by Nick Bailey Every writer has that moment when they wonder: what would happen if I tried something completely different? Whether it’s Stephen King’s pivot to alternate history with 11/22/63, or Cormac McCarthy’s [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig I was speaking at a writers’ guild meeting in May when a question from the audience stuck with me. A woman shared that she’d completed a mystery novel two [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig I often sense a lot of anxiety for writers about promo and having an online presence. Many feel overwhelmed by the idea of trying to be everywhere at once—blogging, [...]
by Mike Martin Note from Elizabeth: Mike Martin is a regular contributor here and a wonderful mystery writer. He’s back today with news of an anthology that sounds like a perfect end-of-summer read. [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethspanncraig.com It seems counterintuitive, but unlimited creative freedom often leads to making us freeze up, not making us innovate. Those genre guidelines that feel restrictive might actually be keeping [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethspanncraig.com The advice to “build your author platform” can feel overwhelming when you’re naturally private or introverted. Constant social media presence, networking events, and personal sharing might seem like [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig After 16 years, I’m winding down my daily link curation for writers. August 8th was the last day and this is the final LitLinks. My first roundup, [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethspanncraig.com It’s easy sometimes to feel like time away from writing is wasted time. But pushing yourself leads to diminishing returns, and eventually burnout. Resting isn’t laziness. It’s [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig LitLinks are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 70,000 free articles on writing related [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethspanncraig.com It’s tempting to look at successful books in your genre and try to write something similar. But the thing that actually makes readers remember your work isn’t how [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethspanncraig.com Most writers default to the obvious emotions—happiness, sadness, anger, fear. But readers connect more deeply with stories that explore the subtle, complex feelings that fill real life. [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethspanncraig.com When you see other writers posting about their daily word counts or announcing their latest book deals, it’s easy to feel like you’re falling behind some invisible timeline. [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethspanncraig.com It’s so easy to get stuck in revision limbo, convincing yourself the manuscript needs just one more pass. But sometimes all that extra polishing actually makes things worse [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethspanncraig.com When you’re deep in a manuscript, every word feels precious and every plot decision seems brilliant. This closeness to your work makes writing possible, but it also makes [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethspanncraig.com When something feels overwhelming or intimidating, our natural response is often to avoid it entirely. But that just makes the task loom larger in our minds. The antidote [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethspanncraig.com Tropes get a bad rap, but they’re actually storytelling shortcuts that readers understand instinctively. The problem isn’t using tropes—it’s using them lazily. When you add fresh details and [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethspanncraig.com Characters who stumble through scenes without clear intentions leave readers feeling equally lost. When your protagonist just “goes with the flow” or reacts to whatever happens next, [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethspanncraig.com Perfect protagonists bore readers. Characters with rough edges and realistic problems create the memorable personalities that readers think about long after finishing your book. Give Them Believable Contradictions [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig We’ve all read mysteries where a thunderstorm conveniently knocks out the power just as the sleuth is about to make a breakthrough, or where fog rolls in to create [...]
by Mike Martin, @mike54martin People often ask me what kind of mysteries are the Sgt. Windflower Mysteries. And I stumble and fumble and give them one of a variety of answers. My go-to is that [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig LitLinks are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 70,000 free articles on writing related [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethspanncraig.com I use Draft2Digital for a lot of different things: formatting, distributing to multiple retailers, and entering promo opportunities. What I love most is that it handles all the [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig LitLinks are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 70,000 free articles on writing related [...]
by Loretta Bushell The most beloved fictional characters aren’t faultless heroes. They’re complex characters who feel real — they have flaws, quirks, likes, and dislikes. Many authors turn to handpicked development questions to [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig LitLinks are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 70,000 free articles on writing related [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethspanncraig.com Complex murder schemes might seem clever, but they often backfire with readers who prefer believable motives and realistic methods. The best mysteries feel like they could actually happen. [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig LitLinks are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 70,000 free articles on writing related [...]
by Angela Ackerman Fear is one of the most powerful emotions we can write about. When readers sense a character is experiencing it, they practically lean in, waiting to see what will happen [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig LitLinks are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 70,000 free articles on writing related [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethspanncraig.com Long setting descriptions make readers’ eyes glaze over. Mine do, too. Usually I’ll skim settings as a reader. The key is to keeping reader attention is weaving essential [...]
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