Most readers love a whodunnit story. A trail of clues to follow and reasoning to understand. These types of stories fall into two major categories: mysteries and thrillers. In both types, something dramatic has occurred—a murder or a bomb threat, for example—and we (the reader) want to understand who did it and why. Often, these two genres are thrown together into the same category—one where something needs to be figured out—but they are really two different animals. This pos

Though book clubs have a reputation similar to sewing circles, i.e. more gossip than actually accomplishing anything, this is rarely the actual case, and book clubs can provide several benefits to authors as well as reading enthusiasts. In my experience, the benefits of belonging to a book club—particularly one that fits your target interests—fall into three categories: 1) camaraderie, 2) exposure, and 3) educational growth. Finding Your Tribe Writing is an inherently lonely

When writing a novel, the first aspect that comes to mind for most people is the plot. The events that happen. Usually, there is an idea and maybe a twist at the end. And as important a plot is to the novel, it is neither the first element nor the most important to consider. For me, it is most important to first think through the Dramatic Elements. They are the foundation of the book. When put together, they cover everything that needs to come together to tell a compelling st

Complex stories engage multiple characters in a variety of situations, and it is completely acceptable to tell those stories from more than one character viewpoint. But multiple character POVs does not necessarily mean head-hopping which should be avoided at all costs. Let’s examine the subtle but key difference. Head Hopping Many older books employ this technique as their stories are told with an omniscient narrator who can fully explain what every character is doing and thi

Of the many techniques available to help an author write their novel, focusing a dedicated time on cranking out the first draft is one of the best. NaNoWriMo, or the National Novel Writing Month organization, led this effort for authors for years. That is until a scandal among the leaders basically killed the organization. And though other organizations have tried to fill this space, none have truly established themselves. So, when my online critique group—which is a bit of a

Though I didn’t quite accomplish every thing I set out to do in 2025 (who does?), it was still another successful year in the development of my burgeoning writing career. From writing to editing to publishing, and from short stories to novels, progress was made across the board. Here’s how things worked out for me in 2025: Publications Three of my short stories were published in one form or another, making them available to the public. In July, my superhero sidekick comedy “D

A recent debate sprang up in my online critique group over whether or not to publish a particular story on the website. The story had won...

Speculative Fiction in relation to other genres. As a writer of speculative fiction — and a reader of even more — I'm regularly...

You’ve finished your novel and think you’re ready for a beta read. Are you sure? Like all steps along the planning-writing-editing path...

Taking a coffee break from a rough day of reading. There are many rules of writing, both written and unwritten, that provide structure...

There has been an ongoing debate within my online critique group about whether every character in every story needs a flaw. “Characters...

One idiom I have heard a lot regarding writing—regarding many things, actually—is to first learn the rules before trying to break them. I...

One of my favorite aspects of writing is simply engaging with the English language. There are many fascinating (and weird) aspects to...

Writing short stories is a different animal than writing a full-length novel. Though some elements are similar—both require a plot and a...

(Photo: William Gibson at the Spook Country promotional tour in San Francisco, CA. Taken by Fred Armitage August 2007.) As a relatively...

Writing is a solo occupation. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the author to sit their butt in a chair and put words on a page....

Important books every writer should have on their reference shelf.

So, you have an idea for a story and are putting it down on paper, but as you get the first few paragraphs written, you may think: How much of a story do I really have? How many pages will this be? Is this enough? And without even knowing what you’re writing, I can honestly answer: Yes. Because one beautiful thing about writing fiction is that all stories wind up being the exact length they need to be, and there is a market for each. Microfiction : Not to be confused with poe

Every author has been affected by writer’s block from time to time. It just happens. For whatever reason, we seem to run out of ideas. I...

As the term Speculative Fiction becomes more widely used and accepted, there appears to be a division of the definition. Many believe...