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Zara Altair
Zara Altair
The Hidden Treasures in Your Setting When I first wrote mysteries, I was in awe of writers who could create clues out of the setting. I read Pompeii by Robert Harris and was astonished at how the clues in the story were directly related to volcanic action, mystifying the young aqueduct engineer. The best way to discover…
The Writing Process with Jo Nesbø Interview with Jo Nesbø by the Pacific Northwest Writers Association detailing his beginnings in childhood as a storyteller and his writing process.My favorite quote is the one above: You don’t really know your characters until they start speaking. Tweet: You don’t really know your characters until they start speaking….
Research is Background, Not the Story Historical research, especially for a time when not much original material from the period survives, can be daunting. At any given time my desktop may be covered with notebooks, maps, and reference books. Or I may be looking at a collection of photos I took at the Domus dei…
Photo by Jordan McQueen on Unsplash Backstory and Dreams – New Writer Pitfalls Backstory and Dreams are traps for beginning writers. When you’re just starting out, avoid them. Yes, I know Michael Connelly uses war dreams for Bosch. Use these two story elements with a light touch. Best to avoid them. If you use them at all, wait…
Story Shop has Closed. The concepts still work but I am unable to share examples. Master Mystery Outline Template I am using Story Shop to create a master outline template for mysteries. The software is still in development stage with a generic outline. The developers have plans for outline templates in the future, but in…
From Story Idea to Story Summary Once you create your one-sentence story idea, build out to a summary paragraph to include characters, main story points, and the climax. Expanding your story idea builds your story writing momentum. Years ago Randy Ingermanson proposed a way to summarize your story highlighting the important pivots: three disasters plus…