Dana King's Blog (144)

Something Evil's Lurking in the Dark

(Also posted on One Bite at a Time.)

“Raising the stakes” is the buzzword for thriller writers. Books that purport to tell authors how to write best-selling or breakout novels use the term more than “and” or “it.” Constantly raising the stakes is supposed to intensify the reader’s interest by making a successful outcome more important and less likely all at once. What it’s mainly doing is killing thrillers for anyone looking for more… Continue

Added by Dana King on June 26, 2009 at 7:16am — 4 Comments

The Glass: Half Full, Half Empty, or Cracked?

(Also posted on One Bite at a Time.)

Writers’ opinions of their work in progress fluctuate like an amusement park ride with an operator methed to the eyeballs. “This might be the best thing I’ve ever written” can change to “What a piece of shit,” and then to “It doesn’t suck” within the course of three days. (Fewer, if certain substances are indulged.)

Inactivity has its own… Continue

Added by Dana King on June 20, 2009 at 5:55am — 3 Comments

An Interview with Peter Rozovsky

Peter Rozovsky is the creator of the popular and award-winning blog, Detectives Beyond Borders, which focuses on crime fiction written outside the United States. For those not familiar with Peter or his blog, an anecdote from last year’s Bouchercon will give an idea of the regard with which he is held in the crime fiction community. No less an authority than Ali Karim found himself stuck for the name of a foreign (to Americans) writer, and solved his dilemma by asking if Peter Rozovsky was in… Continue

Added by Dana King on June 13, 2009 at 3:30am — 10 Comments

Indulge the Impulse

(Also posted at One Bite at a Time.)

No one has control over their impulses; we can only manage our responses. The brave man is not the one with no fear. It’s the one who faces that fear and does what scares him, anyway. Our responses to base impulses define our character.

Writers get to have it both ways. How many of us have been less than pleased with how we handled a situation in our lives, then wrote a scene where a… Continue

Added by Dana King on May 30, 2009 at 4:58am — 4 Comments

Wrestling the Sloth

(Also posted on One Bite at a Time.)

Tomorrow is one month since I temporarily set aside the work in progress to re-evaluate the plot. Since then, I solved the problems that held me up (more remain, but they’ll be surmountable in context), gained a firmer grasp of my characters (thanks to some excellent advice on Robert Gregory Browne’s writing blog, specifically… Continue

Added by Dana King on May 29, 2009 at 5:45am — 4 Comments

Jacking the Beanstalk

Several years ago I wrote several short stories as a writing exercise: What would fairy tales be like if famous authors had written them? The exercise was a lot of fun, and help me to learn to read as a writer, looking for techniques, and listening for voice. Not all of the stories are crime related, but this one is.

Added by Dana King on May 23, 2009 at 2:18am — 1 Comment

Missed Connections

(Also posted on One Bite at a Time.)

Everyone has favorite writers. There’s something about each of them that resonates in you, even if the writer isn’t particularly popular. It may be because you’re ahead of the curve, or possibly his plots or sense of humor appeal to you more than others. Whatever the reason, we all have authors we like more than others, quality of writing aside.

The flip side of this are the authors we just… Continue

Added by Dana King on May 16, 2009 at 12:24am — 8 Comments

Persistent? Or Stubborn?

(Also posted on One Bite at a Time.)

Murderati’s two most recent posts (by Tess Gerritsen and Rob Gregory Browne) have dealt with the fine line between persistence and stubbornness. Each is worth a read. Both are timely for me.

The detective in my PI series was intended to… Continue

Added by Dana King on May 7, 2009 at 2:00am — 5 Comments

I Need a Plan

(Cross posted on One Bite at a Time.)

I tried. I really did. People have told me for years. “Be more of a pantser,” they’d say. “Don’t plot so much. Surprise yourself.”

I knew I couldn’t sit down to write not knowing what would happen that day. Endings of stories often come to me immediately after the beginnings, sometimes right after the premise. Once the ending actually came first. I thought the “headlights” system would be a… Continue

Added by Dana King on April 30, 2009 at 12:37pm — 4 Comments

How Much is Too Much?

(Also posted on One Bite at a Time.)

I recently parted ways with an agent and have begun trying to place a novel with a publisher on my own. The process is as tedious and frustrating as I remember it, and could be used as a tool for AAR to encourage writers to hire agents. If creating a law can be compared to making a sausage, wading through what’s involved to find a publisher is like having to find and kill the required animals, butcher… Continue

Added by Dana King on April 16, 2009 at 5:14am — 1 Comment

Laura Lippman and Tess Monaghan

(Cross-posted at One Bite at a Time.)

I finished reading Laura Lippman’s What the Dead Know last night. It deserved all the awards it won last year. Tightly written, well paced, with exceptional character development and a nice twist at the end.

Last fall I read Hardly Knew Her, a collection of Lippman’s short stories. It, too, was excellent, though, as with all anthologies, some stories were better than… Continue

Added by Dana King on April 10, 2009 at 3:19am — No Comments

Serial Cheaters

(Cross Posted on One BIte at a Time.)

Ancient Greek playwrights had a simple way to get themselves out of any corner they’d written themselves into: some god, even more bored than usual with immortality, would kill a few minutes by intervening in the mortal drama below. (I have an impression of the gods acting like twelve-year-old buys with a magnifying glass, watching an anthill, wondering what catastrophe they can think up next.)… Continue

Added by Dana King on April 2, 2009 at 7:01am — 7 Comments

Flash Fiction on Powder Burn

My flash fiction, "A Twenty-First Century Hero" has been published on the Powder Burn Flash web site. Thanks to everyone who participated in the "flawed hero" discussion here on Crimespace a few weeks ago, as this story is the direct result of that discussion.

Added by Dana King on March 31, 2009 at 12:40am — 2 Comments

Marketing and the Publisher's Role

(Cross posted at One Bite at a Time.)

Authors have been expected to pick up increasing amounts of the marketing responsibility for their books in recent years. The recent economic slump has not diminished publishers’ inclination in this direction. It is often recommended to include potential marketing hooks, and to describe what the author intended to do as a marketer, in the initial query letter.

Among the marketing ideas often… Continue

Added by Dana King on March 26, 2009 at 3:30am — 2 Comments

A True Mystery

(Cross posted on One Bite at a Time.)

It started out like a normal Saturday: grocery shopping, run a couple of errands, then home for lunch. Last Saturday’s first errand was a trip to the Post Office to pick up Express Mail that had been waiting since Wednesday.

It was a cardboard mailer, standard letter size. A book, I thought, though why someone would spend $25.15 to Express Mail a book for review was beyond me.I opened the… Continue

Added by Dana King on March 19, 2009 at 9:43am — 3 Comments

"Green Gables" to be Published

Todd Robinson of ThugLit webzine has selected my short story, "Green Gables," for inclusion in ThugLit's next annual anthology. Many thanks to Big Daddy Thug and Lady Detroit, who provided valuable editing suggestions, and to everyone who saw the story and provided comments and encouragement before its submission.

Added by Dana King on March 9, 2009 at 10:48am — 2 Comments

"Vig" Available on "Crooked

My short story, "Vig," is available starting today on the Crooked webzine. Feel free to stop by and comment, compliment, or show derision. Check out the other stories while you're at it. Geoff is starting a nice little gig there.

Added by Dana King on March 4, 2009 at 4:08am — 1 Comment

A Twenty-First Century Hero

(Cross posted on One Bite at a Time.)

We had a pretty good discussion last week about whether modern heroes had to be flawed, and how flawed they should be. This is my response.

A Twenty-First Century Hero

My mouth tasted like a dirty sock. The clock on the wall showed 11:30. Insufficient information. I pulled back a curtain. Sunlight… Continue

Added by Dana King on March 2, 2009 at 4:03am — 4 Comments

Twenty Random Things ABout Me, by Sam Spade

(Cross posted at One Bite at a Time)

1. After drinking with the Fat Man, I now sometimes say, "When."

2. I don't miss Archer. He used to eat lunch at a cheap Mexican joint and fart all afternoon.

3. I don't have to try to look tough. I always wear shoes two sizes too small. My feet are killing me.

4. My draft board classified me 4-F when they caught me coming out of Mitchell… Continue

Added by Dana King on February 16, 2009 at 11:51am — 1 Comment