Uncategorized

Twitterific Writing Links

May 11, 2014June 8, 2014Twitterific, Uncategorized, Writing Tips

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

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.

Thanks to Prashant C. Trikannad for the generous review of Body in the Backyard and interview with me on his blog, Chess, Comics, Crosswords, Music, Cinema. We discussed why I chose an octogenarian sleuth for the Myrtle Clover series, small town murder, and my writing process, among other things.

And it’s Mother’s Day in the States. :) A happy day to all the moms out there…including mine, Beth Spann.

26 Types Of English Majors: http://ow.ly/wsByJ @buzzfeedbooks

Best Method for Handling Rejections (and getting published): http://ow.ly/wsBFD @EricaVerrillo

Google Plus Tips and Tools: http://ow.ly/wsC7N @steverayson

How to share your content more than once without being spammy: http://ow.ly/wsC5r @kissmetricsContinue reading

Avoiding Police Stereotypes in Novels

May 9, 2014May 7, 2014Mystery Writing Tips, Uncategorized

by J.J. Hensley, @JJHensleyauthor

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

Thoughts on Reader Reviews

May 2, 2014May 1, 2014Business of Writing, Uncategorized

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

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

Reading

April 11, 2014April 10, 2014Uncategorized

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Reading and writing have always gone hand in hand with me. I read early and read books I found around the house or at the library, whether they were intended for me or not. I remember making up stories to fit the covers of adult books when I was in kindergarten.

I can’t imagine not fitting in reading now, no matter how crazy life gets. It would be like not fitting in time for lunch or something. I fit it into spare minutes during the day and a bit longer at night before falling asleep.Continue reading

Speaking to Students about Writing

April 2, 2014March 30, 2014Uncategorized

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

When I was asked to speak to the 8^th graders at the local middle school, my first thought was, “Oh cool…I can encourage young people to write.” Then I thought, “Uh-oh. But these are middle schoolers. And middle schoolers are scary.”

Then there was a sense of relief that my daughter at that school is in 7^th grade and wouldn’t be embarrassed by me, no matter what.Continue reading