Do you ever look around and wonder what people are thinking? #amwriting Click To Tweet As you walk down the hall at work or through the aisles in the grocery store, do you imagine thoughts in other people’s heads? Are they thinking about how much their feet hurt or wondering what their spouse will get […]
People People Your Books–Eyes Wide Open!
One of the best habits you can cultivate as a writer is the power of observation. People all around you give you amazing content. Whether it’s the obnoxious barista that won’t even look at you or the friendly cashier at the local market. Everyone you encounter provide a wonderful panoply of characterizations. The only thing […]
Quentin talks about Murder on Moonshine Hill
“When we went to the wedding,” Quentin said, “we expected fireworks, but no one expected murder.” Click To Tweet The second book in the Jenna Scali series is now ready for Pre-Order. Let’s spend a little time with Jenna’s BFF Quentin Pearson to get the inside scoop about this new book. A secluded mountain wedding […]
Creating a Narcissistic Personality When Creating Villains
Many of the villains in the books I read are narcissistic personalities #writingvillains #amwriting Click To Tweet These are people who display a lot of cunning and very little empathy. They may appear as sociopaths, but their tendency to want recognition for their bad behavior suggests a tendency toward a narcissistic personality type. The Norwegian […]
Five Tips for Character Development
As writers we are fascinated with people. Why? Our characters reflect real people. As such, they must act in realistic ways. We can’t have them do things that are “out of character.” We can dig deep inside ourselves and our experiences to create the people who fill our books or we can use other methods. […]
Tips to Make Your Characters Interesting
As a writer, I’m always thinking about my characters. What can they do to move the story along? Who are their friends? What passions do they have? Where do they like to go? What music do they listen to? Much of what I know about my character, I do not share with the reader. If […]
What Kind of Characters Do You Prefer?
Recently several books hit the best seller list that have despicable characters. Readers say, “I didn’t like anyone and I couldn’t care less what happened to the people in the story.” My question to readers is what kind of characters do you prefer #amreading Click To Tweet In thinking about this, I began reflecting on […]
Interview with Jenna Scali about Murder on Moonshine Hill
We are excited to welcome Jenna Scali to our blog today. Some of you may know her as the star of the new mystery series that began with the e-Murderer. If you read that book, you learned a lot about Jenna. You know that she’s 28 years old, has two cats, is divorced and is […]
What The Girl on the Train Teaches Us about Characterization
Having just finished The Girl on the Train, I wanted to share some tips about characterization. Paula Hawkins did an excellent job of creating three distinct characters, each with a voice of her own. Let’s see what we can learn from this best-selling author” @paulahwrites Click To Tweet Hawkins writes with an alternating point of […]
Who Is Jenna Scali?
It’s time to meet the heroine of The e-Murderer #amreading #emurderer Click To Tweet She is a half-Italian, half-Irish young woman who finds herself in the middle of a bad crime spree. Let’s take a few moments and learn more about her. She’s agreed to join me today to answer some questions about herself. JC: Hi […]
