Crime & Thriller Writing
The Rewrite
Laurie King is not, as regular followers of this blog will know, a writer who outlines her books before she begins them. Some people call this being a pantser (as in, by the seat of her…) but I refer to it as Organic, as opposed to the Organized outliner. (In our writing manual Crime and…
Read MoreThe craft of crime
One of my favorite of the year’s mystery get-togethers is not a fan conference (although I love BoucherCon, and Left Coast Crime, and…) but one on the craft of writing. The Book Passage conference has a great track record with getting new writers published, and it’s a great place to meet your community, both in…
Read MoreWriting Beginnings
Writes of Passage is a collection of essays on writing from Sisters in Crime authors. My piece, on finding a community (yes, that’s you guys,) brought up the end position. The publishers have asked us to write blog posts for them, and today is my turn. The topic is beginnings, and part of what I talk about…
Read MoreRe:Writing
In the beginning was the word… and then the Author decided it was the wrong word, and changed it. Then added a couple more, after which She took those out again and changed the word back to where it had been. This is where I am at the moment: hacking through the jungle of verbiage…
Read MoreCrime Writing: the quirky nugget at the core
Crime and Thriller Writing: one part autobiography (half mine, half that of Michelle Spring), one part nuts-and-bolts writing manual, and one part guest speakers imparting a whole lot of wisdom. The middle of the book is a series of essays, on topics of their own choosing, from twenty-six other world-rank crime & thriller writers. Like Val McDermid: do I…
Read MoreCrime Writers
Crime and Thriller Writing, co-authored by me and my friend Michelle Spring, has three sections to it. The first is our reflections on our writing life; the third is the nuts-and-bolts how-to section. But the middle section is a little of everything–and everyone. Part two is a series of essays by twenty-six other fantastic crime & thriller writers,…
Read MoreSo Thrilling, it’s Criminal
Crime and Thriller Writing is the how-to book I wrote with Michelle Spring. If you’d like to win a copy, joining the fanfic “Letters of Mary” will put your name in the hat–see below. It’s a collection of reflections followed by step-by-step recommendations on how, what, and why to write. Michelle, unlike me (I am definitely an Organic…
Read MoreCriminally Thrilling Writing
Crime and Thriller Writing is my how-to book—or, about half mine. I wrote this how-to book of crime writing with Michelle Spring, but it’s not just us: we asked twenty-six other bestselling crime writers to write an essay on…anything. That’s right, we just asked them to write us a few pages on whatever was on their mind, or they…
Read MoreCrime & Thriller stars
Crime and Thriller Writing is my how-to book—or, about half mine. (And it’s now available as an ebook.) I co-wrote this exploration of the mysteries of crime writing with Michelle Spring, who unlike me (an Organic Writer) is an Organized Writer down to her bones. But one of the best parts of the book is…
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