Mystery
How to Add Authenticity to your Historical Fiction...
Posted by Our Special Guest | Feb 15, 2023
How to Bury Clues in Your Mystery Novel
Posted by Dana Isaacson | Jan 24, 2022
Hope is an Active Verb! 5 Ways to Keep Writing
Posted by Our Special Guest | Nov 17, 2021
How to be A Rock Star Author: Five Things Playing in Bands Taught Me About Writing
by Our Special Guest | Sep 29, 2021 | Craft, Mystery
Can being a real rock star help you become a rock star author? Novelist (and bass player) Clea Simon reveals how “on stage” can go onto the page.
Read More6 Twisty Ways to Trick Your Reader
by Dana Isaacson | Aug 2, 2021 | Craft, Genre, Mystery
Bestseller lists are chock full of novelists who have mastered the art of misdirection. Editor Dana Isaacson reveals 6 twisty tricks of the trade.
Read MoreThe Art of the Twist – How to Shock, Surprise & Satisfy Your Readers
by Brian Andrews | Dec 14, 2020 | Craft, Mystery, Thriller
The key to pulling off an epic twist is three-fold: (1) understanding exactly what kind of twist you’re trying to pull off, (2) properly controlling the flow of critical information to the reader, (3) not disappointing the reader by failing to deliver the goods.
Read MoreHow to Write a Book Series that Pleases Readers Old and New
by Our Special Guest | Sep 23, 2020 | Craft, Mystery
Bestselling writer Marty Wingate offers reader-pleasing tips on creativity and continuity for ambitious novelists writing a book series.
Read MoreWhat is Your Why? Finding Your Character’s Motivation
by Hank Phillippi Ryan | Jun 29, 2020 | Mystery, Thriller
In a novel, of any genre, the engine is the character’s decision making. Our job as authors is to understand why they do what they do–and allow it to reveal who they are. Hank Phillippi Ryan has some reasons you might use for a character’s motivation.
Read MoreCareer Authors Exclusive: Interview with Paula Munier
by Brian Andrews | Oct 23, 2019 | Mystery, Special Interview
As fate would have it, Paula and Brian have new books releasing on the same day (November 5th) and so they’ve decided to interview each other in a Career Authors exclusive double feature. This week, Paula is up first, answering questions about BLIND SEARCH, a mystery inspired by the true search-and-rescue case of an autistic boy who got lost in the Vermont wilderness
Read MoreWriting Book #2: A Post-Mortem
by Paula Munier | Apr 29, 2019 | Craft, Life, Mystery
Writing your second novel can be surprisingly tough slog of rewriting and reimagining and rewriting again. Here are the lessons I learned writing my Book #2, lessons I hope will facilitate the writing of Book #3.
Read MoreWriting Real News vs. Mystery Fiction: When a Reporter Gets to Make Stuff Up
by Our Special Guest | Apr 22, 2019 | Mystery
When reporter RG Belsky gets to make stuff up as a mystery writer, he finds similarities between fiction writing and journalism — starting with these 6 lessons.
Read MoreWhat You Can Learn about Writing Cozy Mysteries from Hallmark Christmas Movies
by Our Special Guest | Dec 21, 2018 | Mystery
Christmas movies are the cozies of the TV movie world. Here are 6 things you can learn from them about writing cozy mysteries.
Read MoreAn Interview with Paula Munier on Her Launch Day
by Laura DiSilverio | Sep 11, 2018 | Craft, Life, Mystery
Paula Munier—agent, writing teacher, and debut novelist—talks to Career Authors about the challenges of writing a series featuring a dog as a main characters, the challenges of tackling the second book, and how life as a military brat affects the way she writes setting.
Read MoreFormula for Writing a Cozy Mystery, Part 7: Pets
by Laura DiSilverio | Aug 29, 2018 | Mystery
Cozies and cats go together like peanut butter and jelly or Bert and Ernie. That might make it seem as if you can toss a tabby randomly into your cozy manuscript and your work is done. Not so fast. You have a few decisions to make before plunking a Pekingese into the first paragraph.
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