by Joe Massucci | Articles
An outline is the foundation of your story, a framework on which to build a solid, cohesive tale. Outlining first may make the difference between a powerful story with depth, or a mediocre tale. When I bring up the notion of outlining in writing workshops, most...
by Joe Massucci | Articles
Let’s explore some of those ubiquitous rejection letters that even internationally published novelists see frequently. A senior editor from a prestigious publishing house in London said this about an early draft of my manuscript, THE SABBATH EXPERIMENT. “This has a...
by Joe Massucci | Articles
Maybe you’re not as good a writer as you think you are. It’s true. We tend to fall in love with our own writing, blinded to our imperfect technique. How do you know? Join a writing group and get feedback – lots of it. Writers at every stage of their careers from...
by Joe Massucci | Articles
An avid thriller reader who is working on a first novel asked, “Isn’t it difficult working deep characterization and good romance into thrillers?” Difficult, maybe. Impossible, no. Essential, absolutely! Interesting relationships among characters are a fundamental...
by Joe Massucci | Articles
Thriller and mystery plots are all around us. Imagine what a good mystery writer could do with something I heard this morning. The grandmother of a friend died recently and was buried in a family plot in a Mississippi graveyard that was quite old. During the...
by Joe Massucci | Articles
In the not-to-distant future, your state of mind may determine the music you hear. Scott Wilkinson’s essay about quantum music experiments blew my mind (“Got QUALMS?” – Electronic Musician). It’s true. In experiments, the sound and perception of the same piece...
by Joe Massucci | Articles
A White House study shows that there are substantial rewards for companies that pay special attention to their dissatisfied customers. According to a White House study titled “Consumer Complaint Handling In America,” there are handsome profits for companies that...
by Joe Massucci | Articles
Manufacturers regularly use statistical data to aid in designing their products and in scheduling production to meet the needs of the market place. By using statistics, we, too, can predict variability and use it to our advantage. No two people or things are ever...
by Joe Massucci | Articles
Even if you’ve never heard of Del Meyer, you’ve been touched by his work. He has been awarded 26 patents during his 35-year career. None, however, has had more impact than his idea to make purified terephthalic acid, or PTA, the raw material of polyester – a product...
by Joe Massucci | Articles
A lost Soviet submarine. A mad, reclusive billionaire. A dangerous covert salvage from the bottom of the sea. A Cold War espionage thriller? No, it’s the true story of a unique recovery ship that’s now getting a new lease on life with oil and gas companies. The Glomar...
by Joe Massucci | Articles
Christopher Funk is a cheerful, handsome 5-year-old who enjoys playing with his friends in the schoolyard and showing off his drawings in kindergarten class. But when he was born, a doctor told his parents that he was probably mentally retarded and would never walk or...
by Joe Massucci | Articles
Her house in Atlanta’s Grant Park section is special to Barbara Brewer. She spends long hours making it comfortable, cleaning and decorating, working hard to provide a good home for her sons. This is her first home, really, and she’s especially proud because of the... by Writer's Digest | Feeds
The source and exact nature of the curious phenomena we refer to as characters remains something of a mystery, but the craft of characterization is not. Although it’s clearly a cause for celebration — or at least relief — when a character appears in the mind’s eye...
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