The Maine Crime Writers
Tag Archives: Maine
Stop Making the Police the Villain: Writing Better Amateur Sleuth Mysteries
I’m back this month still talking about amateur sleuths. This time I want to hone in on one of the biggest challenges in writing an amateur sleuth mystery: Why isn’t the police department solving the crime? It may be tempting … Continue reading
Posted in Allison's Posts
Tagged Allison Keeton, amateur sleuth, cozy mystery, Maine, Maine mystery
1 Comment
My Vacation Reading Plan: Part Deux
Last month I wrote about some of the books I’ll be bringing on vacation, when my mornings are spent writing and the rest of each day is a mix of swimming, reading, hiking, reading, eating blueberry pie and reading. If … Continue reading
The Challenges of Writing an Amateur Sleuth Mystery
There are multiple subgenres of mysteries, such as police procedurals, private investigator mysteries, and legal mysteries. I, however, write “amateur sleuth” on the “cozy adjacent” spectrum, emphasizing community and relationships over violence. The most famous amateur sleuth is Miss Marple, … Continue reading
Posted in Allison's Posts
Tagged Agatha Christie, amateur sleuth, Maine, Maine mystery, midcoast maine, Miss Marple, Nancy Drew, writing challenge
4 Comments
Dressing it Maine
John Clark considering an aspect of fiction that I find quite intriguing-smells and sounds. Aside from their ability to set or frame a scene in a story, they can do other things like help the reader to sense a mood, … Continue reading
It’s Mainely a Maine Thing
By Kait Carson One of the many things I love about Maine is that it’s seasonal. We have a minimum of seven, with variations on each theme: Mud, Spring, Black Fly, Summer, Summer in the desert without the breeze, Autumn, … Continue reading
Gratitude
I love it when my turn to blog straddles the November and December holidays. Though it’s dark early and cold often, this time of year puts me in a grateful mood, something to celebrate in these times. It’s easier to … Continue reading
Small Town, Fact or Fiction
Living in a small town while writing about a small town has its challenges. The questions and concerns about my novel swing from “Am I in it?” to “Where did this take place?” — and the inquiries have been pouring … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Allison Keeton, Blaze Orange, friend, Maine, Maine Crime Writers, maine mysteries, midcoast maine, mystery writers, mystery writing, novel, small town
6 Comments
Exploring the Language of Fall
Kate Flora: Sometimes to create a mood, sometimes looking for a theme for a character, and sometimes searching for the perfect epigraph for a chapter, I dive into one of the many books of poetry on my shelves. Often at … Continue reading
Summer and Fall Opportunities
Summer is here, the season of long days, beautiful sunsets, strawberries with breakfast, lunch and dinner and blueberry season ahead. I’m doing my best to ignore the heat dome, the humidity index and all of the rainy Saturdays. Soon we’ll … Continue reading
Risk Placing Real Emotion at the Center of Your Work
Yes, it’s all melting, but if we close our eyes we might remember, standing in the same spot … what we loved. Onward into my post! “If something inside of you is real, we will probably find it interesting, and … Continue reading
