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More terrific interviews next year; however, you may always catch up on previous episodes.
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Posts Tagged ‘detective fiction’
Merry Christmas from The Novel Experience Podcast
Saturday, December 25th, 2010The Novel Experience Podcast – Interview with Screenwriter Don Truckey Part 2
Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Hey lovers of words and stories.
Welcome to The Novel Experience®, the podcast dedicated to the craft and art of fiction writing. Listen, enjoy and improve your chances of getting published!
The Novel Experience Podcast
Episode 10: From Screen to Page Part 2
I’m pleased to announce the release of the second episode of my three-part conversation with award-winning Canadian screenwriter and children’s author, Don Truckey (click link above or below).
Don, whose credits include the television series, Street Legal and Urban Angel, and the movies, Net Worth and Chicks with Sticks, discusses the differences in the crafts of writing prose and penning a screenplay. He’s also the author of the children’s series, The Adventures of Caraway Kim.
Don and I worked together on some TV pitches and scripts; he’s funny, talented, quick thinking and very professional. Plus, he wrote a movie about women’s hockey!
If you’ve ever thought of writing a screenplay or adapting a novel to the screen, you’re gonna want to listen to this episode as Don offers practical tips to help you write that blockbuster and provides nifty insights into the screenwriting world.
He’ll also answer a couple of fascinating questions: Which creative mind would he prefer to collaborate with: a novelist or a playwright? And, what do the instructions for a light airplane have to do with penning a script? (duration ~20 minutes)
The Novel Experience Podcast Ep. 10 – Don Truckey
This episode’s showcase song by Glynne Turner is a rockin’ tune, aptly titledInspiration.
Click below to discover more about The Adventures of Caraway Kim by Don Truckey:
Smashwords to the Rescue
Sunday, December 5th, 2010For some odd reason, last December Barnes and Noble chose to deactivate two of my mystery e-book titles (A Hemorrhaging of Souls and Teed Off!).
With a little advice from Mark and Bill and their fab free Style Guide at Smashwords.com, I updated my e-books and resubmitted them in the Spring…to a resounding silence.
A Hemorrhaging of Souls
But when the fall rolled around and my other titles, which I had also updated, popped up on B&N, I emailed Smashwords again for an explanation.
And this time, Bill was able to get my e-books re-activated though there’s still no information on why the pair was deactivated in the first place.
Teed Off!
Oh, well. You may now buy Teed Off and A Hemorrhaging of Souls through Barnes & Noble.
Only $2.99 US…perhaps a Christmas present for your favourite mystery buff?
The Novel Experience Podcast – Interview with Screenwriter Don Truckey Part 1
Thursday, December 2nd, 2010Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Hey lovers of words and stories.
Welcome to The Novel Experience®, the podcast dedicated to the craft and art of fiction writing. Listen, enjoy and improve your chances of getting published!
The Novel Experience Podcast
Episode 8: From Screen to Page Part 1
I’m pleased to announce the release of the first of my three-part conversation with award-winning Canadian screenwriter and children’s author, Don Truckey (click link above or below).
Don, whose credits include the television series, Street Legal and Urban Angel, and the movies, Net Worth and Chicks with Sticks, discusses the differences in the crafts of writing prose and penning a screenplay. He’s also the author of the children’s series, The Adventures of Caraway Kim.
Don and I worked together on some TV pitches and scripts; he’s funny, talented, quick thinking and very professional. Plus, he wrote a movie about women’s hockey!
Tune in to learn Don’s simple but insightful tip on how to discover the voice and thought processes of another writer. I’m gonna give it a try. (duration ~20 minutes)
The Novel Experience Podcast Ep. 9 – Don Truckey
This episode’s showcase song by Glynne Turner is a lovely ballad, called Meet Me.
Click below to discover more about The Adventures of Caraway Kim by Don Truckey:
How to Write A Mystery Novel 14 – Character Development
Friday, November 19th, 2010Intro: I occasionally teach a writers’ workshop at our local Camosun College on how to write a mystery novel. The students eat it up, telling me that they’re learning lots of practical and usable tips and techniques, so I thought I’d offer bits and pieces of the workshop in my Friday Mystery Writing blog posts.
The information is gleaned from my little non-fiction e-book primer called Youdunit Whodunit! How to Write Mysteries and offers my tips, techniques and information suitable for crafting of all types of genre writing.
So, even if you write romance, sci-fi, fantasy or horror, please keep reading and learn with us crime writers.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT (Part 14)
The last group of posts have concentrated on the story structure of a mystery novel. Been there; done that. Now we’re onto developing characters or as I like to think of it: Ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille.
In the initial post on character development, I introduced an essential question: Who’s telling your story? You can have more than one storyteller but for our purposes, we’ll stick to one.
You need a point of view (POV) from which to tell your tale. There are two common POVs in fiction writing: First Person, which we discussed in a previous post, and Third Person.
LEMME TELL IT MY WAY: In this Point of View, the writer chooses to tell the story from more of a distance by narrating with “He said” or “They said”. Today, I’m finishing my discussion on POV by offering a couple of cautionary notes.
In the most recent posts, I offered some reasons to choose Third Person POV; and introduced all of the three main viewpoint types: the Limited Multiple POV, the Limited Detached POV and the Know All/Omniscient POV.
Dueling POVs
If you wish to tell a scene from another player’s POV, go ahead; just make sure that the reader is witnessing each chunk of the story from a single POV at any one time.
How NOT to write Multiple Third Person Point of View
Consider the following example:
John stared, unable to take his eyes off Emily’s disfigured face. Her nose was deformed, her eye sockets bulged and puckered skin twisted her cheeks. He swallowed, trying to gain time.
Emily stiffened. John’s reaction wasn’t new but how does one get used to that look of horror? With an effort, she held his gaze, concentrating on his gray eyes, willing him to break away first. And when he did, she felt a beat of power and then the heat of shame.
So, what’s wrong?
Our point of view changes within the same scene, that’s what. First we are in John’s head, seeing and feeling from his outlook and then we immediately switch to Emily, watching and reacting from her perspective…all in the same paragraph. This POV mishmash is a major no no and will have agents and editors after your head.
I know, I know, a number of best-selling authors break this rule but if you do, understand that you do so at your peril.
Like the old adage: you’ve should first follow the rules before breaking them.
If you found this of interest, you may wish to see the previous How to Write a Mystery posts.
…Of course, there’ll be MORE how-to write a mystery tips and techniques continued in the next Friday post as we move on to developing the three types of characters that commonly populate genre fiction in Haven’t We Met Before? Part 15.
Find out further information or how to purchase my mystery-writing primer e-book, jam-packed with ways to immediately improve your writing, by clicking Youdunit Whodunit (only $2.99US!).
The Novel Experience Podcast – Interview with Best-selling Thriller Writer Chevy Stevens Part 3
Wednesday, November 17th, 2010Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Hey lovers of words and stories.
Welcome to The Novel Experience®, the podcast dedicated to the craft and art of fiction writing. Listen, enjoy and improve your chances of getting published!
The Novel Experience Podcast
Episode 8: Still Missing Part 3
I’m delighted to announce the release of the last of my three-part conversation (click link above or below) with Vancouver Island’s best-selling novelist, Chevy Stevens, author of the terrifying and unsettling debut thriller, STILL MISSING. (duration ~18 minutes)
I met Chevy earlier this year at a book event in Victoria, BC, and was impressed by her intelligence and self-deprecating humour.
A publishing phenom, with a six-figure advance, 150,000 hard-cover first print run, sales to over 20 countries and a movie deal to her credit, Chevy reveals why she chose to use a nom de plume and how she overcame the challenges of her writing process.
Plus, discover what finger painting, word counts and New York’s famous Flatiron building have in common with the engaging Nanaimo novelist. And, get a sneak preview of Chevy’s next two thrillers, Never Knowing and Always Listening.
Also, in honour of Remembrance Day, this episode’s showcase song by Glynne Turner is the very moving military tune Battlefield.
The Novel Experience Podcast Ep. 8 – Chevy Stevens
Catch up on Chevy’s thriller:
Discover Renni Browne’s self-editing secrets:
Epubbing.com Guest Author – Self-Publishing with Leanne Dyck
Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010This is a first for my Epubbing.com: a guest blogger.
Today, I’m jazzed to introduce Leanne Dyck, another West Coast islander and a talented, determined and gutsy BC author.
Leanne made the difficult but ultimately positive decision to self-publish her novels. Today, in the first of two posts, she’ll begin explaining how and why.
Self-Publishing a Book
Mark Twain did. Why would you? Why did I self-publish?
My reasons were two-fold: to retain control and for educational purposes.
1999 was a tremulous year for me. The death of my mom sent me into a deep depression. Seeking a place to heal, my husband and I moved to Mayne Island. It was on this magical island that I began to rebuild my life. I longed to learn more about my new home and found Marie Elliot’s writing. Her article “The Japanese of Mayne Island” seeded my imagination and I began to write Maynely A Mystery.
As I wrote, my vision for this book grew clear. I knew who my target reader was and I felt I knew how to reach them.
I grew wary of involving someone else in my plans. Would they love this book as much as I do? Would I have to compromise my vision? Fearing the worse, I felt self-publishing was the only solution.
The longer I considered this route the more benefits I saw. I’d never written or published a book. Self-publishing would educate me on all aspects of the industry from designing the cover to marketing.
Maynely a Mystery
In June 2009, I self-published Maynely A Mystery. My target readers did find me.
Here’s a review:
“Rumours of gold, a secret lover, ghosts and other mysteries create a labyrinth of intrigue as Maynely A Mystery traces the lives of the story’s animated eccentric characters. Author Leanne Dyck knows her craft, her audience, and her setting. Her novel provides a voyeuristic glimpse into human character and island life.’” Terrill Welch (Leading Raspberry Jam Visions: Women’s Way)
Maynely A Mystery is sold in bookstores on Mayne Island, Salt Spring Island, and McNally Robinson Booksellers in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
I’m thrilled at the success my cozy mystery has achieved.
Would I self-publish again? Yes, but…
It’s expensive. It costs approximately seven dollars to print each copy.
There is, of course, a solution to print: ebooks. Ebook publishers, such as Smashwords, take a percentage of sales.
The other problem I encountered in self-publishing was marketing. I didn’t hesitate to think outside the box. I organized a book launch/party. I contacted magazines, radio stations, ezines, and book reviewers. I visited bookstores. However, with my limited resources and sales skills I meet roadblock after roadblock.
Frustrated, I sought an alternative. Where did this search take me? Please read my next post, to be published soon.
The Sweater Curse
Leanne’s next book, The Sweater Curse, will be released by Decadent Publishing on November 12th.
It explores the birth, life, death and possible redemption of kick-ass knitwear designer Gwen Bjarnson.
Bet those knitting needles stitch some intriguing tangles! Drop that ball of wool and check out Leanne’s work.
The Novel Experience Podcast – Interview with Best-selling Thriller Writer Chevy Stevens Part 2
Monday, November 1st, 2010Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Hey lovers of words and stories.
Welcome to The Novel Experience®, the podcast dedicated to the craft and art of fiction writing. Listen, enjoy and improve your chances of getting published!
The Novel Experience Podcast
Episode 7: Still Missing Part 2
I’m delighted to announce the release of the second of my three-part conversation (click link above or below) with Vancouver Island’s best-selling novelist, Chevy Stevens, author of the terrifying and unsettling debut thriller, STILL MISSING. (duration ~21 minutes)
I met Chevy earlier this year at a book event in Victoria, BC, and was impressed by her intelligence and self-deprecating humour.
A publishing phenom, with a six-figure advance, 150,000 hard-cover first print run, sales to over 20 countries and a movie deal to her credit, Chevy explains that even though she felt writing Still Missing was her destiny, she was extremely shaken when she decided to give up her full-time work as a successful real estate agent and take the literary leap.
Plus, discover out how many times Chevy fine-tuned her first novel, why she greatly values professional feedback and how she landed her agent and publisher.
Also, this episode’s showcase song by Glynne Turner is Sensitive Guy.
The Novel Experience Podcast Ep. 7 – Chevy Stevens
Catch up on Chevy’s thriller:
Discover Renni Browne’s self-editing secrets:
How to Write a Mystery Novel 13 – Character Development
Friday, October 29th, 2010Intro: I occasionally teach a writers’ workshop at our local Camosun College on how to write a mystery novel. The students eat it up, telling me that they’re learning lots of practical and usable tips and techniques, so I thought I’d offer bits and pieces of the workshop in my Friday Mystery Writing blog posts.
The information is gleaned from my little non-fiction e-book primer called Youdunit Whodunit! How to Write Mysteries and offers my tips, techniques and information suitable for crafting of all types of genre writing.
So, even if you write romance, sci-fi, fantasy or horror, please keep reading and learn with us crime writers.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT (Part 12)
The last group of posts have concentrated on the story structure of a mystery novel. Been there; done that. Now we’re onto developing characters or as I like to think of it: Ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille.
In the post on character development, I introduced an essential question: Who’s telling your story? You can have more than one storyteller but for our purposes, we’ll stick to one.
You need a point of view (POV) from which to tell your tale. There are two common POVs in fiction writing: First Person, which we discussed in a previous post, and Third Person.
LEMME TELL IT MY WAY: Today, I’m finishing my discussion on Third Person POV.
In this Point of View, the writer chooses to tell the story from more of a distance by narrating with “He said” or “They said”.
In the last few posts, I offered some reasons to choose Third Person POV; and introduced two of the three main viewpoint types: the Limited Multiple POV and the Limited Detached POV.
Sparrow POV
Know All/Ominscient POV:
This POV offers the action presented by an omniscient or all-seeing POV; one that makes judgments, interprets and explains.
This viewpoint is very challenging to control and to pull off; however, Elizabeth Hyde succeeds nicely early in THE ABORTIONIST’S DAUGHTER:
“And so instead of studying for her biology exam as planned, Megan Thompson, pre-med freshman at the university, found herself giving in to something larger and decidedly more fun that evening. Not only that, but she gave in with no clue as to what transpired earlier that evening two miles west…”
Notice how the Know All narrator tells us something that happened earlier that the character, Megan, doesn’t know about?
Usually, the reader is drawn through the story through the eyes of one or more third-person POVs but in each instance, the reader knows the same information as the viewpoint narrator.
But in the Omniscient POV, the narrator knows everything about the story, from future to past, and may offer tantalizing bits to the reader.
Personally, I find this POV irritating and somewhat of a cheat, especially when used in crime fiction; it does, however, offer the writer many opportunities unavailable in the other Third Person POVs. What do you think?
If you found this of interest, you may wish to see the previous How to Write a Mystery posts.
…Of course, there’ll be MORE how-to write a mystery tips and techniques continued in the next Friday post as we finish exploring character development in Ready for my close up, Mr. DeMille, Part 14.
Find out further information or how to purchase my mystery-writing primer e-book, jam-packed with ways to immediately improve your writing, click Youdunit Whodunit (only $2.99US!).
How to Write a Mystery Novel 12 – Character Development
Saturday, October 23rd, 2010Intro: I’ve been teaching a writers’ workshop at our local Camosun College on how to write a mystery novel. My students are eating it up, telling me that they’re learning lots of practical and usable tips and techniques, so I thought I’d offer bits and pieces of the workshop in my new Friday Mystery Writing blog posts.
The information is gleaned from my little non-fiction e-book primer called Youdunit Whodunit! How to Write Mysteries and offers my tips, techniques and information suitable for crafting of all types of genre writing.
So, even if you write romance, sci-fi, fantasy or horror, please keep reading and learn with us crime writers.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT (Part 12)
The last group of posts have concentrated on the story structure of a mystery novel. Been there; done that. Now we’re onto developing characters or as I like to think of it: Ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille.
In the post on character development, I introduced an essential question: Who’s telling your story? You can have more than one storyteller but for our purposes, we’ll stick to one.
You need a point of view (POV) from which to tell your tale. There are two common POVs in fiction writing: First Person, which we discussed in our last post, and Third Person.
LEMME TELL IT MY WAY: Today, I’m continuing my discussion on Third Person POV.
In this Point of View, the writer chooses to tell the story from more of a distance by narrating with “He said” or “They said”.
In the last two posts, I offered some reasons to choose Third Person POV; and we introduced the Limited Multiple POV, the first of the three main viewpoint types.
Today, I’m highlighting the Limited Detached POV (the second Third Person POV).
Objective Eagle POV
Limited Detached or Limited Objective: in this POV, the action is supplied through the eyes/experiences of a detached observer or narrator (can be used with more than one person) who, like a fly on the wall, sees what’s going on but offers no insight, thoughts or comments and cannot jump ahead in the story or into other characters’ minds.
This is the least popular third-person POV as it distances the reader, not offering an emotional connection to the story.
Tom Wolfe uses this POV in The Write Stuff: “Jane, this is Alice. Listen, I just got a call from Betty, and she said she heard something happened out there. Have you heard anything?” This was the way they phrased it, call after call. She picked up the telephone and began relaying this same message to some of the others.
Obviously something has gone seriously wrong in The Right Stuff, yet Alice doesn’t offer us any reaction to what’s happened. The reader is just told the facts of the story, feels at a distance to the action and must interpret it themselves.
This detached/objective POV style may be used in First-person POV as well. Conan Doyle employs it in the Sherlock Holmes’ series, letting good ol’ Watson narrate the stories but offer little comment or reaction.
If you found this of interest, you may wish to see the previous How to Write a Mystery posts.
…Of course, there’ll be MORE how-to write a mystery tips and techniques continued in the next Friday post as we continue exploring character development in Ready for my close up, Mr. DeMille, Part 13.
Find out further information or how to purchase my mystery-writing primer e-book, jam-packed with ways to immediately improve your writing, click Youdunit Whodunit (only $2.99US!).
