Mystery Monday

ByZara Altair March 9, 2018

Mystery Monday: Ask Me Anything

Join me on Facebook Live on Mondays for Ask Me Anything chats about writing and reading mysteries.
Great place for mystery lovers to get together.

http://bit.ly/MysteryMondayAMA

Author Interview | The Used Virgin | Uncategorized | Zara Altair

The Author Behind The Story: Interview

ByZara Altair June 20, 2016

First Author Interview My first author interview. I am excited. Thanks so much to fellow author Katherine Hayton for inviting me to interview for her website. Enjoy the interview. If you have any questions, get in touch zara@zaraaltair.com. I love talking with readers and other authors. Zara Altair – The Used VirginPlease tell us a bit about…

Uncategorized

Do You Know Your Mystery Victim?

ByZara Altair November 26, 2019October 26, 2021

The Victim is The Center of Your Mystery The victim in your mystery is more than just a dead body. The victim is the fulcrum for your entire mystery. Without your victim, your sleuth has no mystery to solve, no clues, no suspects to interview, and no killer. Everything in your novel pivots around the…

Author Learning | Creating Characters | Mystery writing | Uncategorized

Unpack Your Story’s Supporting Characters

ByZara Altair July 2, 2018

Individual Characters and the Story In a mystery, supporting characters provide conflict for the detective. Their role in the story is to confound, confuse, lie and make trouble for your protagonist. They enhance the story context and color how your story is revealed. The Character Bible A character bible is the place where you…

Uncategorized

80% of Story Research Doesn’t Show

ByZara Altair May 20, 2016

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…

Novel Writing | Uncategorized

Listen to Your Characters

ByZara Altair May 9, 2017

First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him!– Ray Bradbury The Writer’s Surprise Gift Writer’s know when they are in the zone and the story flows. If you use an outline to hit the main beats of your story, you’ll know what you want to accomplish in the scene.Your characters may be…

Author Interview | Plot | Research | Story Structure | Writing Craft

How to Plan Historical Fiction with Plottr

ByZara Altair August 16, 2021

How I set up and use Plottr to combine historical research with planning the storyline for a mystery.

Mystery Monday: Ask Me Anything

Similar Posts