On Writing
How to Keep on Writing When the World is on Fire
By Paula Munier Okay, so the world is on fire. But that’s no excuse not to get our writing done. Or is it? Admittedly, the chaos happening out there in the world can distract us even when we’re tucked inside our writing room away from it all. Because we are living in...
Variations on a Theme: A Round-Up of Advice, from Sam Abell to William Butler Yeats
Forget English class. Theme is simple: Your theme is what your story is really about. In this Career Authors Round-Up, you'll discover what these terrific writers past and present have to say about theme. “In my first class at the University of Kentucky, my American...
Let Go or Get Dragged: A Mantra for Writers
by Paula Munier I have a magnet on my refrigerator that says, “Let go or get dragged.” It’s a reminder, as the Buddhists say, that holding on to possessions, people, even our thoughts and emotions is not good for us. There’s a wonderful scene in the TV series Life...
CHARACTER 101: A round-up of advice from bestselling authors on creating compelling characters, from Isabel Allende to August Wilson
When it comes to writing fiction, it’s all about character. Even in genre fiction, where plot may be seen to rule, it’s still all about character. As my editor, Pete Wolverton of Minotaur/ St. Martin’s Press, and the recipient of the prestigious Ellery Queen Award,...
You’ve Got the Chops, Now Write a Break-Out Book
As an agent and author, I spend a lot of time at conferences meeting writers looking to break into traditional publishing. And so many of these writers are THIS close to getting published. Meaning that they’ve been working hard on their craft, putting in the ten...
Fun with Story Structure: 10 Frameworks for the Novel
Structure is the underpinning of the novel, the pillars that support the narrative from beginning to end. Without a strong structure, your story can fall in on itself, like a Jenga puzzle in freefall. But that doesn’t mean structure has to be boring. Here are 10...
Writerly Wit and Wisdom: The Best One-Liners from David Baldacci, Alex Finlay, Lisa Gardner, John Grisham, Charlaine Harris, Jennifer Hillier, David Morrell, Walter Mosley, Neil Nyren, John Sandford, Lisa Scottoline & Lisa Unger
For me, the coolest part of writers’ conferences is the off-the-cuff words of wisdom you hear from the great crime writers of our time. I take notes—and at the recent ThrillerFest 2025 I gathered some great advice from some master storytellers. Here’s a quick round-up...
WRITING IN THE AGE OF DIGITAL DISTRACTION: 7 ways to beat clickbait and focus on work
We live in a world more determined than ever to distract us—and the distractions are winning. More than sixty percent of us find ourselves distracted at work by social media, emails, and other digital communications, according to a recent study by Udemy. We’re losing...
Hope is the Thing with Feathers
Metaphor is the lifeblood of language. And no one knows this better than poets. As the month of April comes to a close, and with it National Poetry Month, it would behoove all of us writers, poets or not, to remind ourselves of the power of the metaphor. Here’s a...
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