Hercule Poirot has an almost supernatural knack for solving murders. That makes “A Haunting in Venice” a natural extension of the character’s old-school universe. “Ve… Read More

Discover our negative tone words list that can add an ominous mood to your writing; use these words to paint a bleak picture of a character, setting, or situation for your readers… Read More

The battle cry of Dolores Claiborne: "Next time, one of us is going to the boneyard!"   I loved Stephen King’s suspense novel Dolores Claiborne and was pleased when I saw the… Read More

Ralph Ordaz Gather round, children, ’tis time to participate in a great tradition! Each year, we culture writers spend 50 weeks of the year trying to inspire conversation around wo… Read More

These seasons may be the time to give it your best shot. If you find it difficult to pick out particular details and it's more just a sense of being somewhere, don't worry, just go with w… Read More

When one of your characters is going through something, how do you communicate that to your readers?  Think of a scene in one of your own stories where the protagonist is in a foul m… Read More

Your antagonist is such a jerk! You just know your readers will classify this person as one of the worst fictional people ever created. You’re so proud.  If you need to des… Read More

Goth Music may have reached it’s peak in the 1980s, several years after David Bowie “invented” it with his seminal 1970 album “The Man Who Sold The World”… Read More

What does courage look like?I give you chapter 32 of Book One of Melody and the Pier to Forever.~~*~~The Lizard and the Snake~~*~~ Directly to the east, somewhat hidden by rubble, another ap… Read More

Derek was awake.  The gun lay along his side of the tent with a round in the chamber.  The muzzle was facing the door.  He was ready to spring to action should the mystery-men… Read More

****1/2/*****We are not so very different, you and I. We've both spent our lives looking for the weaknesses in one another's systems... Don’t you think it’s time to recogniz… Read More