May 022013
 
What to do with your idea for a novel or short story

If you’ve been in one of my workshops where I talk about writing fiction, I usually hand out small cards with these words on them: character, setting, plot, theme. For me, they are the four corners of all good fiction. But when you begin a story, you usually have only of these things: a character you find interesting for whatever reason (might be completely made-up, based on someone you know, or a combo); a setting (again, either completely imaginary, very real, or a combination); a plot, or at least the beginning of a plot, even if only a “What if?”; [ Read more...]

Sep 022009
 
Tack För senast: The Scandinavian influence on my mysteries

I saw the upcoming topic for Mystery Reader -  “Scandinavian Mysteries” – and thought, “Nothing to do with me.” A few days later, I got an email about it and deleted it. Several weeks passed. Then, one day while my husband and I were babysitting our grandson, Leif, we got talking, for some reason, about Christmas and about some of the traditional foods we eat, like julekake and potato lefse. All of a sudden, I slapped myself upside the head and shouted, “Scandinavian Mysteries!” My husband, naturally, was confused. I rolled my eyes. “I’ve lived for 35 years in a [ Read more...]