May 25, 2025
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 [...]
May 19, 2025
by Elizabeth S. Craig If you’ve written cozy mysteries (or read them) for any length of time, you’ve probably encountered this common character dynamic: your amateur sleuth is busily investigating a murder while [...]
May 18, 2025
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 [...]
May 12, 2025
I think drafting is one of those processes we have to make our own, often through trial and error. There are a few of those when you’re a writer: whether to outline [...]
May 11, 2025
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 [...]
May 5, 2025
by Mike Martin, @mike54martin With the publication of Friends are Forever there are now 16 books in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series. I know that sounds like a lot, but the series started [...]
May 4, 2025
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 [...]
April 28, 2025
By Joanna Campbell Slan, @joannaslan Writing Through the Pandemic: Why I Decided to Include COVID-19 in My Cozy Mysteries By Joanna Campbell Slan When I began writing Mask or Raid: Book #17 [...]
April 27, 2025
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 [...]
April 21, 2025
by Elizabeth S. Craig As a reader, I’ve always enjoyed a good subplot. Sometimes, it’s what’s kept me reading a book. I’ll want to see what happens in the B-story, even after I’ve [...]
April 20, 2025
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 [...]
April 14, 2025
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig I’ve both read a book and watched a movie recently that had bad reviews because the audience thought they were going to read/watch one thing and were delivered [...]
April 13, 2025
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 [...]
April 7, 2025
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Today I thought I’d share just a few things that help me make my writing life just a little easier. Maybe some of them will work for you, [...]
April 6, 2025
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 [...]
March 31, 2025
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig When I was starting to write my Memphis BBQ series in about 2009 (assigned as a writer-for-hire for Penguin), I packed up and my husband and two young [...]
March 30, 2025
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 [...]
March 24, 2025
By Patricia Crisafulli, @TrishCrisafulli I was on my way to a writers’ conference where I was teaching a workshop on the objective correlative—a rather complicated way of saying “things that are far [...]
March 23, 2025
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 [...]
March 17, 2025
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig This is one of those posts where I sort of cringe as I write it. It’s not what I would have necessarily believed or even wanted to do [...]
March 16, 2025
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 [...]
March 10, 2025
by Neil Plakcy When I began writing my series of stories based on the concepts of Japanese healing fiction, I discovered that there are many uniquely Japanese literary terms. The popularity of this [...]
March 9, 2025
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 [...]
March 3, 2025
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig I’ve really ramped up my writing in the last couple of years. It’s been even more important to keep myself organized through the process. If I get off [...]
March 2, 2025
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 [...]
February 24, 2025
by Elizabeth Spann Craig At some point in 2024, I hit 60 books. That’s 60 original books that I’ve penned. The only reason I noticed this is because my family kept asking me [...]
February 23, 2025
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 [...]
February 16, 2025
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 [...]
February 10, 2025
When I’ve given talks, I’ve frequently mentioned that I grew up in a library. This is pretty much the case. My dad was a high school English teacher, and we were often at [...]
February 9, 2025
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 [...]
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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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
amateur detective, character dynamics, character relationships, cozy mystery, fiction techniques, mystery tension, mystery writing, sleuth development, writing craft, Writing the Cozy Mystery, writing tips
by Elizabeth S. Craig If you’ve written cozy mysteries (or read them) for any length of time, you’ve probably encountered this common character dynamic: your amateur sleuth is busily investigating a murder while someone close to them—a spouse, romantic interest, parent, or friend—is desperately trying to keep them out of danger. This protective figure is practically a cozy mystery staple, and with good reason. They create tension, provide realistic opposition to the sleuth’s sometimes risky behavior, and often serve as a sounding board for theories. But they can also [...]
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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
#AuthorLife, #Drafting, #EditingTips, #NovelWriting, #WritingCommunity, #WritingHabits, #WritingJourney, #WritingProcess
I think drafting is one of those processes we have to make our own, often through trial and error. There are a few of those when you’re a writer: whether to outline or not, how to develop characters, and whether you edit afterward or as you go. There are never any right or wrong answers, only what works best for you. I had a writer reach out to me, asking what my drafting process is. I think sometimes we want to just get a little validation that our [...]
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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
#AuthorLife, #BookCovers, #CanadianMysteries, #CoverDesign, #FriendsAreForever, #MysteryBooks, #Newfoundland, #SgtWindflower
by Mike Martin, @mike54martin With the publication of Friends are Forever there are now 16 books in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series. I know that sounds like a lot, but the series started in 2012. The old writer’s joke is: How do you get to be an older, established writer? Keep writing and don’t die! That means we have had to come up with 16 somewhat different covers that all fit within the general theme of what might be a Sgt. Windflower Mystery. And while you certainly can’t judge [...]
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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
By Joanna Campbell Slan, @joannaslan Writing Through the Pandemic: Why I Decided to Include COVID-19 in My Cozy Mysteries By Joanna Campbell Slan When I began writing Mask or Raid: Book #17 in the Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series, I faced a dilemma that many authors have grappled with since 2020: should I acknowledge the pandemic that had dramatically reshaped our world, or should I create an alternate reality where COVID-19 never happened? This wasn’t just a practical question about setting and timeline—it was a deeper consideration about 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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig As a reader, I’ve always enjoyed a good subplot. Sometimes, it’s what’s kept me reading a book. I’ll want to see what happens in the B-story, even after I’ve lost interest in the A-story. As a writer, I’ve tried different ways of writing subplots. One of the most important things, I think, is to have some sort of resolution to them. This is especially important if you’re writing a series where the main plot doesn’t wrap up at the end of the book. Something needs 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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig I’ve both read a book and watched a movie recently that had bad reviews because the audience thought they were going to read/watch one thing and were delivered something very different. This can probably be carried off if you have a rewarding twist of some kind. Gone Girl, which starts out as a missing person story before transforming into a psychological thriller and From Dawn to Dusk, which begins as a crime thriller before morphing into something very different come to mind. But there wasn’t [...]
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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Today I thought I’d share just a few things that help me make my writing life just a little easier. Maybe some of them will work for you, too. Remember, the key to a productive writing life is finding what works best for you. Consider experimenting with these tips and adapting them to fit your unique style and circumstances. Put your writing on your planner. And . . . bonus tip. . . have a planner. If you’re juggling writing along with parenting, caregiving, [...]
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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig When I was starting to write my Memphis BBQ series in about 2009 (assigned as a writer-for-hire for Penguin), I packed up and my husband and two young kids went to Memphis. I needed to get the lay of the land, and I was getting an incomplete picture of the city from the internet. There I toured the restaurants, listened to the music on Beale Street, and took in the sights. The last thing I wanted to do was make any mistakes and hear [...]
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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
By Patricia Crisafulli, @TrishCrisafulli I was on my way to a writers’ conference where I was teaching a workshop on the objective correlative—a rather complicated way of saying “things that are far more than just things” because they trigger emotions in characters and readers, alike. The night before, I had combed my memory and my bookshelves for what I thought were three solid examples: the stolen painting in Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch, the sorcerer’s stone in Harry Potter, and “Rosebud,” the little wooden sled in Citizen Kane. Then, [...]
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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig This is one of those posts where I sort of cringe as I write it. It’s not what I would have necessarily believed or even wanted to do when I was starting out in the early 2000s. But here it is: I think readers don’t really want new and different with a long-running series. First off, a proviso. Of course writers should do anything they want to do with their writing and their series. They’re the creators. It’s very important for writers to be [...]
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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
by Neil Plakcy When I began writing my series of stories based on the concepts of Japanese healing fiction, I discovered that there are many uniquely Japanese literary terms. The popularity of this form, of haiku, and even of K-drama, can help with all kinds of writing. Here are fifteen of the ones I’ve found, along with ways they can be used to generate emotional depth in your work. You don’t need to use the specific term—just understand how it can be used. Aware You can use the Japanese [...]
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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig I’ve really ramped up my writing in the last couple of years. It’s been even more important to keep myself organized through the process. If I get off track, it’s easy to make mistakes. And publishing isn’t the most forgiving industry. Here’s what my process looks like and how I keep things straight: I start loading the book onto retail sites. For me it’s Draft2Digital, KDP, Google Play, PublishDrive, and IngramSpark. I also load the book onto Prolific Works so I can share it [...]
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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
by Elizabeth Spann Craig At some point in 2024, I hit 60 books. That’s 60 original books that I’ve penned. The only reason I noticed this is because my family kept asking me how many mysteries I’d written until I sat down and actually counted them up. I didn’t mark this milestone because I didn’t realize when I’d reached it, and I’m past it now. But it did make me take a moment to reflect. Here are some things I’ve learned about having written 60+ books As I mentioned, [...]
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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
When I’ve given talks, I’ve frequently mentioned that I grew up in a library. This is pretty much the case. My dad was a high school English teacher, and we were often at the library. He was reading different newspapers and grading essays, and I’d be immersed in mysteries (first Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden, then Agatha Christie). Now I use the library in a lot of different ways. Here are a few of them. Every library is different, but if a service sounds interesting, go online or drive [...]
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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Before last year, the last time I’d launched a new series was in 2019. In a lot of ways, the series from 2019 seems like a brand-new series still. I guess it is, compared to the other series that had their starts back in 2009 or 2010. Fortunately, I remembered my top tip from 2019 about releasing a new series. Release the first book of your new series on the same day you release a book from a long-running series. This is a [...]
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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig I’m always looking for ways to improve as a writer. Sometimes, the information out there on the writing craft can be a little overwhelming. Actually, it can be a lot overwhelming. But there are small steps you can take that can make a big impact on your writing. 5 Tips to Improve Your Craft in 2025 Read Widely: This is a tough one for me, because I always naturally gravitate toward mysteries. But reading widely and intentionally has made a difference in my writing. [...]
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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
by Katie East A well-crafted crime and the ensuing investigation are at the heart of any good crime fiction story. When that crime involves a mysterious death, incorporating accurate forensic anthropology can ensure the story is believable, logical, and entertaining. But where do you even start? My name is Dr. Katie East, I am a board-certified forensic anthropologist and avid reader of crime fiction, and I am here to help. What is forensic anthropology (and what it is not) Forensic anthropology is the investigation of human remains in [...]
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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Happy New Year! I hope you have a great 2025. I’m still trying to get beyond the feeling that “2025” is squarely in the Jetson’s category. If you’re like a lot of writers, you might be looking at ways to develop a writing habit this year. Not all writers are routine-driven (sometimes routines can make people feel more anxious than less so), so be sure to change tacks if this advice doesn’t work fo you. Set realistic goals. This is something you’ll read about [...]
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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig I’ve read several mysteries lately that have surprised me. For a while, I’ve thought all mystery writers understood that mysteries are meant to be interactive affairs. The reader serves almost as a sidekick, following along with the sleuth as they uncover clues, interview suspects, and draw conclusions. That’s the fun of reading the genre. But these books all had a part where the sleuth sees something, remembers something or realizes something and doesn’t share it with the reader. It’ll be something like: Mary looked [...]
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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig I’ve read a lot from writers who liken releasing a book to birthing a child. I totally get where they’re coming from; there are plenty of similarities. But the difference, in my opinion, is that when you birth a child it’s just the start of the real labor. The real labor is raising that child for the next couple of decades.What you don’t want to do with a book is spend the next couple of decades with it. It’s usually the time when you [...]
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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
by Mike Martin, @mike54martin.bsky.social Some people believe that Christmas can only be the celebration of the birth of the baby Jesus. Others who are more secular think that it is a time to gather with family and good friends to eat and toast the season. Some also simply like to decorate, or sing carols, or drink eggnog. With or without the rum. Still others like to shop and wrap and give or receive presents. Lots of presents. So, who’s right? I think everyone should celebrate Christmas as they see fit [...]
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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig Crutch words are a funny thing. When I first started seriously writing, in the early 2000s, the overused words I leaned on were different from the ones I have now. Kind of shocking to me is the fact that I still use them at all. I’ve been writing long enough that you’d think I’d recognize what I’m doing as soon as I type one. But it rarely happens, probably because I’m in the zone and pushing words forward. When I’m editing my books, I notice [...]
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 topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you’re there, check out the Writer’s Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer. Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here. Follow the WKB [...]
Sharing the Books I Wrote in the Past Brings Me as Much Meaning and Purpose as Writing Them Did. Here’s Why. By Norman Shabel A fundamental question people grapple with at all stages of life is: what brings me purpose and meaning? From a young age, one answer stood out to me: writing fiction. By the time I was in my twenties I had drafted several novels. Eventually, I penned 7 plays and 8 novels. Putting stories on paper then bringing them out into the world has always brought [...]
Sharing the Books I Wrote in the Past Brings Me as Much Meaning and Purpose as Writing Them Did. Here’s Why. By Norman Shabel A fundamental question people grapple with at all stages of life is: what brings me purpose and meaning? From a young age, one answer stood out to me: writing fiction. By the time I was in my twenties I had drafted several novels. Eventually, I penned 7 plays and 8 novels. Putting stories on paper then bringing them out into the world has always brought [...]