Avoiding Police Stereotypes in Novels

Mystery Writing Tips, Uncategorized

by   J.J. Hensley, @JJHensleyauthorResolve

As most of you, I’ve read hundreds of mysteries and thrillers.  And as most of you, I’ve recognized that many of them can be formulaic and use characters that are really cookie cutter stereotypes.  I think one of the most overused characters in the mystery/thriller/suspense genre is the police officer who is incompetent, apathetic, or outright corrupt.

Now in the interest of full disclosure, I spent a decade in local and Federal law enforcement, so I have no illusions at objectivity.  However, the fact of the matter is that 99% of the law enforcement community is hard-working, intelligent, and caring.  The problem is that many storylines benefit from having a detective who isn’t doing her job, or a patrol officer planting evidence, or an FBI agent taking a bribe.  It adds drama and there is a bit of shock value when someone in a position of authority fails to do his job.  But, perhaps our writing can improve and be more unpredictable if we avoid using these stereotypes.Continue reading

Passages of Time and Transitions

Writing Tips

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraigfile9271237667217

Transition issues are common problems in first drafts (later drafts, too).  I’ve been guilty of a couple of different transition fouls in past manuscripts.

Transitions that are too long and boring:

When I was writing my first book, I had a lot of trouble with getting characters where they needed to be. This resulted in a lot of really boring, pointless scenes where the narrative went something like this:  Jenny decided to head over to the restaurant to find out more about what Thomas was doing the night of the murder.  She found her keys and hurried out to her car.  On the trip to the Italian restaurant, she mulled over what she was going to ask Thomas.  Upon arrival at the restaurant…blah!  Dreck.

I think I believed it would be too choppy to suddenly pick up with the character at the Italian restaurant.  Or that it was cheating.  I’m not sure what was going through my head, but it took an editor to tell me to get rid of it all.Continue reading

About ‘Marketing to Writers’

Business of Writing, Promo Tips

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraigfile4661306949432

I read many posts online where writers worry over centering their platforms on writing and writers.  ‘Marketing to writers’ is the phase I read over and over.

This is because many writers (well, most of the writers I see, actually…me included) are blogging to writers, commenting on other writers’ blogs, and sharing writing tips with other writers.  We make friends through our blogs and those writing friends of ours follow us onto our other hangouts online (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.).Continue reading

Twitterific Writing Links

Twitterific

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraigBlog

Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

Quick note of congratulations to a past guest blogger here, translator Julie Rose, on the release of a trade paperback version of The Greenland Breach (written by Bernard Besson).

Discover the Reason You Don’t Write:  http://ow.ly/wdsf3 @ninaamir

Write a thriller: Conceal to create suspense in writing:  http://ow.ly/wds1d @MattReesAuthor           Continue reading

Thoughts on Reader Reviews

Business of Writing, Uncategorized

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraigCustomer Reviews

I’ve learned not to talk to my family about reviews.  I’ve seen them flinch in the past when I’ve mentioned some of the negative things said about my books. I realize that they haven’t developed that ability to be detached about it yet.  To them, a negative review is as hurtful as if someone publicly said something negative about me.

For me, it’s not like that.  Not unless, maybe, it’s been a bad, bad day and the review is the final straw. Or if I’ve lost a reader.  That’s probably the single most hurtful thing I can read from a reviewer—something along the lines of: “I’ve read all her other books but after this one I won’t be buying any more.”  That does have the power to really mess up my afternoon…if I let it.Continue reading

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