So you want to commit a perfect crime. Good for you. I’m all for helping the helpless. Take a notebook, a pen, and pay attention, because I’m going to say it only once.
Perfect crimes requires planning, calculating your actions for the best outcome, anticipating complications. And, most importantly: profit.
Why profit? Well, for starters, because you [...]

Among the other hats I wear, I work as a computer tech supporting the English department at the local university. I bring this up because last week, I was working on rebuilding a computer after the user had a series of misadventures, and I overheard a conversation that got me thinking. The subject was the [...]

“When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.” — Mark Twain
We drove down the looping skeins of Highway 95, my [...]

I’m sure everyone here has at least heard about outlines. They’re those weird creatures that were designed to help writers create wonderful, consistent plots. I’m also pretty sure at least some of you not only know how to use outlines, but are actually using them when writing your stories.
There are various methods of writing the [...]

I’m a very active member of the Livejournal writing community. People there are very creative, intelligent, funny and sometimes slightly disturbing. As you can see, they’re very much like you guys. The biggest difference between you all is the fact that the LJ bunch writes mostly fanfiction and you lot prefer original fiction.
Why do I [...]

So far, the various posts that have been appearing in this space have talked about various aspects of writing and suggestions on how to improve one’s work. After a while, though, you want to start looking at examples of this kind of thing, articles and excerpts from folks who can do it right. Now, there [...]