Ten Reasons to Write Crime Fiction

Crime fiction is as popular now as it's ever been. Some readers love it because they enjoy solving puzzles. Others like experiencing all the dark and dangerous things they'd prefer to avoid in real life. Still more just want to see justice done. So much for the readers. What compels crime writers to grab their … Continue reading Ten Reasons to Write Crime Fiction

Introducing “Advice for Writers”

This website has expanded organically over the years. Some might say chaotically. Like a much-loved but ill-tended garden, it's sprouted all kinds of weird and wonderful fauna, resulting in a dense tangle of vegetation that's become increasingly difficult to manage, much less navigate. So, I've done a little pruning. First, I scrambled back through all … Continue reading Introducing “Advice for Writers”

Storytelling – When Will It Ever End?

Many stories share a common structure derived from just three component parts: Premise Conflict Resolution Or, if you prefer: “Where the hell am I and what the hell’s going on?” “Aw jeez – can you make this any more difficult?” “Wow – who’d have thought we’d end up here?” Think of almost any story, and … Continue reading Storytelling – When Will It Ever End?

What is Story?

"What is story?" That’s one of the prickly questions tackled by screenwriting guru Robert McKee in his book Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting, which does a remarkable job of both dissecting the craft of the storyteller, and inspiring the reader to stop shirking and get to work. At the heart of … Continue reading What is Story?

Ten Reasons to Write Fantasy

“Why don’t you write something normal for a change?” That’s what my wife says to me occasionally after she’s read a piece of fantasy I've written. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t like it (well, not always). It’s just another reminder that one man’s meat is another woman’s poison. So, why bother to write fantasy at … Continue reading Ten Reasons to Write Fantasy

Ten Reasons to Write Horror

Some people seem to think that, just because a novel is labeled as fantasy or crime, romance or historical, it should be devoid of horror. "I liked your book," they say, "except for that nasty bit in the middle. Couldn't you have left that out?" My response to any such question is: "No! And thrice no!" Why? … Continue reading Ten Reasons to Write Horror

Another Interview with the Ghostwriter

I've finished another edit. I've submitted another manuscript. That means I'm two-thirds of the way through my latest ghostwriting odyssey, with two novels of a middle-grade fantasy trilogy completed and one to go. Book One is due to be published this summer, with the sequels rolling out in 2016 and 2017 respectively. After finishing Book One, I … Continue reading Another Interview with the Ghostwriter

“Talus and the Frozen King” – First Draft VS Final

At what point does homage become pastiche? That's the question I came up against when I wrote my Neolithic murder mystery Talus and the Frozen King. While the novel is unashamedly inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic stories about Victorian detective Sherlock Holmes, I was determined that my tale of ancient crime and punishment … Continue reading “Talus and the Frozen King” – First Draft VS Final

Ghostwriter Diaries – On Pseudonyms

The novel I ghostwrote earlier this year will be published soon, under pseudonym. Today, I learned what that pseudonym is to be. It's a strange feeling, acquainting yourself with someone who doesn't exist … yet who is in many respects your own self. Like looking into a mirror and seeing a stranger staring back. The … Continue reading Ghostwriter Diaries – On Pseudonyms

Where Do Writers Get Their Ideas?

Where do you get your ideas from? It's the cliché question every fiction writer gets asked. Over and over again. It bugs the hell out of some people, but I rather like trying to come up with answers, because the creative process fascinates me. I say "answers" in the plural, because I believe the muses … Continue reading Where Do Writers Get Their Ideas?