Fiction Writing

Let’s Talk Worldbuilding: White Room! White Room!

May 4, 2026

You can do all the complex and intricate worldbuilding you want. You can have civilizations developed, with customs, languages, and characters. And you will fall on your face as a…

The Story Behind the Story – Nights in White Satin

May 4, 2026

The question most often asked of writers is, “Where do you get your ideas?” Novel writers are lucky. They don’t need to come up with a new idea more than…

Let’s Talk Worldbuilding: Geography Makes Your World

March 29, 2026

Your fantasy or science fiction world needs to be grounded in reality. You need to give as detailed a map as possible, or as you need to carry the storyline.…

Let’s Talk Worldbuilding: Let’s All Start Rubbing Blue Mud in Our Navels

March 2, 2026

In designing your world, you are going to be confronted with the need to deal with sex and sexuality, ethics, mores, customs and how your characters react in sexually charged…

Unleash Your Inner Sherlock: Seven Engaging Tips for Novel Research

March 2, 2026

by Heidi Hunter Research is one of the most powerful tools in a novelist’s toolbox, helping your story feel authentic, your characters believable, and your world fully realized. It’s also…

Let’s Talk Worldbuilding – Let’s All Start Rubbing Blue Mud in Our Navels

March 2, 2026

by Walt Boyes In designing your world, you are going to be confronted with the need to deal with sex and sexuality, ethics, mores, customs and how your characters react…

Let’s Talk Worldbuilding: Just how big is your fantasy world?

February 4, 2026

by Walt Boyes What makes great fantasy novels go is not the thud and blunder of battles. You can find that in any MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role-playing game). What…

The Many Sides of Creating

February 4, 2026

by Christine Verstraete Writers gotta write… but when they’re not writing, many like to keep their creative juices flowing by getting crafty or taking up a variety of hobbies. For…

Speaking of the Past: Using History in a Contemporary Mystery

February 4, 2026

by Leslie Budewitz The skillful use of history can deepen a contemporary story. In my writing and reading, I’ve identified several ways writers can weave history into modern tales. Atmosphere…

Chatting with Pauline Hopkins

February 4, 2026

by Carolyn Marie Wilkins I live in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded by English colonists in 1630, it is one of the oldest cities in the USA. Within walking distance of my…

Not Everyone’s Gonna Love Your Book

January 2, 2026

by Marilyn Levinson Releasing the first book in a new series gives one a new perspective on things. While I confess I don’t get to read all my reviews, I…

Conference Recaps – Cat Writers’ Association 2025 Annual Conference

January 2, 2026

by Ramona D Marek, MS Ed. The Cat Writers’ Association (CWA) held its 31st Annual Conference, on October 24–25, 2025 in Indianapolis, IN, at the Wyndham Indianapolis Airport Hotel. CWA…

Novels vs Short Stories

December 1, 2025

by Susan Schwartz After a far-too-long sabbatical that ended several years ago, I seem to have developed a new way of writing short fiction. Novels, frankly, are hopeless. They are…

by Sandra Murphy https://writerswhokill.blogspot.com/2025/10/mystery-in-midlands-writing-short.html Paula Gail Benson on behalf of the Palmetto Chapter of Sisters in Crime and the Southeastern Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, invited me to be…

Anthologising

October 28, 2025

by Rachel McCarron Reprinted with permission https://litopia.com/rachel-mccarron/anthologising/ I’m relatively new to the short story game, having started my middle-aged phase of writing with novels—one completed and two currently dismantled for…

The Flavor of the Story: Using food to add depth to your story

September 30, 2025

By Leslie Budewitz I never trust a character who doesn’t eat. Food—the getting and the making, the sharing and the pleasure—is the literal and figurative foundation of our lives. Food…

Blood and Ink: Write a Great Revenge Novel after Fifty

September 30, 2025

by Stella Fosse A woman posted on social media that she was obsessed with getting back at her ex from 20 years ago. He had done her wrong and she…

Books & film: Risen from the dead—the modern horror revival

September 30, 2025

Originally published on January 28, 2025 By Laura McCarthy The recent success of media in the horror genre is undeniable. During the very first opening weekend at the cinema this…

Writing Children’s Picture Books: The Art of Saying More with Less

September 30, 2025

by Pauline Tait A picture book may only be a few hundred words, but for many writers, it can feel more challenging than a full-length novel. While each line must…

Killer Nashville 2025

September 30, 2025

by Debra H. Goldstein Clay Stafford bills his annual mystery genre brainchild as the Killer Nashville International Writers’ Conference—and he’s right. The 2025 conference, which was the twentieth, had more…

Alternate History: A Writer’s Obligation by Stoney Compton

September 1, 2025

by Stoney Compton When I wrote my alternative history novel, Russian Amerika, I had a specific point in history where everything changed thereafter. In the novel, I drop hints but…

Where History Meets Mystery by donalee Moulton

September 1, 2025

by donalee Moulton Many writers are attracted to the historical mystery genre because they like weaving a mystery for readers to solve. Many other writers are history buffs and want…

Helping Children’s Authors Bring Their Stories to Life by Pauline Tait

September 1, 2025

by Pauline Tait Children’s picture books might appear small, but they can have a meaningful and lasting impact. A single sentence can spark a love of reading, while a single…

Writing Standalones While Managing a Series by Mary Keliikoa

September 1, 2025

by Mary Keliikoa I have long loved a good series, really from the moment I picked up Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel, only to be followed by…

Pushing a Cozy to the Edge by Maggie King

September 1, 2025

by Maggie King Picture a charming village where the local café owner solves crimes while serving lattes and freshly baked scones. A calico cat snoozes in the front window (the…

Let’s Talk Worldbuilding by Walt Boyes: A Debut Column

August 28, 2025

by Walt Boyes In this series of columns, we’ll look at the world you want to build on several axes. What is the geography? How many nations or cultures does…

The Unheralded Power of Historical Fiction

August 1, 2025

by Carolyn Marie Wilkins Historical fiction brings the past to life in a way that helps us understand ourselves and others. As an African American growing up in the 1950s,…

One Author, Two Worlds: Why Writing in Two Genres Works for Me

August 1, 2025

by Pauline Tait Writers are often advised to choose one genre, build their author brand, and remain consistent. Readers like to know what to expect, and the industry tends to…

How Far Would You Go for Your Writing?

June 1, 2025

by Nina Wachsman Besides having to populate a novel with characters and plots, for me to provide a strong sense of the setting means going there. My novels take…

Jane Gwaltney’s Horror Stories Thrive with Small Publisher Support

June 1, 2025

by Linda Kay Hardie What was your introduction to the literary magic of Shirley Jackson? Mine was her famous and famously disturbing horror story “The Lottery.” Young people reading…

Stash the Stiff

May 5, 2025

By Vinnie Hansen Last year, when registration for Left Coast Crime 2024 rolled around, my 70th birthday prompted me to seize new experiences. I took on moderating a panel and…

Cozy Mystery Tips from an Editor

May 5, 2025

by Korina Moss This month marks five years since I started writing my Cheese Shop Mystery series. I’d been writing all my life and had a couple of short stories…

Working Dogs in Crime Fiction

May 4, 2025

by Margaret Mizushima I recently returned home from Left Coast Crime (LCC) in Denver, a well-organized and delightful conference that occurs annually in different cities in the western region of…

The Mystery of History

March 1, 2025

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.…

It’s Harder to Write Short than Long, but Well Worth It

January 1, 2025

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

November 2, 2024

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

November 1, 2024

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

October 1, 2024

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

September 1, 2024

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

September 1, 2024

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

July 1, 2024

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…

Definitively Objective

June 1, 2024

by Paula Messina "I Drive Your Truck" was a number-one hit for Lee Brice and the 2014 Academy of Country Music Song of the Year. It’s hardly surprising that a…

Understanding and Utilizing Conflict to Create Engaging Works

May 1, 2024

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?

February 1, 2024

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:…

Twelve Tips to Edit Your Book

September 1, 2023

by Marilyn Levinson, first published August 17 on the Writers Who Kill blogspot, reprinted with permission I like editing. The way I see it, the hard work of creating my…

Margaret Mizushima on Settling In

August 1, 2023

Published June 19, 2023 on BlackBirdWriters.com Reprinted with permission. Creativity is an innate trait in all human beings. While some people create stories with words, others might use paint, glass,…

Of Wizards, Witches, and Muggles

July 1, 2023

(when friends and family don’t understand you) by Eric Schumacher, reprinted with permission, first published at FlapperPress.com He shuffled upon the stage, nervous, looked at a crowd of diverse and…

Curio Fiction—Say What?

July 1, 2023

by Sandra Murphy Just when you think you know what’s going on in writing, up pops another genre, sub-genre, or blended genre. The latest is curio fiction, at least until…

Bestselling Mystery Author William Bernhardt

October 31, 2022

NY Times bestselling mystery author William Bernhardt is the guest for two episodes of Talking Book Publishing with Kathleen Kaiser and Afterhours. This marks the last episode of the 805…

A Pen Name for Your Thoughts

March 3, 2022

by Molly MacRae, first published in Mystery Fanfare, reprinted with permission New news on the pen name front! Did you know I also write books under the name Margaret Welch?…

Have Book Club, Will Travel

January 31, 2022

by Dawn Dixon “Home again, home again, jiggety-jig,” I mutter unhappily. I drive up to my friend Carol’s smart brick ranch house and cut the engine in the driveway. After…

Protect Your Inner Life

October 31, 2021

by Michael Bracken, Reacting to Lan Samantha Chang’s essay on LitHub.com, “Writers, Protect Your Inner Life,” Trey R. Barker (my Guns + Tacos co-creator/co-editor) posted on Facebook: "[The essay] at…

How We Hit the USA Today Bestseller List with a Multi-Author Anthology

October 1, 2021

by Sierra Simone, Joanna Shupe, Eva Leigh, Nicola Davidson, and Adriana Herrera (reprinted with permission) We are a group of romance authors—Sierra Simone, Joanna Shupe, Eva Leigh, Nicola Davidson, and…

Pay It Forward

August 31, 2021

by Michael Bracken Originally published at sleuthsayers.org on 10 August 2021 I owe the existence of one of my recurring characters to the kindness of a famous mystery writer. Dennis…

Sisters in Crime (SinC)

July 31, 2021

On June 1, 2021, Sisters in Crime (SinC) announced that the winner of the inaugural Pride Award for emerging LGBTQIA+ writers is C.J. Prince (she/hers) of West Orange, New Jersey.…

Dear Character, I hope this finds you . . .

June 30, 2021

by Molly MacRae First published on May 2, 2021 in Writers Who Kill, reprinted with permission Interruptions happen. To anyone, in any job. There you are, at home or at…

Finding Success in a Cozy Mystery

June 30, 2021

by Patricia Fry Writing about animals is nothing new to me. Throughout my forty-year career as a freelance article writer, I often wrote about two of my favorite animals: cats…

Why Do I Write Diverse Stories?

May 31, 2021

by Delia Pitts Recently a reader asked me if I write #ownvoices crime fiction to instruct, to share my experiences as a woman of color in America, or to improve…

Killing Dreams One Rejection at a Time

April 30, 2021

by Michael Bracken At the time I wrote “Rejected!” in 2018, I had received 2,552 rejections. I have no idea how many more I’ve added since then, and I don’t…

The Pride Award— Legacy Project of Sherry Harris, Past President of Sisters in Crime

March 31, 2021

This is a reprint of an article from the Wicked Authors blog by Sherry Harris. The contest closed for this year, but will reopen again next year. There aren’t many…

CPR for Dead or Lifeless Fiction: A Writer’s Guide to Deep and Multi-faceted Development and Progression of Characters, Plots, and Relationships

March 31, 2021

by Karen S. Wiesner Characters: Do your characters have no obvious signs of life, nothing that gives them unique personality, perspective, and passion? Does it seem like their conflicts are…

A Story Call, a Mural, and a Song

December 2, 2020

by Claire M. Murray The call came for a crime story revolving around a song from the ’60s. There were so many from which to choose. What inspired me to…

Christian Romantic Suspense

October 1, 2020

by Sharee Stover Christian mystery, suspense, and romance are my favorite genres to read, so when I began writing, I felt most at home with those. As Will Smith in…

What Makes a Jewish Book Jewish?

September 1, 2020

by Rabbi Ilene Schneider Am I a Jewish writer? Are my books Jewish books? And what determines a Jewish book anyway? I'm a rabbi. My protagonist is a rabbi. My…

Writers’ Police Academy MurderCon 2020

August 31, 2020

by Kari Wainwright Most mystery writers know about Writers’ Police Academy (WPA) put on by Lee and Denene Lofland for the past twelve years. Those writers either attended one or…

Empowering Women through Fiction

June 30, 2020

by Jacqueline Seewald, Reprinted with permission Women in today’s fiction are often brave, confident and self-sufficient. In this respect, they reflect modern society. In the Kim Reynolds mystery series, for…

Paperback Writer

March 31, 2020

by Paul D. Marks Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book? It took me years to write, will you take a look? It's based on a novel by…

What to Keep Track of When You're Plotting a Mystery

March 1, 2020

by Marilyn Levinson Recently, while outlining the fifth book in my Haunted Library mystery series, I found myself making a list of the many elements a writer must remember to…

Starting a New Series

February 1, 2020

by Kaye George This isn’t something I haven’t done before. Or, to eliminate the double negatives, I have done this—several times before. So far, I’ve started four published series, and…

Research and Novels

February 1, 2020

by Jacqueline Seewald You’ll notice that a lot of writers set their novels in places they either live in or have lived in. This may seem provincial, but in fact,…

Writing Two Series… as Two Different People

February 1, 2020

by Ellen Byron and Maria DiRico In the process of writing two mystery series under two different author names, I’ve learned something important about myself: I would make a terrible…

Once Upon a Time, Lots of Cool Stuff, The End. But is your middle sagging?

February 1, 2020

by Jackson Palmer Hello! It's January, named after Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and endings. It's hard not to see writing a book like a New Year's resolution. You…

A Story in Reverse

January 1, 2020

by John Floyd I have always admired writers who take risks and try new techniques and venture out of their comfort zone. That's hard to do, and I respect them…

Writing is a Harsh Mistress

January 1, 2020

by Paul D. Marks Does your writing ever interfere with your family life? Do the demands of your fiction ever create friction with those closest to you? The title of…

Boucherconnections, 2019

December 2, 2019

by John Floyd In November I attended my sixth Bouchercon mystery convention, in Dallas. My wife, Carolyn, and I drove from our home in Mississippi, partly because I don't fit…

Denim and Diamonds aka Bouchercon 2019

December 1, 2019

by Sandra Murphy On October 31 I flew to Dallas for the 50th anniversary of Bouchercon, the country’s largest mystery conference for readers, writers, editors, and publishers. Four days of…

Editing an Anthology

November 7, 2019

by Sandra Murphy In October, A Murder of Crows, a twenty-one story anthology, went live on Amazon. The call for submissions remained out for three months. Surprisingly, no one sent…

Why I Love to Write Cozies

August 31, 2019

by Marilyn Levinson aka Allison Brook, reprinted with permission Like many novelists who have been writing for several years, I write in several genres—mysteries, romantic suspense, and kiddie lit. Recently…

Ten Tips on How to Write Short Stories that Sell

August 31, 2019

by Jacqueline Seewald, reprinted with permission I’ve written well over a hundred original short stories, most of which have sold to paying markets and some of which have also sold…

Four Ways to Avoid Moralizing in Your Young Adult Fiction

July 31, 2019

by Gila Green Like millions of other authors, I write because I have a message I'm passionate about; I want to express myself to the world. The problem with long…

Murder, He Wrote

May 31, 2019

by Jon Land Jessica Fletcher became part of my life back in May of 2017 when my agent called to ask whether I’d be interested in working with Don Bain…

Fifteen Things You May Not Know About Jessica Fletcher

May 30, 2019

by Jon Land The publication of Murder in Red marks the 35th anniversary of the eternal Murder, She Wrote series, which debuted on CBS in 1984. But did you know…

Jamaica Inn Meets The Shining: The Evolution of a Gothic Thriller

April 30, 2019

by Judy Nedry When I started writing my first gothic novel, I wasn't thinking of vampires. or anything close to that. Rather than vampires and 1990s teens running around in…

Switching It Up

March 31, 2019

by Peg Cochran You know that expression “changing horses in mid-stream”? I guess you can say that’s what I did when I went from writing contemporary cozies to writing an…

Writing Fiction Often Follows a Twisty Path

March 1, 2019

by Terrie Farley Moran Fiction! Reading fiction spurs the reader’s imagination and helps it fly away as if on a winged horse. Writing fiction—well, that is a different horse entirely,…

When Jane Meets Sally or How to Write a Crossover Book

March 1, 2019

by C. Hope Clark Embarrassingly, I had never heard the term Crossover Book until my publisher asked me to write one. Then once I realized what he meant, an “Oh,…

Two for the Price of One

February 28, 2019

by Michael Bracken A writing collaboration is often referred to as the process of doing twice the work for half the pay. A successful collaboration, though, results in a story…

Learning to Love Passive Construction

December 31, 2018

by Carolyn Howard-Johnson Writers of fiction are often told to avoid passive sentences. Nonfiction writers sometimes get the same advice. The reasons for such admonitions are many. After all, they…

Sisters in Crime

September 30, 2018

by Sherry Harris, Sisters in Crime President Thank you so much for inviting me to talk about Sisters in Crime and the many ways we support authors. Our mission is…

Where, Oh Where Do All Those Story Ideas Come From?

August 31, 2018

by Patricia Fry This article title comes from the most common question people ask when I mention that I’m writing a new book. I always stop and think about how…

Write Fast and Keep it Clean

August 1, 2018

by Patricia Fry When I sat down to write this article for WPNews, I’m afraid I did something I’m going to warn you against doing: I wasted several minutes trying…

Discovering Our Way into Historical Fiction

July 2, 2018

by Constance Hood Writing historical fiction is a through-the-looking-glass experience. The mirror of life warps and bends. Your world separates into multiple dimensions, some layers reflecting you and other layers…

Weaving History into Contemporary Novels

May 31, 2018

by Lea Wait To begin with, I love history. I was a fourth-generation antiques dealer, love historical novels, and I’ve written five set in nineteenth-century Maine. Although my most recent…

An Outrageous Reality—Writing Family History

May 31, 2018

by Constance Hood What a boring world it would be if everyone were perfect. People would stack up in our lives like a bunch of Lego bricks, with uniform strengths…

Changing Up the Plot of Writing the Same Old Story

April 30, 2018

by C. Hope Clark Read the one about the amateur sleuth dating a police detective in order to solve the crime? Or the one about the girl losing her career…

On Writing Fiction and the Art of Observing

February 27, 2018

by Mandy Jackson-Beverly The definition of the word observe: to see, to watch, to perceive, and to notice. A couple of examples: I see a red light and stop my…

TV OR NOT TV?

January 30, 2018

by Ellen Byron Before I was a television writer-producer (and an author), I was a playwright. I can tell you the exact moment I decided to transition from writing for…

Creating Cozy Worlds: Karen MacInerney and Gray Whale Press

November 2, 2017

Hi! I’m Karen MacInerney, and I’m the author of several mystery series, including the Agatha-nominated Gray Whale Inn mysteries and the Dewberry Farm mysteries. I’ve been writing for many years.…

The Writing Life

September 29, 2017

by Rick Helms A great writer named Jerry Healy, who sadly left us a couple of years back, once said something that resonated strongly with me. It's probably a quote…

Truth in Fiction—How One Author Keeps It Real

January 31, 2017

by Patricia Fry Every hopeful author and freelance writer has heard this important credo: write about what you know. For years, I wrote nonfiction. Still do. But five years ago,…

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