Tag: Mystery

GUEST POST: WRITING LESSON 2 BY DAVID KUMMER

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Welcome to this lesson of David Kummer’s writing course. That’s me, by the way. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, success stories, or just something fun to say, email me at davidkummer7@gmail.com. I’d love to talk about anything and everything, especially if that everything has to do with books, basketball, or Chinese food. I am a teenager, after all. So that’s that! Head on down and read what might be the best writing course of your life, but also might be the worst 😉 You won’t know until you try!

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Guest post: lesson 1 by David Kummer

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Welcome to this lesson of David Kummer’s writing course. That’s me, by the way. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, success stories, or just something fun to say, email me at davidkummer7@gmail.com. I’d love to talk about anything and everything, especially if that everything has to do with books, basketball, or Chinese food. I am a teenager, after all. So that’s that! Head on down and read what might be the best writing course of your life, but also might be the worst 😉 You won’t know until you try!

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SWAPPING GENRES by Andrew Richardson

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I approached writing ‘The Door into War’ with some trepidation. On one hand, it
was a story I wanted to write with a plot I was pleased with. On the other hand, my
previous novels have all been firmly squarely horror or historical fantasy genres. Writing
a time travel thriller was a complete change for me, especially as my reading knowledge
of time travel and thrillers is limited, and as a writer is zero.
Putting together ‘The Door into War’ led me to wondering, what are the benefits
to a writer of switching genres? And what are the drawbacks?
In my case, having written a lot of horror where tension is key I have at least
some experience of maintaining suspense. I’ve also got a background in archaeology so I
made my main character an archaeologist, and made archaeology an important part of the
story which gave me something familiar to work around. I write occasional erotic shorts,
which I found a help with the need to show characters’ emotions and reactions to each
other.
It was also a refreshing challenge to try something completely different, and I
hope this enjoyment comes over in the novel.
Because I didn’t know the thriller genre I suppose there’s a possibility that in my
naivety I might have brought something new to it – but that’s probably wishful thinking!
But, genre-swapping isn’t all plain sailing. I’m pretty sure I’ll have made some
genre-specific mistakes, and I probably missed some things that thriller readers will
expect, or misjudged the pacing and similar.
When writing historical fantasy or horror I usually have an idea of whether or not
what I’m doing is any good – or at least whether it’s good above the line enough to be
picked up by a publisher. I didn’t have that same feel for ‘The Door into War.’ In fact, as

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Writer’s Craft: VILE VOICES: DESCRIBING HOW THE KILLER SPEAKS by Rayne Hall

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When a dangerous or evil person talks, make their dialogue short and to the point. The tighter their speech, the more intelligent and threatening it becomes. Wordy waffling would dilute the effect.

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Interview with Karen White

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Where are you originally from?

Both of my parents were born and raised in Mississippi (my mother in the Delta–“the most Southern place on earth”–and my father on the coast in Biloxi) but my father’s job as an executive with Exxon had us living all over the world.  I was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma but the longest I lived anywhere was in London, England for 7 years.  I’ve now lived in Georgia for 24 years, and all of my family lives now south of the Mason-Dixon Line, too.

Yay Mississippi! My grandparents are from Mississippi.  Been to Georgia many times. It’s a very beautiful place. 

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Historical Division: Mark Julian mysteries

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Before I begin let me give a tremendous thank you for asking me to do a guest comment. Venues like this let a writer connect to his readers and potential new ones. I hope, after reading this one, no one regrets this offer to me.

I also think introductions are in order before I tackle this subject. My name is L.G. Fabbo-Gonnella. I write the Mark Julian Vampire PI and the Max, Brad & Maisie mystery series. Yes, that is a plug just in case anyone reading that line was unsure about it.

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Based on a True Story – How Can It Be Real? by Michael Allan Scott

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How Can It Be Real?

As an author of supernatural thrillers, it’s a question I’ve heard a time or two before.

In my experience, the single most important aspect of good storytelling is what I call the “Reality Factor.” We’ve all read a book, seen a movie, that should have worked but didn’t. There are a ton of factors that may contribute to its failure, but at the core, I’m confident you’ll find a lack of reality as the main culprit.

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Crime Division: Medications as a Murder Weapon (in Fiction writing, Of Course) Joynell Schultz, PharmD, RPh

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Hmmm… You have someone to kill. You need a creative way, and the old-fashioned gun, knife, rope, or Pillow Suffocation simply won’t do. Using a medication sounds intriguing. In the alphabet soup of drugs, which one makes the perfect instrument of death?

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Writer’s Craft: Cruel Claws: Describing the Killer’s Hands by Rayne Hall

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To increase suspense in a scene where a dangerous person is about to do something nasty, slow down the pace and describe their hands. This is perfect for when the evil overlord signs the order to exterminate the children, or when the torturer readies his instruments.

 

This technique works especially well in thrillers. Show the killer’s (or the suspect’s) hands, especially when the point-of-view character is helpless to do anything. This will send creepy shivers across the reader’s skin.

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Contests & Entertainment

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Daily Mystery Thriller Week PRIZE Winners may be found HERE.

across-the-pondInternational Audio Book Giveaway  Enter LIVE NOW. Multiple MTW authors want to give you a chance to listen to a wonderfully narrated audio version of their books.  So much so that they have offered to give away copies to fans regardless of where you have an Amazon account! Sign up for your chance to win one of 18 copies of  8 titles by MTW authors and narrator.

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Mystery Thriller Week Quiz Answer LIVE NOW.  Test your MTW acumen and answer questions about the event to win a prize. Google won’t help you with this one!

 

detective-152085__340Progressive Story Read LIVE NOW. Take part in a one-of-a-kind mystery as written and told by bloggers from around the world. Each quick stop provides you a snip-it of an honest to goodness WHODUNIT. Even the writers don’t know who the killer will end up being. Be sure to cast your vote at the end and claim your immediate prize.

crossword-headerCrossword Puzzles Learn about the authors, bloggers, and specialists of Mystery Thriller Week 2017.

Puzzle #1 – LIVE NOW.  Prize awarded by random drawing.

Puzzle #2 – LIVE NOW.  Prize awarded by random drawing.

thinker-1294493__340Scored MTW Trivia  Enter LIVE NOW Tax your brain and try your hand at daily mysterious and thrilling trivia questions. Start brushing up now for your chance to earn the most points by the end of MTW. There may just be…[wait for it, wait for it]…a prize.

identity-510866__340Who Am I? Enter LIVE NOW Read a daily book excerpt to guess it’s historical author. How literary are you? How well do you know the Mystery and Thriller geniuses that paved the way for us? Submit your answers on a form and win a prize every day.

 

 

sign-up-nowSign up as a SUPER FAN HERE to win daily book prizes from MTW Authors.

Daily winners for MTW Fan of the Day, MTW Facebook Fan of the Day, and MTW Twitter Fan of the Day.

 

 

super-woman-1885016__340MTW Super Fans of the Day LIVE NOW Check back daily to see if you are the next Mystery Thriller Week SUPER FAN of the day. Each day new MTW Super Fans will be posted and win a prize.  We adore our fans and want to show you the love!

twitterMTW Twitter Fan of the Day  LIVE NOW Check back daily to see if you are the next Mystery Thriller Week TWITTER SUPER FAN of the day. Each day a new Twitter Super Fan will be Tweeted out and win a prize.  We adore our fans and want to show you the love!

facebookDaily Surprise Facebook Fans Giveaway LIVE NOW Check Facebook often to see if you are the next Mystery Thriller Week FACEBOOK SUPER FAN of the day. Each day a new Facebook Super Fans will be posted and win a prize.  We adore our fans and want to show you the love!

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