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 [...]
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 Jessica (J.R.) Lancaster and Jessica Thompson Writing a book with a friend sounds great until you think about all the time one spends in the publishing trenches, effort spent making [...]
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethspanncraig.com Self-editing can’t replace professional editing, but it can make your manuscript stronger before it reaches your editor. Also, the less time your editor spends with your manuscript, 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 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 Timeline errors can derail even the best mysteries. When your sleuth interviews a suspect on Tuesday but refers to it happening on Wednesday two chapters later, readers 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 [...]
by Juliet Allarton Picture the scene: you’ve just put the finishing touches on your mystery novel. Your plot is airtight, your characters are well-rounded, and you’ve built tension like your life depended on [...]
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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