The Mystery of History
by Marilyn Todd Today marks a milestone in my writing career. I’m celebrating—big time, I might add—the publication of four books and short stories in the space of a fortnight.…
Fiction Writing
It’s Harder to Write Short than Long, but Well Worth It
by Linda Kay Hardie We’ve all heard this quote and its variations: “I have made this [letter] longer than usual because I have not had time to make it shorter.”…
Approaches to Janie’s Got a Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Music of Aerosmith
by Avram Levinsky At a recent crime fiction conference, I heard a well-established writer explain that when contributing to music-inspired anthologies, all you need to do is match the title.…
On the Other Side of the Pond
by Karen Keeley Coming from Canada, I have been asked when travelling in the States if I parked my dogsled at the border—is my igloo in safe hands? Okay, I…
How to keep a series fresh
by Nina Wachman Mystery readers are a loyal bunch. Once they discover a story with a setting and characters they like, they’ll read every book in the series. A receptive…
Playing By the Rules
by Lorie Lewis Ham I’ve written most of my life. I published my first poem and my first song at thirteen, and continued to publish poems, short stories, and articles…
Be Ready: Querying, Submissions, Writer Encouragement
by Kathleen Marple Kalb, reprinted with permission Short story submissions are different. For one thing, the piece usually must be much closer to publication-ready than a novel-length manuscript. Once in…
Kill Your Darlings, Writers, but Do It My Way
by Linda Kay Hardie I’ve killed off a lot of people lately, and I feel better for it. No, I’m not some sort of mass murderer, although Google might think…
Understanding and Utilizing Conflict to Create Engaging Works
by Debra H. Goldstein Writers are told conflict is essential to stories or novels. That conflict is the catalyst compelling movement of the plot or in the characters’ lives by…
How Should I Publish My Short Stories?
by Lisa Tener, Reprinted with permission In my most recent post, I answered a soon-to-be-published author’s questions about distribution for a traditionally published book; today, I answer their second question:…