by Joslyn Chase |
Whenever I’m planting a clue in a mystery novel I’m writing, I feel so exposed—like I’m waving a red flag and announcing a clue has been served. Experience has helped lay those fears (mostly) to rest. With skillful weaving into the story, clues and foreshadowing blend in or are seen but soon forgotten by readers.
Without spoonfeeding your audience, you must place all the pieces on the table, allowing readers to actively participate in solving the puzzle. When making your first attempts at writing mystery, it can be difficult to find that balance between too much and too little.
Take a look at our best guide to clues and red herrings here.
by Joe Bunting |
If you want to get published, you need to be aware that major New York publishers are looking for a specific word count, depending on your genre. Your fantasy novel word count needs to be different than your YA Fiction book, which has a different word count from other books.
How many words are in a novel? Or at least one in which publishers might be interested? In this post, we’re going to explain word count and how it affects your chances of publishing success.
Ready to write your novel? Check out our definitive guide, How To Write Write a Novel: The Complete Guide, here.
How long is the average book? And how long should your book be? Here’s a quick summary:
by Joe Bunting |
Let’s start with the obvious: You don’t know how to write a book. I’ve written seven books, and I don’t really know how to write a book either. I have a process that works, sure, but with writing, as with many things in life, it’s always when you think you know what you’re doing that you get into trouble.
So let’s just admit right now, you don’t know how to write a book, and definitely not in 100 days, and that’s okay. There, don’t you feel better?
by Joslyn Chase |
A thriller is not just a rollercoaster ride, but like a whole day at a theme park with head-of-the-line privileges. Ride after wild ride with maybe just enough down time to eat a corndog and take a bathroom break. The necessary ingredients for a thriller include conflict, tension, and suspense, all tied up in a nice, twisty package.
by Joslyn Chase |
So you want to know how to write a mystery novel. I’m delighted to hear it. I’ve been a mystery lover since I hid behind the Lincoln Logs in Mrs. Jenkins third grade classroom so I could finish my first Nancy Drew, undisturbed. Mystery hooked me that day, and has been leading me around by the nose ever since.
by Jeff Elkins |
I dream of a day when I can wake up, sip my coffee, write some morning pages, and then work on my latest novel until dinner. Unfortunately for me, and for many of you, that day is not today.
I’ve got kids and a house and bills, so I have to work full-time. Even so, over the past four years, I’ve published five novels, three novellas, and countless short stories.
How do I write books while working full-time? There are five things I’ve had to do to make this a reality.
