I did a Q&A on self-publishing for 49 Writers in Anchorage last week, and toward the end of it one of the participants took objection to my depiction of the downside of the writing business. It is possible that, in my zeal* to present a realistic picture of the writing life, I came down too…
Read more AKA bloviating, blowharding, pretending like I know anything…
[From the vaults at stabenow.com, May 21, 2010] This appeared in the MWA 2010 Edgar program guide. The theme this year was “In Good Company.” Donald Westlake’s Tribe by Dana Stabenow The first time I met writers of crime fiction in bulk was at the 1993 Edgar Awards. Donald Westlake was the grand master. I…
I wrote this up for a workshop on query letters I gave somewhere sometime ago. I ran the class through the rules, gave them the sample query letter, and then made them write queries of their own. And then we read them out loud. And then I made ’em do it again. query letters —…
Change, growing from within and forced from without, is the mainspring of character development.—Rita Mae Brown Anticipation is the sweet pain to know whatever’s next–a must for every real writer.—Richard Ford If you happen to be one of the fretful minority who can do creative work, never force an idea; you’ll abort it if you…
Scriptorus interruptus. So, my agent put me in touch with an editor in the UK, one Jane Johnson, who is an author in her own right. Jane very kindly offered to read what I had written so far of Silk and Song, and cast her pearls of wisdom before this humble writing swine. (That would…
[The last of my four June blogs for 49 Writers, No Moose.] I love good science fiction with a consuming passion. I loved Star Trek. TNG, I mean, not TOS. Kirk blows, Picard rocks, game over. I didn’t hate DS9 after the war with the Dominion started, Voyager worked after Seven came on board, and…
The third of my guest blogs on 49 Writers, No Moose in June — I’m writing an historical novel set in the 14th century, and for a long time I obsessed over how to avoid anachronism, particularly in dialogue. [Example: Marco Polo’s granddaughter, Johanna, going to the stables to discover BFF Jaufre fighting off the…
Second of the guest blogs I wrote for 49 Writers, No Moose in June. — The absolute best part of a writer’s life is the research. I’ve written two thrillers, Blindfold Game and Prepared for Rage. For both novels I went on patrol with the US Coast Guard, first on Alex Haley for 16 days…
Reprinted from last month’s guest blog on 49 Writers, No Moose. I was invited to write anything I wanted, about writing or not, so I did. I’ll be posting them here for the next four Fridays. — For years I tried to get an agent because “everybody” told me that the way the publishing game…
Second of the Minotaur Moments in Crime blogs, published a month ago. —– Excuse me, according to no less an authority than the bellhop at the Vintage Hotel in Portland, Oregon, whose acquaintance I made in the elevator during my first book tour, if you are published, you’re not a writer, you’re an author. Okay.…