Worldbuilding Should Reinforce Character and Plot
In their newest episode, the Writing Excuses hosts start a new series on worldbuilding. They talk with guest Fonda Lee about her process, which...
Not Hitting Your KPIs? Schedule a Staff Meeting With Yourself
With 2 months left in the year, it's a good time to check in on your writing goals. If you didn't quite make the...
Why are the Crazy Ones Always So Hot?
From Lucifer on down, we are culturally attracted to beautiful killers. The list is lengthy, but for many, it starts and ends with serial...
Don’t Preach: Craft an Emotional Experience When Writing Big Topics
In a post on Writer Unboxed, Kathryn Craft discusses the challenges of tackling important issues in your writing, while avoiding preachiness. Instead, Craft urges...
Re-Thinking the Passive “Was”
This editor admits: the overuse of the passive "was" in fiction is one of our biggest pet peeves. In fact, it's our major bone...
“Don’t ‘Yee-Haw’ Me!”: On Writing Competent Dialect
The use of dialect in fiction is an oft-debated subject. While its foes are adamant it should never be attempted, an equal number of...
Pants or No Pants, Your Butt Needs To Be in the Seat
There's only one unalterable rule of writing: eventually, you have to write. Not think about, talk about, take a class about it, but actually...
Here’s to Better Sex in Crime Fiction
In writing, as in life, there's nothing like great sex. Unfortunately, after we're done, we often have to admit...that was nothing like great sex. This...
When Do You Know It’s Time to Cut Your Losses?
The sunk cost fallacy is a theory of human nature that says people will continue to invest in something - financially or emotionally -...
One Writer’s Simple Trick for Brainstorming the Future
Science fiction writers have been predicting elements of the future - and our present - for decades. While we don't yet have holodeck and...
