On Writing Archives · Page 2 of 14

Writerly Wit and Wisdom: The Best One-Liners from David Baldacci, Alex Finlay, Lisa Gardner, John Grisham, Charlaine Harris, Jennifer Hillier, David Morrell, Walter Mosley, Neil Nyren, John Sandford, Lisa Scottoline & Lisa Unger

Aug 6, 2025 | On Writing

For me, the coolest part of writers’ conferences is the off-the-cuff words of wisdom you hear from the great crime writers of our time. I take notes—and at the recent ThrillerFest 2025 I gathered some great advice from some master storytellers. Here’s a quick round-up...

WRITING IN THE AGE OF DIGITAL DISTRACTION: 7 ways to beat clickbait and focus on work

Jun 18, 2025 | On Mindfulness, On Writing

We live in a world more determined than ever to distract us—and the distractions are winning. More than sixty percent of us find ourselves distracted at work by social media, emails, and other digital communications, according to a recent study by Udemy. We’re losing...

Hope is the Thing with Feathers

May 21, 2025 | On Writing

Metaphor is the lifeblood of language. And no one knows this better than poets. As the month of April comes to a close, and with it National Poetry Month, it would behoove all of us writers, poets or not, to remind ourselves of the power of the metaphor. Here’s a...

SH#T MY EDITOR SAYS: A Tribute to “Pitbull Pete” Wolverton, Recipient of the 2025 Ellery Queen Award

Apr 30, 2025 | On Writing

“Just get it down on paper and then we’ll see what to do with it.” –Maxwell Perkins Behind every successful writer is a very tired editor. I say this with great respect and admiration for writers and editors, having served as both for more than twenty-five...