Like Mother, Like Son: The Charles Todd team on writing bestselling novels You just never know what to expect when you go into business with a relative. There are horror tales about the plumber, the lawyer, the ironmonger, where plain Jones has become Jones and Son, or even in some cases, Jones and Daughter. It […]

Why the Short Story? I’m currently working on my seventeenth (or is it eighteenth?) novel, and I’m struggling with plotting out a manuscript that will be at least three hundred pages, with a number of characters, plot twists, setbacks, and perhaps a flashback or two. Once the outline is done and I’m satisfied, then it’s […]

History, Mystery, and Joy When planning a murder, the first thing you need is a time machine. No DNA evidence to convict, if you go back three decades. No fingerprint evidence if you go back 150 years. Of course, no insanity plea either. No psychiatry, no killer profiling, no rehabilitation, and precious little mercy. All […]

R. L. Stine’s Writing Tips R. L. Stine is the author of hundreds of bestselling horror fiction novels, including the Goosebumps and Fear Street series. R. L. Stine’s Writing Tips: 1. Never sit down and start writing. Always have a complete plan for what you are going to write before you start. 2. Always know the ending of your […]

Michael Palmer’s Writing Tips 1) Relax!! — breathing, meditation before starting. Don’t take yourself too seriously. 2) Identify those passages that you are particularly fond of and get rid of them. Those are the passages that call the readers’ attention to what a good writer you are. 3) Be fearless. Try things you know might […]

Travels In No-Man’s-Land A year ago, in January, while taking a break from writing my new novel, The Carrion Birds, I stood on a dune in White Sands National Monument and watched a couple fighter planes dip down out of the sky. I’d taken a small detour from the marked path and walked for ten […]