Author Pen Names – Are Noms De Plume Obsolete?
P. L. Travers, Mark Twain, Robert Galbraith – these are all fictitious names used by writers. In this case, Helen Goff, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, and Joanne Rowling. But you knew that, right? Most writers have read at least one...
Happy Thanksgiving!
ERROR: 404 — Blog Post Not Found Bummer! We are off enjoying a Thanksgiving holiday. Eating turkey, drinking wine, and incapacitated from devouring not one but two of grandma’s pies. Have a marvy holiday. Our...
Multiple Arrest Warrants – What is a character to do?
Todd from Utah is revising a manuscript involving a character with multiple arrest warrants in different states. His character is arrested and charged in New York for insider trading, then flees to Oklahoma where he is arrested...
Inside the Courtroom: Little Stuff that can be Big Stuff
Very few non-lawyers write legal thrillers, but many authors include courtroom scenes in their books. I often find these scenes lacking not in drama or suspense but in authenticity and I suspect the writer is drawing more on what...
Making Fiction Stranger (or at least more compelling) Than Truth
The presidential campaign of 2016 is – blessedly – almost over. If you’re like me, you can’t wait to be done with it. On the other hand, to the fiction writer, the election has been morbidly fascinating, with the obscure,...