Characters Welcome is pleased to bring you Julia Kogan from Erica Miner’s Murder in the Pit. Julia is first introduced by her best friend and colleague, Sidney, before author Erica Miner talks about bringing her main character to life. I first met Julia when she was auditioning for the violin position in the Met Opera […]
Tag Archives: Tips for Writers
The Idea that Started it All
When you’re working on a story concept one of the most important things to keep in mind is that nothing is sacred. You have to be willing to let the story goes where it will. This means, in some cases, eliminating the very idea that started it all. I’ve both head and given this exact […]
Why We Write
There are a lot of reasons to write. Most of us who spend any length of time learning the process, going through draft after draft, and ultimately turning out finished products dream of career success and recognition. Yeah, I want to sell a million books. I want a movie deal — not because I think […]
Characters Welcome: Quinn Hollister
Characters Welcome is a new blog series in which authors have a chance to introduce their characters and tell readers how they “met.” I’m honored to have kindle bestselling mystery author Aaron Lazar join me for the first post in this series. Please welcome him, and particularly welcome his character, Quinn Hollister! How I Met […]
Myth Busters, Grammar Edition: Starting a Sentence with And or But
Confession time: How many of you learned in school that you can’t start a sentence with a conjunction such as and or but? Go ahead, admit it. I won’t think less of you. It would make me a serious hypocrite since until late last week, I believed it. Countless English teachers couldn’t be wrong, could […]
The One-Word Sentence
These days, fiction writing is a somewhat less formal affair than it has been in the past. All-knowing narrators who set the stage with passages of elegant prose have largely made way for limited omniscient narrators who share the voice and attitudes of a single character. Those characters voices can still be elegant, flowery, and […]
Tips for Writers: The Perfect Crit Group
Not all critique groups are created equal. We all know that to improve as writers, we need to find that perfect balance — the reader who knows how to be honest and constructive, the one who can point out our flaws without fatally wounding our muse. Yet reality rarely offers that perfect balance. Most crit […]
The Hot Seat
One of my favorite things to do with my characters is to tie them up, shine a bright light on them, and ask them difficult questions until they squirm. Okay…not literally. Although I often picture them that way in my head. You can’t always accept the first thing a character tells you as gospel truth. […]
Book Review: Cold Days by Jim Butcher
Dresden is BACK! Not that I was worried, but after the disappointing Ghost Days (#13), I was eager to reconnect with the Harry I knew. Cold Days is the 14th (yes, that’s right) novel in an impressively long series — impressive because I’m still eager for more! This series doesn’t stagnate. With each new book, […]
Tips for Writers: Inspiration on Endings from Jim Butcher
Tuesday night, I attended a Q&A and book signing with Jim Butcher. I went as a fan, not a writer, and most of the questions he answered were fan-based questions about characters and plots. He received a surprising number of questions from people who seemed to want spoilers. (Really? Don’t you want to enjoy making […]