Category Archives: Guest

In Praise of Short Stories: Why Should a Prospective Novelist Start by Writing Short Stories? (by John F. Dobbyn)

Posted on July 3, 2013 by somethingisgoingtohappen

Last week author Twist Phelan talked about some of the different challenges involved in writing short stories and novels. This week, author John F. Dobbyn argues that even writers interested primarily in becoming novelists should begin by writing short stories. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Characters, Editing, Fiction, Guest, Magazine, Novels, Publishing, Writers | Tagged editing, literature, publishing, short stories, short story, writers, writing, writing_technique | 1 Comment

“Writing Novels Versus Stories: It’s Not About the Word Count (well, just a little)” (by Twist Phelan)

Posted on June 26, 2013 by somethingisgoingtohappen

Twist Phelan is a former plaintiff’s attorney whose novels, but not her short stories, often make use of her legal background. Perhaps that’s because, as you’ll see in this post, her approach to short stories is very different from her … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Books, Editing, Fiction, Guest, Novels, Setting, Writers | Tagged elleryqueenmm, fiction, literature, mystery, novel, short stories, short story, writers, writing_technique | 1 Comment

Free Advice from James Lincoln Warren

Posted on June 12, 2013 by somethingisgoingtohappen

On this site posts seldom involve explicit advice to writers, but James Lincoln Warren wrote an engaging piece for Criminal Brief, a blog site he founded, several years ago that we thought readers as well as writers would enjoy. He … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Editing, Fiction, Genre, Guest, Setting, Writers | Tagged authors, editing, eqmm, fiction, mystery, publishing, short story, writers, writing, writing_technique | 6 Comments

“The Storied South” (by Brenda Witchger, aka Brynn Bonner)

Posted on June 5, 2013 by somethingisgoingtohappen

Brenda Witchger debuted in EQMM’s Department of First Stories in 1998 (under the pseudonym Brynn Bonner) with the story “Clarity,” a tale that went on to win that year’s Robert L. Fish Award for best short story by a new … Continue reading →

Posted in Characters, Fiction, Genre, Guest, Setting | Tagged characters, eqmm, fiction, genre, history, literature, locale, southern, storytelling, style, tone, voice | Leave a comment

“The Wonderful, Terrible, Mysterious West” (by Susan Salzer)

Posted on May 29, 2013 by somethingisgoingtohappen

When Susan Salzer’s March/April 2012 story “The Saint of Pox Island” was named a finalist for the Western Writers of America’s Spur Award this spring, we did a search of EQMM’s 72-year-long awards list (which you can find here, on … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Awards, Characters, Conventions, Fiction, Genre, Guest, Historicals, Noir, Western | Tagged genre, literature, magazines, mystery, noir, setting, western, wild west, writers | 2 Comments

“Writing to the Edge” (by Sandi Ault)

Posted on May 22, 2013 by somethingisgoingtohappen

Adventure is a mystery-crossover category that we haven’t discussed much yet on this blog, but we’re correcting that today. Sandi Ault’s series of novels featuring Jamaica Wild, a Bureau of Land Management agent, are chock full of adventure, as EQMM … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Characters, Fiction, Genre, Guest, Setting, Writers | Tagged adventure, animals, characters, inspiration, landscapes, novel, research, setting, shortstory, suspense, technique, wild, wildlife | 21 Comments

“Collecting Detective Fiction” (by Martin Edwards)

Posted on May 15, 2013 by somethingisgoingtohappen

The Ellery Queen Collection of Mystery and Detective Fiction, housed at the University of Texas’s Harry Ransom Center, derives from the personal libraries of Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee (though primarily from the rare-book collection of the former). It … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthologies, Books, Bookshops, Fiction, Guest, History | Tagged archive, authors, bookshop, collecting, collection, crime, detective, literature, rare_books, secondhand | 2 Comments

“You Do WHAT With Your Short Stories?” (by Brendan DuBois)

Posted on April 30, 2013 by somethingisgoingtohappen

EQMM has published many prolific short-story writers over the years, most notably Edward D. Hoch, who, in the course of his lifetime, sold more than 900 short stories. A tenth of that number would be a lot by just about … Continue reading →

Posted in Ellery Queen, Fiction, Guest, Writers | Tagged elleryqueenmm, eqmm, fiction, literature, shortstories, short_form, writers | 3 Comments

“On Location in Paradise” (by Hayford Peirce)

Posted on April 24, 2013 by somethingisgoingtohappen

EQMM’s August issue, which mails to print subscribers a few weeks from now, contains a story set in French Polynesia—often said to be the most beautiful region in the world. Entitled “The Lethal Leeteg,” the story forms part of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Characters, Fiction, Guest, Historicals, History, Police Procedurals, Setting, Writers | Tagged elleryqueen, eqmm, exotic, fiction, hardboiled, short story, suspense, tahiti, technique, thriller | Leave a comment

“A Post to Burn on the IRS Fire to Warm Mystery Writers and Those Who Plan to Be” (by Jim Weikart)

Posted on April 10, 2013 by somethingisgoingtohappen

With the U.S. tax filing deadline just days away, what could be more opportune than some advice to writers from former tax accountant turned full-time mystery writer Jim Weikart? In the early 1990s, it was my privilege to acquire and … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Guest, Writers | Tagged accountant, advice, business, eqmm, fiction, financial, taxes, writers, writing | 2 Comments