Category Archives: Editing

“Just Send Me Back” (by Mary Jane Maffini)

Posted on November 13, 2013 by somethingisgoingtohappen

There’s always at least a touch of humor in Mary Jane Maffini’s fiction—a spice that suits the traditional mystery. The Canadian author has won two major awards for stories in EQMM, and she’s also the author of three series of … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Books, Characters, Editing, Fiction, Genre, Guest, Historicals, History, Police Procedurals, Setting, Writers | Tagged classic_mystery, eqmm, fiction, genre, historicals, history, literature, locale, setting, traditional mystery, writers | 3 Comments

PULL UP A CHAIR

Posted on November 6, 2013 by somethingisgoingtohappen

Starting in mid-October this year, most big retailers where I live had their halls decked with Christmas trees right beside the Halloween goblins. The effect was bizarre, but it did get me thinking early about holiday plans, especially holiday dinners—anticipating … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Characters, Editing, Genre, Setting, Writers | Tagged characters, crime, denis palumbo, dinner-table mystery, genre, isaac asimov, murdery mystery, mystery, paul halter, setting, style, whodunit | 5 Comments

“The Lee Strasberg Method School of Writing” (by Hilary Davidson)

Posted on October 23, 2013 by somethingisgoingtohappen

Hilary Davidson was a travel journalist and the author of eighteen nonfiction books in that field before she turned to fiction writing. Two of her three mystery novels featuring travel-writer sleuth Lily Moore are set in foreign locations, as are … Continue reading →

Posted in Characters, Editing, Fiction, Guest | Tagged arts, characters, literature, method acting, mystery, technique, tension, writers, writing, writing_technique | 4 Comments

“It’s the Heart that Counts” (by Evan Lewis)

Posted on October 16, 2013 by somethingisgoingtohappen

Evan Lewis won the Robert L. Fish Award for best short story by a new American author for his February 2010 EQMM story “Skyler Hobbs and the Rabbit Man,” a humorous tale about a detective who believes himself to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Books, Characters, Editing, Fiction, Guest, Writers | Tagged characterization, characters, emotion, feeling, heart, short stories, technique, writers, writing | 4 Comments

THE IMPORTANCE OF STORY

Posted on October 2, 2013 by somethingisgoingtohappen

Last week in Albany, New York, 1,500 readers, writers, editors, agents, and booksellers gathered for the 44th Bouchercon World Mystery convention. Bouchercons provide opportunities for authors to enjoy the company of other authors, and for business connections to be made, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Conventions, Editing, Fiction, Genre, Writers | Tagged eqmm, fiction, imagination, literature, mystery, story, worlds, writing | Leave a comment

“When the Place Itself Is a Mystery: Ten Tips for Someone Writing in an Exotic Location” (by Nathan Beyerlein)

Posted on September 11, 2013 by somethingisgoingtohappen

Nathan Beyerlein is a blogger, a teacher of English as a second language, and a world traveler. His first fiction, “The Tricky Business in Mai Chau,” appeared in EQMM’s Department of First Stories in June of this year. It was … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Characters, Editing, Fiction, Guest, International, Setting, Writers | Tagged elleryqueenmm, exotic, fiction, genre, literature, locale, location, setting, writers, writing, writing_technique | 3 Comments

CHILD CHARACTERS IN CRIME FICTION

Posted on August 28, 2013 by somethingisgoingtohappen

Using child characters in crime fiction involves navigating land mines. This is something I wrote about a couple of years ago on EQMM’s website, but as I’ve had a few additional thoughts about it since then, here’s an update to … Continue reading →

Posted in Characters, Editing, Fiction, Publishing, Writers | Tagged characters, child characters, controversy, editing, elleryqueenmm, eqmm, fiction, writers, writing, writing_technique | 5 Comments

“A Little Amusement at His Expense: Conan Doyle’s Sly Subversion of English Society,” Part 2 (by Dr. Kenneth Wishnia)

Posted on August 7, 2013 by somethingisgoingtohappen

See last week’s post for Part 1 of Kenneth Wishnia’s discussion: “Barbaric Kings and Plodding Imbeciles: Conan Doyle’s Sly Subversion of English Society,” Part 1. The French author Honoré de Balzac once wrote that “behind every fortune lies a great … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Characters, Editing, Fiction, Guest, History, Writers | Tagged editing, history, literature, sherlock, sherlockiana, short story, writing_technique | 1 Comment

WRAPPING IT UP

Posted on July 24, 2013 by somethingisgoingtohappen

This week I’d like to expand on a post I made on November 8, 2010, on EQMM’s Web-site forum, concerning confession scenes. They’re a staple of our genre, so much so that I suspect most writers of crime fiction have … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Characters, Editing, Fiction, History, Writers | Tagged advice, characters, editing, fiction, mystery, suspense, thriller, writers, writing, writing_technique | 6 Comments

“The Desert Island Mystery” (by James Powell)

Posted on July 17, 2013 by somethingisgoingtohappen

James Powell is one of very few writers to be found these days writing exclusively at short-story length, and his unique blend of mystery, fantasy, humor, and historical fact sets him apart even within the fraternity of short-story writers. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Books, Characters, Editing, Fiction, Guest, Novels | Tagged characters, elleryqueen, fiction, literature, short stories, short story, writing_technique | 3 Comments