Give Your Hero the Right Tool for the Right Job
Unlike Batman, your protagonist isn't like to have a handy Bat-tool to help them out of a specific situation. While it might be handy...
Setting is the Key to Gothic Atmosphere
In a new blog post, DeAnna Knippling says that setting is the key to creating a good gothic story.
"In order for a gothic to...
Don’t Make the Cure Simpler than the Disease
In a post on the SFWA blog, Ashley Deng offers advice for writing about fictional pandemics and avoiding the cliche of the dramatically-timed cure.
First,...
Writing Thrillers: Make a Promise to Your Reader
Every story needs a sense of suspense to keep readers engaged and turning pages, so every writer can learn something from the art of...
What All Writers Can Learn from Horror
There's a lot more to horror stories than horny teenagers and machetes. In a new blog post, Kristen Lamb talks about the lessons writers...
Learning to Create Tension from The Comfort of Strangers
One of the key elements of great suspense or psychological thriller stories is a sense of disorientation. When a protagonist doesn't know if they...
Sherlock’s Violin: Humanize Your Sleuth With Hobbies
We all have hobbies and interests, so why shouldn't your fictional detective? Hardboiled crime fiction is rife with private eyes who like booze and...
Use Cultural Taboos to Add Depth and Detail to Your Historical...
In a long article for Lit Hub, Aimee Parkison shares how researching cultural taboos, particularly customs that forbid women from participating in certain behaviors,...
Psychological Thrillers Start Close to Home
In a post on CrimeReads, author Nicci French - a pseudonym for the writing partnership of Nicci Gerrard and Sean French - say that...
5 Tips for Creating an Eerie Atmosphere
While not every reader is a horror fan, plenty love to be scared. A good fright gives us the same natural high we get...
