming back?” I get the question at bookstores and Bouchercon, at Thrillerfest and Sleuthfest, at Left Coast Crime, and even my dentist’s office. I might be promoting one of the “Solomon vs. Lord” books, or “Illegal,” [...]

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“Why I Love (and Write) Mystery Novels,” by Dave Zeltserman

I was seven when I first started reading mysteries with Encyclopedia Brown and Freddy the Pig Detective books, and that must’ve gotten me hooked because by the time I was 13 I was devouring all the Rex Stout Nero Wolfe books and Agatha Christies I could get my hands on, and at some point made [...]

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