Have you ever read an action packed thriller that left you breathless yet unmoved? Like a roller coaster, a thrilling ride but one that doesn’t seem to mean anything? Conversely, have you ever read a literary novel that was fatty with emotional nuance but that couldn’t run ten yards if it tried? All talk and [...]

Blog mama Kath is gearing up for the release of the next title in the First Daughter series (written as Cassidy Calloway).  SECRETS OF A FIRST DAUGHTER releases September 1 by Harper Teen.  We asked Kath to do a Take 5 to share with WU readers a little bit more about the National Disaster known as Morgan Abbott, [...]

Maybe This Time is Jennifer Crusie’s new book, landing on bookshelves everywhere today. This is her first solo novel since the wildly popular Bet Me, which won the 2004 RITA.) Maybe This Time is smart and quirky, brimming with the trademark Crusie repartee. Here, with a Take 5 to whet your appetites, is Jennifer Crusie. [...]

Conflict is the rocket fuel for any good story, but how your characters react to that conflict is what provides direction and resonance for the tale. Of course, how your characters react hinges almost completely on what kind of people they are. And defining what kind of people they are hinges solely on you, and [...]

My work-in-progress–this second book–has been full of challenges for me. Mostly, I think, I let myself get out of practice. I moved from being immersed in editing to being immersed in publicity for my debut, and when it was time to get back to writing new content I was slow to change gears. Now that [...]

Please welcome Inara Scott back to WU.  Last month, Inara guest blogged with us, and the response was so good, we asked if she would do a Take 5 interview with us on her debut THE DELCROIX ACADEMY, which releases tomorrow.  Enjoy! Q: What is the premise of your new book?  Dancia Lewis is a girl with [...]

I remember reading a story once about a teacher who held a ‘Funeral of the I can’ts‘ with her middle school class.  The students wrote down their I can’ts on pieces of paper: I can’t get a perfect score on a math test, I can’t climb to the top of the rope in gym, etc.  [...]

A writer who frequents my blog, Flogging the Quill, asked me this question: “How about chapter endings? Must they always end with a cliff-hanging, hyperventilating, page turning, stomach churning, my-God-I-ripped-the-pages-trying-to-find-what-comes-next? I just realized my ms is structured chronologically and some chapters seem to end naturally with everyone going to sleep at the end of a [...]

What is about that first encounter that pulls you in? Is it his penetrating eyes, the way he looks over the side of his shoulder at you, his confidence? Is it how she runs her ring finger along the side of her lipstick, the way she takes dinner to the old man down the hall, [...]

Brunonia Barry on Painting in the Blanks

It isn’t the blank page that I find terrifying. It’s the idea of beginning. I can easily put words on a page, that’s not the problem. I often begin a new novel by doing something I’ve heard described as “clearing your throat.” I usually write fifty to a hundred pages that I will never use, but within those pages I often discover the entire back story of each character and the journey those characters will take together.

In Part I of WU’s interview with MacAllister Stone, owner and CEO of Absolute Write, we spoke of minions, the challenges involved in herding 25,000 writers towards publication, and threats such as lawsuits.  In an abrupt and unforeseen twist, this concluding post will cover more optimistic territory. Jan for Writer Unboxed: Is there a special meaning to the avatar you use on AW and Twitter? (top [...]

Confession: I was shoulder-deep into the manuscript revision of my fourth book, which has a deadline of, oh, one week from now, when I realized I had to write this blog post. And for the life of me, I could NOT come up with something to discuss. That tends to happen when I fully immerse [...]

As promised in our squee post earlier this week, contributor Sophie Masson found time to squeeze in a Take 5 Q&A on her new release THE MADMAN OF VENICE as she traveled back from Paris to Australia.  Congratulations, Sophie! TAKE 5 with Sophie Masson  Q:  What is the premise of your new book? It is [...]

Therese here. Please welcome author Amanda Lee to Writer Unboxed. Amanda is the author of a new mystery novel, The Quick and the Thread–the story of a new shop owner thrust into the role of prime suspect when her shop’s old owner turns up dead. According to her bio: Amanda is the lady next to [...]

Therese here. Today’s guest is New York Times and international bestselling novelist Lisa Unger. Lisa’s latest novel, FRAGILE, fresh off the printer, was recently chosen by Good Morning America as one of the “Top Book Picks for Great Summer Reading!” We’re thrilled she’s with us today to discuss her process and her latest novel–one she [...]