‘Tweener’ Rejections

‘Tweener’ Rejections

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...
15 Tips for Successful Writing Groups

15 Tips for Successful Writing Groups

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...
Romance in Thrillers?

Romance in Thrillers?

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...
Digging for a Story

Digging for a Story

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...
Fashion Your Own Reality

Fashion Your Own Reality

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...
Does It Pay to Complain?

Does It Pay to Complain?

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...
How Calvin Klein Knows Your Waistline

How Calvin Klein Knows Your Waistline

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...
He Changed the Way We Live

He Changed the Way We Live

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...
Deep Six!

Deep Six!

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...
A Special Child

A Special Child

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...
Second Chance

Second Chance

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...
Music

Music

Joe Massucci is a recording musician, who played his way through college and grad school during the ’70s. Joe doesn’t travel to clubs to play these days, but he built a permanent stage in his Canyon Lake house’s great room, where he performs for friends and also...

How to Craft Compelling Characters

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...