The Maine Crime Writers
Tag Archives: writing craft
How Character Background Shapes Pressure
Vaughn Hardacker here. Several weeks ago, I received an email from ade@speedymetric.com, the CEO of speedymetric.com, asking if I would consider interviewing for a blog on the third novel in my Michael Houston & Anne Bouchard series: How Character Background … Continue reading
This isn’t about when the cat threw up on the bed, but it could be
Back a little more than 40 years ago, I had just started as a reporter at my second newspaper, the now-defunct Haverhill (Mass.) Gazette. It was a very shallow step up from my first job, at the also now-defunct Biddeford … Continue reading
The question isn’t ‘Is it original?’, but ‘Is it yours?’
An article in the newspaper the other day gave me that uncomfortable feeling a lot of authors get at least once in a while — there’s my story (kind of) and now no one is going to think my book … Continue reading
Posted in Maureen's Posts, Uncategorized
Tagged Shakespeare, writing craft, writing ideas
3 Comments
Walking the tightrope of writing a mystery series
One question I’m frequently asked by readers is “Do I have to read your books in order?” The short answer is no. Then again, when do I ever give a short answer? I usually tell the asker no, you don’t, … Continue reading
Posted in Maureen's Posts
Tagged Bernie O'Dea mystery series, Mystery readers, Writing a series, writing craft
6 Comments
There’s no such thing as the right write space
Happy August 27! Where did the summer go? Rhetorical question. You and I both know it’s been lost in a haze of brown-tail moth rashes, unbearable humidity, people with out of state plates stopping in the middle of one of … Continue reading
Posted in Maureen's Posts
Tagged Bernie O'Dea mystery series, comfort while writing, Milliken, writing craft
4 Comments
But We’re Really Spying on You
Kate Flora: Some years ago, I was speaking to a high school class about writing, and I was talking to them about how, as writers, we need to train ourselves to be observant. “You think you are here to watch me,” … Continue reading
There’s no such thing as the right write space
In the last Boston Sunday Globe, there was a feature on the writer Elin Hilderbrand. Seems she likes to write at the beach. There she is yucking it up in a bikini, pad and pen in hand, sun beating down. … Continue reading
Posted in Maureen's Posts
Tagged Bernie O'Dea mystery series, comfort while writing, Milliken, writing craft
1 Comment
The 10 Writing and Editing Stages of the Successful Novel
I know that tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and all the cool kids are therefore writing about all the things they’re thankful for. I definitely have many, many things to thank the universe for this year: a lovely new home, a cat-and-puppy … Continue reading
Ten Tips for Tuning Up Your Descriptions
Kate Flora: There are so many challenges facing a writer who is trying to craft fiction that sometimes descriptions fall far down the list. By the time an author has developed a cast of characters, created a plot filled with twists … Continue reading
