Two years ago, my friend Michelle Spring tempted me to work with her on a book about the craft of writing.  The pairing was unexpectedly effective, since we have such different methods, and with the addition of a number of superb guest essays, has made a book I am tremendously proud of.  Take a look at the book, here.

I grew up with books, since we moved so often when I was young that making friends became far too much work compared to the easy companionship of a library. I was a dreamy child, immersed in the world of fiction that was both escape and education, and I can only wonder that it never occurred to me early on that I, too, could become a writer. I suppose I felt that the books on the library shelves must have been laid there by some divine hand, that mere mortals had nothing to do with them. Perhaps if I’d met an actual author as a child, I’d have begun writing a lot sooner.

To buy a copy, visit Amazon.uk , Amazon.com, or IndieBound.

Two years ago, my friend Michelle Spring tempted me to work with her on a book about the craft of writing.  The pairing was unexpectedly effective, since we have such different methods, and with the addition of a number of superb guest essays, has made a book I am tremendously proud of.  Take a look at the book, here.

For the most part, language, like plot or typeface, should be invisible. It should blend so seamlessly with the other elements that the reader is no more aware of it than the viewer is of the brush strokes in a Constable… None the less, there may be times when you don’t want your language to be invisible. If in your story, the language is part of the point, and especially if the story is told in the first person by a narrator with a distinctive voice, the vocabulary, grammar and rhythm used will stand out more sharply. My character Mary Russell, for example, speaks in a voice dripping with Latinate words and archaic structures. I use a thesaurus to write Miss Russell, producing language that would jar in one of my police procedurals or standalones, but which is necessary for the memoirs of a proud, eighty-plus academic.

To buy a copy, visit Amazon.uk, Amazon.com, or IndieBound.

I’ve been posting some snippets from the Arvon Book of Crime and Thriller Writing, written by Michelle Spring and me.  It take a multi-faced approach to craft, since it not only comes from two very different points of view, but it also incorporates essays on technique and philosophy from some fabulous bestselling authors from Lee Child to Dana Stabenow.  Take a look at the book, here.

The best plot is a simple one, clean and elegant. You should be able to state the core of your story in one sentence (also known as the one-line, or elevator, pitch): young Mary Russell meets Sherlock Holmes in 1915 and becomes his apprentice, then his partner (Laurie’s The Beekeeper’s Apprentice). A rich executive hires a hooker as a convenient date, and falls in love (the film Pretty Woman). A middle- aged crime novelist looking for stability returns to her university, only to find turmoil and murder (Sayers, Gaudy Night).

To buy a copy, visit Amazon.uk, Amazon.com, or IndieBound.

I’ve been posting some snippets from the Arvon Book of Crime and Thriller Writing, written by Michelle Spring and me.  It take a multi-faced approach to craft, since it not only comes from two very different points of view, but it also incorporates essays on technique and philosophy from some fabulous bestselling authors from Lee Child to Dana Stabenow.  Take a look at the book, here.

Writer’s block can be your friend. Honestly. I find that when a first draft begins to bog down – when I discover that I have nothing to say and the ironing simply must be done and the closet cleared out, when scrubbing the oven with a toothbrush seems a more appealing task than continuing to eke out one … word … at … a … time … – it’s often because the story is developing some problem that I’m not seeing.

To buy a copy, visit Amazon.uk, Amazon.com, or IndieBound.

Two years ago, my friend Michelle Spring tempted me to work with her on a book about the craft of writing.  The pairing was unexpectedly effective, since we have such different methods, and with the addition of a number of superb guest essays, has made a book I am tremendously proud of.  Take a look at the book, here.

‘Why do you write crime fiction?’

I am often asked this, in interviews or public events, often by those who politely withhold the second half of the sentence: ‘– when you’re good enough to write real books?’ The answer I give depends on my whim, and on who is asking, and why: I started with mysteries because I knew nothing about writing and at least this genre had some rules. Or: I didn’t know I was writing genre fiction, until it was categorised as such. Or: A mystery allows me to explore the Greater Mysteries of life, and death, and other Important Things. Or even: As a young mother, I had a lot of aggres­ sion to work off…

Even if what I write tends to be more suspense than whodunit, there are requirements I must meet: a crime, a puzzle, a protagonist surrounded by uncertainty and threat, who must solve the crime in order to restore order. There are bones to build before the story can move under its own power, and although I might flesh them out in a hundred different ways, knowing that the bones must be there gives crime writing a structure that main- stream fiction, or genres such as science fiction, lack.

To buy a copy, visit Amazon.uk, Amazon.com, or IndieBound.

I’ve been posting some snippets from the Arvon Book of Crime and Thriller Writing, written by Michelle Spring and me.  It take a multi-faced approach to craft, since it not only comes from two very different points of view, but it also incorporates essays on technique and philosophy from some fabulous bestselling authors from Lee Child to Dana Stabenow.  Take a look at the book, here.

Step One: ruthlessly carve a slice out of your day, and devote it to the written word, the whole written word, and nothing but the written word.

To buy a copy, visit Amazon.uk, Amazon.com, or IndieBound.

I’ve been posting some snippets from the Arvon Book of Crime and Thriller Writing, written by Michelle Spring and me.  It take a multi-faced approach to craft, since it not only comes from two very different points of view, but it also incorporates essays on technique and philosophy from some fabulous bestselling authors from Lee Child to Dana Stabenow.  Take a look at the book, here.

… for me, a writer who cannot afford to spend three or four years joyfully immersed in research, it works better to limit myself to a shallow first pass in the world of research, while keeping a close eye on places where I am uncertain, and then returning to the more detailed and specific hunting down of facts once the first draft stands on its own.

Then, I get to work.

Research for me has several goals. First, to make the reader feel that they are there. Concrete details are the lifeblood of any fiction, and more so for the kind of story built on clues, but the research needs to be invisible – a landscape composed of smooth Chinese brush strokes rather than laboured detail.

This means leaving stuff out. A lot of stuff, some of it really great. To the point that it hurts.

To buy a copy, visit Amazon.uk, Amazon.com, or IndieBound.

Every writer thinks about producing a book about craft.  Two years ago, my friend Michelle Spring pulled me into one, and I will be eternally grateful.  The pairing was unexpectedly effective, since we have such different methods, and the format of this book also brings in a number of superb guest essays.  Take a look at the book, here.

I’m going to be posting some snippets over the coming weeks–particularly for those who are currently neck-deep in NaNoWriMo. 

In none of [my] stories are the details heavily autobiographical. Rather, the adventures and experiences of the characters are infused with my own understanding and experiences. It is less a case of writing what I know than writing who I am…

… imagination is of far greater importance in a novel than experiences. Instead of writing what you already know, write what you want to know. Often a writer who comes new to a place or a situation sees it with inspired eyes, and can bring to bear a fresh and fascinated viewpoint. The goal here is making those descriptions, whether they are of a Boston neighbourhood, a beat cop’s day or standing before a jury, feel fascinating for the reader, yet everyday for the characters.

To buy a copy, visit Amazon.uk or Amazon.com.