Terry Shames's Blog: 7 Criminal Minds

How do you findother like-minded writers to form a writer’s group, or become beta readers?What are the advantages or disadvantages of sharing your work prior topublication.

 

For me finding my writinggroup, the Literary Llamas, was my real entry into the writing world. Beforethem, I was just floundering around with a bunch of unformed ideas gathering inmy head with no real place to go. Of course, I was writing before I met mywriter’s group, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say, not ...

This week's topic is on gratitude. In honor of Thanksgiving, share something you're grateful for. Specifically, something that helps you do your work as a writer more effectively, efficiently, or joyfully.

I know what's on the top of my mind - gratitude for good health. I've been dealing with a family health crisis for the past few weeks - and with that getting closer to being resolved, I am very thankful, very very thankful indeed. And indeed, joyful - enough so that I'm going to be able to retu...

Short bio:

Keith Raffel’s five acclaimed thrillers draw on his own experiences in Washington’s corridors of powers, Silicon Valley’s engineering labs, and university classrooms. The New York Times has praised his work as “worthy of a Steve Jobs keynote presentation.” Since 2023, Keith has written The Raffel Ticket, a syndicated column read in newspapers and on websites across the United States.

Author photo:

Intro:

Jim Ziskin is taking a well-deserved rest this holiday week. As a high school tea...

 In honor of Thanksgiving (in the US), share something you're grateful for. Specifically, something that helps you do your work as a writer more effectively, efficiently, or joyfully.

It might sound odd or just something I want to be true, but I write better with a dog at my feet. My first 9 novels were written with my dog, Maybel, snoring gently by my side. After she passed, I worried I would’t be able to write anymore. Had she been my muse?

I have three dogs now, and one or more sits with me nea...

I n honor of Thanksgiving (in the US), here is a look at some of the little things that help us do our work as writers more effectively, efficiently, and joyfully every day.

by Dietrich

In Canada, Thanksgiving lands in October, so the ham and turkey are already fond memories up here. But cheers to my American friends! There are many things for which writers can be thankful, of course: the support of family, fellow writers, community, mentors, editors, publishers, booksellers, librarians and readers...

 

In honor of Thanksgiving share something you're grateful for. Specifically, something that helps you do your work as a writer more effectively, efficiently, or joyfully.So many things I’m grateful for:
 • I’m grateful for the magic. The magic that seems to happen in every book, when I’m writing along, unsure of where the story is going, and suddenly the “magic” removes the clouds and exposes the plan.
It’s always a thrill. I’m working on a book now that has too many plotlines. I haven’t been a...

In honor of Thanksgiving (in the US), share something you're grateful for. Specifically, something that helps you do your work as a writer more effectively, efficiently, or joyfully.

I'll be honest, it was quite lovely brainstorming for this post. Rarely do I take the time to sit down and make one of those "gratitude lists" that therapists and other enlightened folks are always talking about. I found my smile growing wider and wider the more I scribbled down...

On the list: new notebooks, writing ...

 

 
How do you think the publishing industry is adapting tothe "attention economy," and how do you feel about those shifts? Arebooks an antidote to shortening attention spans?

In the early 2000s I was the chief subeditor on Girlfriendmagazine, a magazine for girls aged 10-15 years old. In our editorial meetingswe used to discuss the ways that girls read the magazine. This was a hot topic,because the internet was fairly new, and phone ownership was becoming normal.(I got my first phone in 20...

How do you think the publishing industry is adapting to the "attention economy," and how do you feel about those shifts? Are books an antidote to shortening attention spans?

Okayyyyyyyy.

Last question: yes, books are an antidote to shortening attention spans. Like Gabriel said on Tuesday, sitting down and pointing your brain at a novel for a sustained period is cleansing and restorative to the soul. Does anyone ever feel worse after reading for an hour? Does anyone ever feel better after scroll...

 How do you think the publishing industry is adapting to the "attention economy," and how do you feel about those shifts? Are books an antidote to shortening attention spans?

From what I've seen, publishing for fiction has not made many strides to deal with the shortening attention spans of a younger generation. In truth, what could they do? Novels are the full-attention span medium of entertainment. More than movies, more than plays, even the 5 hour Shakespeare epics pale in comparison to the ti...