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Cliffhanger endings: 3 reasons why they make readers mad
Mickey Spillane once said, “The first chapter sells the book; the last chapter sells the next book.” Unfortunately, some authors interpret that truth as meaning they should end a book with a cliffhanger. There are (at least) 3 reasons why cliffhanger endings will make readers mad–and angry readers are less likely to read your next book. But before we get to that: This post is part of the Insecure Writers Support Group (IWSG) blog hop. On the first Wednesday of every month, we IWSG-ers share our doubts, fears, struggles, and triumphs. Our awesome co-hosts this month are Ronel, Deniz, Pat Garcia, Olga Godim, and Cathrina Constantine. Stop by and leave them some comment love. Each…
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How a 12th-grade English assignment convinced me I couldn’t write fiction
A long, long time ago1, in a galaxy far, far away2, a 12th-grade English assignment convinced me I couldn’t write fiction. Two disclaimers before I tell that story: And one more thing before we get to the story: For anyone who’s new here, this post is part of the Insecure Writers Support Group (IWSG) blog hop. On the first Wednesday of every month, we IWSG-ers share our doubts, fears, struggles, and triumphs. Our awesome co-hosts this month are Beth Camp, Jean Davis, Yvonne Ventresca, and PJ Colando. Click those links and leave them some comment love. Each month our fearless leader (Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh) gives us an optional question to answer. This month’s…
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6 tools that power my writing life
Every writer has their own process for writing. Some of us are plotters, some are pantsers. Some write with music, others require silence. Some use Word, some Scrivener, some old souls even draft in longhand. We writers are all special snowflakes1, so we each tend to assemble our own writing toolboxes. In this post, I’ll share the contents of mine, the 6 tools that power my writing life. But first: This post is part of the IWSG (Insecure Writers Support Group) monthly blog hop. On the first Wednesday of every month, we IWSG-ers share our doubts, fears, struggles, and triumphs. Our awesome co-hosts this month are JS Pailly, Rebecca Douglass, Pat Garcia, Louise-Fundy Blue, and Natalie…
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Two ways fiction writers can use AI ethically
I’m going to do something I rarely do–make a prediction. I predict that AI is going to revolutionize our lives on a level nearly comparable to the internet and smartphones. And I’m going to go even further and predict this revolution will be (mostly) a good thing. Trust me, I hate the idea of AI-generated fiction and art as much as the next creative, and I don’t believe AI will replace writers and artists (though I do think plenty of AI-generated crap will get made and sold by unethical people). I do think writers (and maybe artists too) can find ethical ways to use AI to help them work more…
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What makes an author website great?
One of the first pieces of advice new authors get is to create a website. Our websites are our homes on the internet, a space we control and can use to promote ourselves and our work (unlike social media, over which we have little control–ask anyone who spent years building a following on the Site Formerly Known as Twitter only to see engagement plummet under He Who Must Not Be Named). But what makes an author website great? One way to answer that question is to provide examples of great websites and talk about what makes them work well–and that’s exactly what I’m going to do in this post. But…
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2024 is off to a strong start: the January recap
Welcome to my first What’s Been on Your Calendar post of 2023! I went into my holiday break last month recovering from COVID, exhausted, and struggling to figure out how to rebalance my life so it wouldn’t grind me into fine powder by April Fool’s Day. Then I rested, took a short road trip, spent some time in nature… and felt renewed. January has been the best month I’ve had in awhile. I’m not sure what made the difference but my money’s on rest and spending time really thinking about how best to prioritize the many demands on my time and energy. I’m also not sure how long this new…
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2023: my year in writing
I covered the highlights of my year in writing in my last post, but I’ll add more detail here, in my first post of 2024 for the Insecure Writers Support Group. My IWSG posts attract a different audience from my routine weekly posts, so I think it’s OK to repeat a little. If you read my last post, feel free to skip to the memes (I’m pretty sure half my readers skip to the memes anyway, but don’t tell me that–you’ll hurt my delicate writer fee-fees.) Before we proceed to my authorial navel-gazing: The first Wednesday of every month is Insecure Writers Support Group day, on which we insecure writers…
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“The Fourth Man” won a prize!
My short story, “The Fourth Man,” won second prize in the Arizona Mystery Writers annual short story contest! The Jim Martin Memorial Short Story Contest recognizes short mystery, suspense, and thriller fiction up to 2500 words. “The Fourth Man” was inspired in part by my desire to see more older women in crime stories that aren’t cozy mysteries (not that there’s anything wrong with cozy mysteries). I fiddled with the idea of an elderly main character, and Victoria Patrick–former darling of B-movie Westerns who describes herself as “Annie Oakley with double-Ds”–marched onto the page, struck a pose, and proceeded to embarrass the hell out of her daughter. Here’s the opening:…
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Writing Your Own Destiny (interview on the Mysterious Goings-On podcast)
Want to learn how to start writing fiction and use short stories to further your writing career? In a recent interview I did for the Mysterious Goings-On podcast, I talk with host Alex Greenwood about: Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: You can also hear me utter one of the more bizarre sentences to ever come out of my mouth (and that’s saying something): How can you not like a serial killer who hides disembowled bodies in saguaro cactuses? Mysterious Goings-On is a podcast “about creativity, writing, and mystery” and features “interviews with bestselling authors, indies, and creative people from all walks of life.” Also, host J. Alexander…
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An award-winning poem and a visit to Seattle
A more-exciting-than-usual week here at Camp WTF. Long-Suffering Husband and I just got back from Seattle. I was there for a work conference; he was there for the coffee. Then as soon as we got back, I got the news that one of my poems won an award in the Arizona Authors Association Annual Literary Contest. Yay! But before we get to all that: This post is part of the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. Grab a treat, have a seat, and let’s get to it. “Mourning Doves” won Best in Category My poem “Mourning Doves” won Best in Category in the Arizona Authors Association annual literary…
Janet Alcorn
Suspense | Horror | Romance
