Story Trumps Structure Twelve years ago, I had an idea for a series of mysteries featuring a one-armed detective. At that time, I attended a seminar by a well-known novelist who taught us to outline our fiction carefully and meticulously and then stick to the outline as we crafted our stories. In some cases, he […]

This path isn’t for you: How to Persevere as an Author I was twenty years old when I presented my senior thesis to a room full of English majors and professors. Said thesis was a culmination of three years of creative writing efforts, fully informed by an obsession with the Romantics and Virginia Woolf, a […]

Scott Turow’s Writing Tips 1)  Write every day.  The muse only visits if you’re ready for her to arrive. 2)  If you can’t get started on a given day, re-read what you’ve done previously. 3) Don’t worry about staying in sequence.  If something sparks, write it. 4) Get a complete draft before engaging in vigorous […]

Sandra Brown’s Ten Rules of Writing 1. Rewrite the first sentence of your book a thousand times if that’s what it takes to make it perfect. 2. Stop writing before the end of the scene; then you always have a place to start the next day. 3. If your characters need to move through time […]

Fourteen Writing Tips 1. Strengthen your writing muscles by writing for an hour every day, without distractions and without stopping. Then, if your other work schedule permits, go to two hours, then three. If you have trouble sitting still that long, write for twenty minutes, get up and stretch/exercise/have a cup of coffee for five […]

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 on writing 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 story. If you know the ending, you can always figure out how to get there. 3. Never use WAS as a verb. […]

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 […]