MAKE IT WORK by Melodie Johnson Howe Last week I talked about how the thinnest idea, or fleeting image, can stir the writer’s creative juices into the reality of a short story. Obviously that alone won’t get a writer to her denouement, but it does open the imagination to all kinds of possibilities. I believe […]

LE MOT JUSTICE by James Lincoln Warren There is nothing more flattering to a writer than to be quoted, there being nothing that sates the voracity of vanity more than having one’s pearls before swine, inter alia, held up for admiration by the non-swinish. Deep in the breast of every one of us hack scribblers […]

iPhunk by Leigh Lundin We’ve just experienced a great national celebration that has brought millions of Americans together at a critical time in our history. No, not Independence Day and not even universal disgust with Paris Hilton getting out of jail. Unless you’ve been living in a WiFi-proof cave, you know we’re talking about the […]

Last week, Eddy told us that a letter from Charles Dickens about a novel got him to thinking about how works are created. This week, he discusses the proper length, emotional effect, literary tone, and emphasis by enforced repetition he intended to convey in his poem “The Raven”. He presents these factors as conscious choices […]

LOST IN READING by Steven Steinbock Over the past month I’ve used this column to share with you some of the favorite mystery short story collections from my shelves. This week I’ll be providing one more for the list. The eight I’ve presented so far are: ° Omnibus of Crime (Dorothy L. Sayers, 1929) ° […]

STORYTELLERS by Deborah Elliott-Upton Every family has at least one — and I’m not talking about the black sheep (we’ll save that for another day) — but the ones known as storytellers. I always look forward to this time of year. The fireworks, the picnics, but mostly getting together with family and friends I haven’t […]

FROM OUR NATION’S CAPITAL by Robert Lopresti Happy Independence Day. Here are some thoughts from a mystery writer’s trip to a conference in Washington D.C.last week. In the plane out I sat next to a ten year old who told me he had ADHD, and I believed him (he talked a lot). His mom sat […]