Taking a Break

posted in: Writing Life 1

I just (figuratively) typed “The End” on the draft of a recently completed novella. It was a great experience, and I enjoyed every minute of the researching, writing, editing, and commiserating with my co-author. But it was done, and my brain needed to step away and take a well-deserved break. After the last read through (does the minor editing EVER end?), I saved the final version, closed the inspirational image on the screen that had filled in for one of … Read More »

Seven Must-Reads for Mystery Writers

posted in: Writing Craft 4

Writers need to read. Extensively. Across genres and styles, preferably, and absolutely within the genres in which they write. Each genre owns its identifiable classics. In mystery fiction, great examples abound. Let’s look at seven that should be on everyone’s reading list. 1. “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” (1841) by Edgar Allan Poe This is the only short story in the list, but it rates at least as importantly as the novels, for the simple reason that it launched … Read More »

RPLA Showcase: Rhett DeVane

2017 Unpublished Mainstream Fiction Parade of Horribles Rhett DeVane Life can become a parade of horribles—the kind you imagine or the kind you never see coming. Rhett DeVane is the published author of adult and middle-grade fiction. She lives in Tallahassee, Florida, where she splits her time between her dental hygiene practice and writing. At the 2017 Royal Palm Literary Award Banquet, author Rhett DeVane won First Place for her Mainstream Fiction. Each year at the RPLA Banquet, authors experience … Read More »

RPLA Showcase: William Speir

2017 Published Historical Fiction Nicaea – The Rise of the Imperial Church William Speir A novel about the political intrigue surrounding the Council of Nicaea 325 AD, which created the blueprint for the Christian churches as a tool of statecraft for the Emperor. Award-winning author William Speir was born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1962, attended the University of Alabama, and graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1984. At the 2017 Royal Palm Literary Award Banquet, author William … Read More »

Seeking Certainty

posted in: Writing Craft 29

Fiction writing is an awkward compendium of art and craft, and one with very few absolutes. A physicist can drop something off a roof and know with certainty what gravity will cause it to do under all conditions. A writer has dozens of rules, conventions, alternatives, options, and style choices. Having written, we then hear from critiquers, readers, editors, and publishers that the work is, or isn’t, cohesive, engaging, properly punctuated, correctly formatted, in the currently preferred style and point … Read More »

The Writing Life: Writing Goals

Marking the change of one year to the next often spurs us to reflect on the recent past and consider how we might change our lives for the better. For writers, this reflection inevitably includes looking at what we have accomplished in our writing life over the past year. For some, this means adding up their published projects. For others, it’s adding up a word count on a work in progress. In 2018, will you finish a book started years … Read More »

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