Writing History, With Swordplay
I’m looking at Dorothy Dunnett’s brilliant, swashbuckling Race of Scorpions, a novel that turns about the 15th Century dynastic war in Cyprus. She is wise […]
writing tips
Trust Your Reader
To celebrate the start of our first Magpie Award poetry contest, let me honour Max Plater, a poet from my very first writer’s group who […]
A Leader in Mystery: John Mortimer’s Horace Rumpole
Part 1 I’m always boggled at how much has to be accomplished up front when writing short mysteries. Those first paragraphs are vital…(although, really, what […]
Point of View and the Promise of Genre
“High Commander Brennen Caldwell rushed upship from his sleeping cabin.” –Kathy Tyers, First sentence of her novel, Daystar. Marcher Lord Press, 2012. […]
Good Drivers Wanted
I once drove a friend home from a dinner party, and though I wasn’t sure where she lived, I drove confidently for five minutes before […]
Barocci’s Hands: Artists, Writers and Elements
It’s a beautiful sketch. I’m certain that Barocci didn’t draw these hands for show, but only to be referenced as elements for his saleable paintings. […]
What Can You Teach Me Today, Lee Child?
What can you teach me today? I ask one favourite author after another. Your book woke me at two AM. What makes you such a […]