Tag Archives: technique

“The Juggling Act of Writing Novels and Short Stories” (by Brendan DuBois)

Posted on March 2, 2016 by somethingisgoingtohappen

Brendan DuBois’s fiction-writing career began in 1986 in EQMM’s Department of First Stories. As he mentions in this post, he’s had more than 150 short stories published since then, all while also pursuing a successful career as a novelist. Brendan’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Business, Characters, Fiction, Genre, Guest, Novels, Story, Writers, Writing | Tagged advice, challenge, fiction, genre, mystery, novels, short stories, technique, writer, writing | Leave a comment

“A Roadmap to Literary Mysteries” (by Bob Van Laerhoven)

Posted on October 7, 2015 by somethingisgoingtohappen

Bob Van Laerhoven’s story “Checkmate in Chimbote” appeared in EQMM’s June 2014 issue and was read for our podcast series by his translator, Josh Pachter, earlier this year. The Belgian journalist made his fiction debut in 1977 as a short-story … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Editing, Fiction, Genre, Guest, Novels, Passport, Readers, Story, Suspense, Writers, Writing | Tagged crime, literary, mystery, style, suspense, technique, thriller, voice, writers, writing | 2 Comments

“The Series P.I.—Some Pros and a Con” (by Harley Mazuk)

Posted on May 20, 2015 by somethingisgoingtohappen

Harley Mazuk’s first published work of fiction appeared in EQMM’s January 2011 issue. Normally a “first” is assigned to our Department of First Stories, but the tale was so thoroughly rooted in the old-style hardboiled tradition that we decided to … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Characters, Ellery Queen, Fiction, Genre, Guest | Tagged author, characters, editor, hardboiled, novels, PI, private eye, stories, technique, writer, writing | 9 Comments

“How I Do What I Do, and Why” (by Percy Spurlark Parker)

Posted on April 2, 2014 by somethingisgoingtohappen

Percy Spurlark Parker’s fiction debut was a story for EQMM’s Department of First Stories in 1972. Since then he’s authored two published novels and dozens of short stories, which have appeared not only in EQMM but in AHMM, Mike Shayne … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Characters, Editing, Ellery Queen, Fiction, Genre, Guest, Publishing, Setting, Story, Writing | Tagged advice, character, editing, mystery, private eye, puzzle, story, technique, tips, writing, writing tips | 5 Comments

“It Don’t Come Easy” (by Greg Herren)

Posted on March 19, 2014 by somethingisgoingtohappen

Greg Herren is not the first award-winning novelist who’s told EQMM that he finds the short story a more difficult literary form than the novel. Yet he has managed to add some short stories to a publication list that includes … Continue reading →

Posted in Editing, Fiction, Guest, Novels, Story, Writers, Writing | Tagged novellas, novels, short stories, short_stories, technique, writers, writing | 4 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

“What’s in a Name?” (by Charles Ardai)

Posted on October 9, 2013 by somethingisgoingtohappen

Charles Ardai has deep roots in nearly every area of the mystery field: He once worked in the subsidiary rights department for our fiction magazines (EQMM, AHMM, Analog, and Asimov’s), and in that capacity he edited and co-edited many short-story … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthologies, Books, Fiction, Genre, Guest, Novels, Publishing, Thrillers, Writers | Tagged genre, hardcasecrime, pen name, pseudonym, technique, writers, writing | 1 Comment

“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

“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