I THINK THIS IS WHERE WE CAME IN by John M. Floyd A few months ago I did a column on “outlining” stories, and the fact that some writers like to do it and some don’t. I also admitted that I’m one of those who do outline short stories, or at least map them out […]

CHARACTER SKETCH by John M. Floyd One of the things I’ve always found difficult, as a writer, is presenting characters in a way that makes them real and believable and interesting to the reader. In fact — because it’s an extremely important element of fiction — it’s something I work hard to try to improve, […]

CONFERENCE NOTES by John M. Floyd It’s now been almost a full week1 since I got home from Bouchercon, and even though several of my Criminal Brief colleagues have filled you in on the festivities there, I wanted to give you at least a few of my thoughts on the event. Unlike some of my […]

A CLICHÉ A DAY . . . by John M. Floyd Keeps the readers away. At least that’s what an editor told me, and I would think she’d know. The funny thing is, even though most editors, writers, and readers know and recognize bad writing — dull plots, uninteresting characters, POV shifts, repetitions, inaccuracies, grammar […]

A SENSE OF DISCLOSURE — PART 2 by John M. Floyd Last week, I wrote about the fact that I usually don’t tell others anything about my “stories in progress,” whether the stories are in idea form or outline form or already half-written. My point was, a storyline that’s not yet completed becomes less interesting […]

A SENSE OF DISCLOSURE — PART 1 by John M. Floyd A few months ago a friend asked me if I’d written any short stories lately. I said yes, and she then asked if I was currently working on any more. Since I’m always working on more stories, I again said yes. Then she asked […]

SPECIALTY ITEMS by John M. Floyd In recent weeks several of us at Criminal Brief have discussed some of the ingredients of fiction that make reading especially enjoyable and worthwhile, the things readers look for in a story, We all know that the best authors of novels and short stories are competent at almost all […]