Come for the Mysteries. Stay for the Characters.
Teachers and librarians have told us since we were in kindergarten that books transport us to new worlds. If you could choose any location in any story, where would you go on a literary vacation? I’ve always had the desire to check out Airbnb for hobbit holes that I could book for two weeks. I’d… Continue Reading →
I’m sorry I missed last Monday’s prompt. We had a death in our family. Bu I’m back this week with a prompt that, instead of inspiring stories, will inspire a discussion about the joy of reading. What are your favorite stories outside your favorite genre? If you’ve read my blog for very long, you know… Continue Reading →
The problem with pursuing writing as a profession is that I’ve just about ruined pleasure reading for myself. I’m so well-trained to analyze the writing (Wow! That was a great metaphor. How’d she come up with that? That’s a really effective plot twist. How did he lay the groundwork for it?) that I can rarely… Continue Reading →
I don’t remember when I fell in love with short stories. Must have been early, in junior high or high school. As a mystery fan, I know mysteries have a long, proud short story tradition–the first mysteries were short stories written by Edgar Allan Poe. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote four novels featuring Sherlock Holmes… Continue Reading →
As we follow “The Journey of Book” this year on my blog, we’ll examine some genres as well as discuss tips on developing plot, settings, and characters. Studying young adult or YA fiction was a natural choice because that’s what I usually write. With a mystery twist. If you want to write YA fiction, keep… Continue Reading →
JPC Allen Writes