When I started writing the Hot Dog Detective series of urban cozy mysteries, several factors greatly influenced my writing. The first, and most important factor, was of course the character of the Hot Dog Detective himself. Based on a person I actually saw selling hot dogs outside of the Denver City Hall, I knew that […]
Let me start off by getting one thing clear. I do not use any AI program to “write” any of my stories. I have conducted many experiments with AI programs, and every last one of them fails to understand either the human condition or the writing process well enough to create a story as well
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Let me start by stating my position very clearly. I am an advocate of using whatever tools and resources you can to make yourself a better and more productive writer (substitute whatever career path you want). Let me give some background. I grew up in
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One of the characteristics of a cozy mystery is the ordinary occupation of the protagonist. The occupation has to be one that allows the heroine the flexibility to solve crimes yet still do a plausible job of making a living. Cozy readers are, if nothing else, a practical sort of person.
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There are many important characters in a mystery story. The most important character is the detective (professional, amateur, or accidental) who solves the crime and brings justice to the villain. In many mystery and thriller genres, an even more important character is the antagonist, the villain, the evil mind that pits itself against
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Sally O’Brian… Ava Storm… Cynthia Pierson. My three heroines are very different people. If the people an author writes about are just extensions of her personality, I wonder what that says about me. Perhaps that’s a topic for a future discussion. In the meantime, I would like to find out which kind of
Which Heroine Are You? Read More »