“And the winner is…” A reflection on writing success I was pretty sure I’d win. After all, I’d been writing for six years—mostly for curriculum publishers and magazines, and I was confident that I really had my act together. The writers’ conference I was attending had a short-story-writing contest and, thankfully for me, although […]
Category Archives: Writing Tips
From Covering Crime to Writing Crime
From Covering Crime to Writing Crime Author of Desert Remains (Seventh Street Books) “Hello. I’d like to see the menu. Thank you. Now if you wouldn’t mind listing the specials and telling me about the crime du jour.” That was me, as a cocky young reporter, walking into the newsroom every morning, anticipating whatever […]
Top Five Places to Find Writing Inspiration
Top Five Places to Find Writing Inspiration One of my favorite parts of writing is the noodling. I love the mulling that comes before I’ve committed to what a story will be. I love choosing the tiniest grain of an idea and then going off to look for the things that will transform it into […]
On Agents, Publishers, Promotion, and Other Lessons Learned on the Road to Publication
On Agents, Publishers, Promotion, and Other Lessons Learned on the Road to Publication I took up writing after a lengthy career in business. Having qualified as a barrister in London and practiced law for a short time, I became a corporate executive working for other people for many years in Europe and the U.S. Then, […]
How My Teenage Diaries Inspired My Novel
How My Teenage Diaries Inspired My Novel When I decided to write a novel with a dual timeline—present day with flashbacks to 1989—I got out my old teenage diaries for a bit of inspiration. As you might expect, there were times where I laughed or cringed as I read, but actually I was mostly […]
The Long Arduous Path to Becoming a Professional Author
The Long Arduous Path to Becoming a Professional Author I often wonder what brought me here. Here, being my writing desk in my office at home, sitting under my framed Wall Street Journal review and posters of the covers of my three novels. Here, being me, being a full-time writer. I know I took […]
Five Tips for Writing a Compelling Legal Thriller
Five Tips for Writing a Compelling Legal Thriller Courtroom Scenes Are Inherently Dramatic. A courtroom can provide a perfect locale for drama and tension. Events take place in a confined space. Authors can “play to the jury” while playing with readers’ expectations, allowing the suspense to build. Judges can be depicted as people who […]
Writers and Day Jobs
Writers and Day Jobs A writer’s gotta have a day job. I knew that going in. I was in high school back then, learning about the Civil War and differential calculus and the reproductive system of the earthworm. It was important stuff, all of it. Earthworms are hermaphrodites. They have both male and female […]
Why you haven’t written your book yet (and 5 ways to change that)
Why you haven’t written your book yet (and 5 ways to change that) There are plenty of good reasons to write a book: to have something to work on while loitering in coffee shops; to shape the way your grandkids remember you; to have something to talk about at cocktail parties in case you’re ever […]
Jeff Abbott’s Top Ten Writing Tips
Jeff Abbott’s Top Ten Writing Tips I think we’ve entered a time when we’re a lot more suspicious of writing advice than we used to be. A lot of writing chestnuts feel prescriptive to too many people—not everyone can write every day; sometimes, yes, you want to tell rather than show; passive voice isn’t inherently […]
SCRATCHING THE TENSION-JUNKIE ITCH: GIVING THE READER A REASON TO TURN PAGES
SCRATCHING THE TENSION-JUNKIE ITCH: GIVING THE READER A REASON TO TURN PAGES Why do people read? What makes someone stay up late, turning pages? The easy answer is curiosity. But all writers wrestle with how to create it. All writers toil to make it look effortless. Humans are tension junkies. We’ve survived through the […]
Thirst: On Writing, Harry, & Flying Jumbo Jets by Jo Nesbø (Excerpts)
What am I thinking when I set out to write a book? First of all, I think it’s impossible. It’s impossible to transform my thoughts and feelings into letters that can convey them to a reader without losing most of—and the most important parts of—their meaning. And it’s definitely impossible for these vague, sound-mimicking symbols to […]