Recently someone asked me the reason I disliked Gone Girl #amwriting Click To Tweet When I said I didn’t find the story believable nor the characters likable, they said, I read like a writer. Perhaps I do. As a writer, I know when the author cheats #amwriting Click To Tweet I notice little slip ups […]
A Mystery with a Bad Good-Guy
I’m reading a mystery, Jo Nesbo’s The Son, with a bad good guy. I find myself cheering for him when he kills worse bad guys. But, he tends to kill them in the same way they’ve killed others, which isn’t pretty. It started me thinking about what creates suspense #amreading #amwriting Click To Tweet Usually […]
What in the World are People Thinking?
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 […]
The Woes of Writing that First Chapter
Don’t you wish you had more time to capture readers than the first chapter? #amwriting Click To Tweet In the old days, that was the case. Back when Trollop and Jane Austen were writing, they had at least two chapters before readers gave up on them. Many of today’s literary writers have the luxury of […]
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 […]
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 […]
What Works and What Doesn’t Work in Writing Fiction
As I’ve studied the art of fiction writing, I’ve learned that it is much more an art than a science. What works one day is proved false the next. What readers eat up today, they toss aside tomorrow. Clearly the art of writing fiction takes patience and a willingness to push the envelope. I’m reading […]
How do you know when you’re done?
Artists tell me it’s hard to know when a painting is finished. One told me that if she works on a painting for too long, she ruins it. This reminds me of my writing. I tweak and tweak and then tweak some more. Was it better before the last tweak or after the first tweak? […]
Tips for Underwriting your Overwriting
As a writer who creates something from nothing, I often catch myself overwriting. If you are a big name writer, editors leave your overwriting in your books and readers learn to skim and sigh. If you’re not so famous, you must catch your own overwriting and learn to under write. By under write, I mean […]
Q&A with Thriller Writer O. N. Stefan
Today we welcome O.N. Stefan to our blog #amwriting #writing #thrillers Click To Tweet Olga is an accomplished writer of suspense thrillers. That’s a genre I particularly enjoy. Let’s find out more about Olga and how she comes up with her stories. JC: First, Your website tells us little about you. What do you do when […]
