Elizabeth Spann Craig
Bestselling Cozy Mystery Author
Guest Post by Jack Smith You have an interesting and compelling premise for your novel. Your logline is snappy and fetching. Your characters are complex with complex relationships between them. Your plot is lock-step, [...]
by K.M. Weiland, @KMWeiland Backstory is a weapon. And just like any weapon, it can end up doing more harm than good to those who wield it without proper experience and care. But [...]
By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Sometimes I wonder why I outline at all. I never seem to stick to them. In the book that I’m currently writing (already covered, right, since it’s so [...]
by Virginia King, @selkiemoonbooks All new writers are advised to “write what you know” because sticking to your own experience is a recipe for authenticity, for not getting lost in unchartered territory. It [...]
by Heather Day Gilbert, @heatherdgilbert Many people wonder why my second book is a contemporary Appalachian mystery (Miranda Warning), when my debut novel was a Viking historical (God’s Daughter). Although both books are starts [...]
Guest Post by Jack Smith When we think of a novel, we think of a story. We think of characters moving through time, growing due to conflict, coming ultimately to some sort of realization, [...]
By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Over the last couple of years, I’ve transformed into a (very reluctant) outliner. Long story short, I royally screwed up a couple of books really close to deadline [...]
By Dan Morse, @morsedan, author of The Yoga Store Murder In 2011, as a reporter for The Washington Post, I covered the most violent of murders in the least likely of places. Someone had slashed, [...]
Guest Post by Jack Smith In fiction what is “correct” is what works—what creates strong characters, drives the story, and creates the appropriate tone. This applies to grammar and mechanics as well. I’ll have [...]
by Man Martin, @manmartin1 I’ve been reading students’ unpublished novels for a summer class I’m teaching alongside Nancy Zafris at Kenyon College in Ohio. Again and again, I see the same fundamental flaw: the [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s [...]
By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Summer. In some ways, it’s a relief to me because it means I don’t have to keep up as much with the kids’ activities and school-related needs. But [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s [...]
Guest Post by Marsali Taylor, @MarsaliTaylor The world is a more interesting place than our science can explain. I’ve always been at ease with the idea that the world is stranger and more interesting [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig I’ve just finished the latest Southern quilting mystery—book five in that series, due to release in late 2015. So that means, right now, I’m no longer under a [...]
Guest Post by Jack Smith I tend to like fiction that can be read on several different levels. It’s not just a good story; it also points to abstract ideas of various kinds—to themes [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s [...]
By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig I’m an avid reader of mystery writer M.C. Beaton’s (pen name for Marion Chesney’s) books and have been for many years. I keep track of her releases and order [...]
by Nina Amir, @NinaAmir There are many reasons for novelists to enter the realm of nonfiction. However, moving into this unknown territory can feel hard and scary, especially for those who like to [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s [...]
By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Transition issues are common problems in first drafts (later drafts, too). I’ve been guilty of a couple of different transition fouls in past manuscripts. Transitions that are too [...]
By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig The last time I ran a post on mistakes I’d made, it helped illuminate areas I’d fallen behind on so that I could stick them on my calendar [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search alengine(developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s [...]
By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig As I’ve mentioned before, I have a love-hate relationship with outlining. For me and the speed with which I’m writing, it’s become a necessary evil. But I dislike [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search alengine(developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search alengine(developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s [...]
Guest Post by Jack Smith Robert Garner McBrearty, author of the Sherwood Anderson Foundation Fiction Prize for his collection Episode, recently shared a technique he’s been using to draft a novel. Write the whole [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig When I spoke to students recently, they asked a lot of questions and some very good ones. Naturally, though, one of the questions, which won’t surprise any writer [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search alengine(developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s [...]
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