genre / 45 posts found
5 Keys to Writing a Slow Burn Romance
Anyone who really knows me would happily tell you that patience is not a virtue I possess. (What Writers Should Know About High-End Weddings) And yet, patience is key when writing a slow burn romance, because it’s not just the reader waiting to get to “the good parts,” but the writer as well. You have to lay the foundation, create the tension, and amp up the angst, so that by the time your couple finally gives in, all the pining pays off. Here are a few tips to make that slow burn flame hot hot hot: 1. Build the tension. […]
6 Things Every Writer Should Know About Sylvia Beach and Shakespeare and Company
You know, it’s funny that it took me so long to write The Paris Bookseller—I’ve been carrying Sylvia’s story around inside me since I was 20 years old, which is when I read her memoir, a slim volume called Shakespeare and Company. I found an old paperback of it in a used book bin outside one of the many bookstores in my college town, and since I was an English major obsessed with the 1920s, I read it right away. (Kerri Maher: On Playing the Long Game) I was charmed by Sylvia’s recollections of her bookstore and lending library and […]
Karen Hamilton: On Cause and Effect
Karen Hamilton spent her childhood in Angola, Zimbabwe, Belgium, and Italy, and worked as a flight attendant for many years. Karen is a graduate of the Faber Academy and, having now put down roots in Hampshire to raise her young family with her husband, she satisfies her wanderlust by exploring the world through her writing. She is also the author of international bestseller The Perfect Girlfriend and The Last Wife. Karen Hamilton In this post, Karen discusses the “then and now” format of her new domestic thriller, The Ex-Husband, what she hopes readers get out of the experience, and more! […]
How Inspiration and Research Shape a Novel
As a writer of historical fiction, research forms an integral part of my work—and indeed is something I have always enjoyed. In my previous career as a theatre director, researching the time period of the play that I was directing was always one of the things I relished the most, and so it is no surprise that in my writing, I am drawn to stories from the past that allow me to lose myself in another time and place. My latest novel, The Widow’s Last Secret, is set in England in the early Victorian period; a time of amazing inventions […]
Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Dismissing Other Genres
Everyone makes mistakes—even writers—but that’s OK because each mistake is a great learning opportunity. The Writer’s Digest team has witnessed many mistakes over the years, so we started this series to help identify them early in the process. Note: The mistakes in this series aren’t focused on grammar rules, though we offer help in that area as well. (Grammar rules for writers.) Rather, we’re looking at bigger picture mistakes and mishaps, including the error of using too much exposition, neglecting research, or researching too much. This week’s writing mistake writers make is dismissing other genres. Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Dismissing […]