Colleen Collins's Blog, page 8

#WriteTip Crafting Crime Fiction Stories: Motive, Opportunity & Means

(I originally wrote this article for mystery writer Beth Groundwater's blog, which I've updated here. Enjoy!)

Recently a writer friend of mine who’s written dozens of romance novels landed a book contract where the publisher asked for a “complex crime” at the core of the story. My friend contacted me, worried. “I’ve never written a crime!” she said, “can you give me any advice?” “Sure, think M-O-M,” I answered, “which stands for motive, opportunity and means.”

Besides being a writer, I co-owne...

Setting Writing Goals for 2015

I use this as my screen saver. Guilt goes a long way to helping me meet a deadline.

I'm currently on deadline, trying to finish a book by February 1, 2015. If I were to share any wisdomabout how to accomplish one's writing goals, it'd be short and sweet: "Plant your behind in a chair and write." Period. Forget waiting for the muse, or feeling more rested, or happier or being thinner or...doesn't matter, just write.

I've noticed, however, thatotherwriters have writtenthoughtful, in-depth artic...

Christmas Day Fun for Homebodies, from Mel Brooks Movies to Decadent Desserts

What are you doing for Christmas? My husband and I plan to be homebodies and take it easy. Watch movies. Read. Eat Christmas Eve leftovers (that's our big holiday blow-out meal). I have a book due February 1, so I'll probably spenda few hours writing, too.

For any fellow homebodies,below are some fun things to watch/read/bake on Christmas Day

Mel Brooks Movie Marathon

TCM is throwing a Mel Brooks movie party on Christmas evening and will beshowing five of his movies in a row,starting with High A...

Two Free Options for Storyboarding Books

I like to visually lay out my story plots. Then, as I'm writing, I can go back and look at thebig picture for reminders on structure, plot pointsand character arcs (or I'll tweak the storyboard if the story/characters have changed). When I first looked for online storyboard options, I found some rather expensive onesthat screenwriters use buteventually I found one that was much cheaper(StoryboardTHATwhich used to be $4.95/month, withfirst month free).I used StoryboardTHATfor several books. Be...

Female Private Eyes in Literature

Introduction

A few months back, the editor of the online magazine Festivale asked if I'd like to write an articleabout female private investigators in fiction, going back to such early women detectives as Miss Felicity Lemon, the efficient secretary for Mr. Parker Pyne in Agatha Christie's set of short stories Parker Pyne Investigates(1934). This kind of article is "my thing."Besides being a female PI, I've written female private detectivesin novels andthree nonfiction books on private invest...

Mike Nichols on Writing

Like many of you, I was saddened today to learn thatMike Nichols had died. He directed so many wonderful films...The Graduate...Silkwood...Working Girl...Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf...Heartburn...and others. And he directed plays, from therecent Betrayal (which sold out for all performances before the play even opened!),to years agodirectingWhoopiGoldberg's one-act play that took her from obscurity to being a star.

He grew up a loner, and later said that gave him the ability to know what pe...

Shooting the Messenger: When Process Services Go Bad

Recently in Colorado, a man pulled a gun on a process server. Fortunately, the process server kept his cool and quietly left (btw, he had already left the papers with the man's wife). The process server called the sheriff's office afterward and described the incident, but did not press charges.

Process Server Attacked By Doctor

Another process server, a personal friend of ours, started a process service business after he retired from the police force. This man had been awarded medals for brave...

Thanksgiving Recipes: 7 Potato Dishes, from Mashed to Hasselback

Before we launch into the world of potatoes, I had a lovely surprise today on Facebook when I read the below post by Book Reviews, Blogs and Amazon Links:

This is one lady who is multi talented and does some pretty interesting blog posts and newsletter. I seriously am excited when my email beeps and it is Colleen's newsletter. Not to mention she's such a great person. She's one of a few who are actual Facebook Friends that I enjoy being in contact with.

Colleen Collins https://m.facebook.com/pr...

Real-Life Private Detective Story: Finding 4 Bullet Slugs in the Middle of Nowhere

This rancher lived out in the country on 800 acres of land

Every year as we approach the holidays, I remember one of the more difficult, challenging and ultimately rewarding cases my husband and I once worked. We helped a man who was facing a possible 48-year prison sentence if he were to be found guilty of attempted murder. A man who had never evenhad a speeding ticket in his entire life.On Thanksgiving, when my husband visited him in jail where he'd been sitting since October, the man wept...

Five Tips for Writing Rural Surveillances

When many people think of a private investigator, they think surveillance. Typical images that come to mind are the PI in his vehicle following a subject’s car through traffic or a PI parked somewhere, watching the subject’s residence or work. If a writer is crafting a city surveillance, she’ll take into consideration such things as the flow of traffic, how closely the PI follows the subject’s vehicle, and possible side streets the PI might take.

But what if your story is set in the country?...