The Pros and Cons of Joining a Writing Organization

The most important thing you can do as a writer is to write, and I always try to create more time behind the keyboard. As I cull through my commitments and consider the tradeoffs, I wonder if writers organizations are a distraction or a necessity? What are writers organizations? Writers organizations are membership groups whose… Read more »

Four Steps to an Inspiring Writing Routine

Last year, I attended a national writing conference. I settled into my seat for the spotlight author interview, pencil poised, ready to absorb lessons from this New York Times bestselling author. The moderator pulled out his list of questions, smiled at the author, and said, “I promise I won’t ask where you get your ideas.”… Read more »

Mystery, Thriller, or Suspense: Does the Label Matter?

When you search for a book to read, do genre labels drive your choices? They certainly affect mine. If I want a fast paced, edge-of-your-seat-experience I look for a thriller. If I’m in a puzzle-solving mood, it’s off to the mystery section. And I expect them all to have elements of suspense. And yet, on… Read more »

#5OnFri: Five Takeaways from SleuthFest

I just returned from a week at SleuthFest, the Mystery Writer’s of America Florida chapter’s annual conference. A self-confessed ThrillerFest fan, I was skeptical how this conference would compare. ThrillerFest has nearly one-thousand attendees and almost forty editors/agents who participate. You can get lost in the ThrillerFest’s endless sea of workshops and author panels. At around two-hundred… Read more »