DeAnna Knippling's Blog, page 33

Think Like a Librarian: Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination, by Edogawa Rampo

I’m trying to look at books the way a librarian might, in order to help get me better at thinking from a reader’s point of view. Here are the other posts in the series. … Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edogawa Rampo is a collection of short stories set in Japan.  The stories are all written […]

How to Study Fiction, Part 12: Scenes, Part 4. Middles.

This is part of a series on how to study fiction, mainly directed at writers who have read all the beginning writing books and are like, “What now?!?”  The rest of the series is here.  You may also want to check out the series on pacing, here, which I’m eventually going to fold into this series […]

Interview with Shannon Lawrence, author of Blue Sludge Blues & Other Abominations

Amazon | Universal Buy Link | Goodreads | Author Website Author Facebook Page | Author Goodreads Page | Author Twitter Author Amazon Page Welcome to fellow author M.J. Bell, also author of The Chronicles of the Secret Prince trilogy.  Previous interviews with Richard Bamberg, Rob Chansky, P.R. Adams, Megan Rutter, Jason Dias, and MJ Bell are also available. … 1. This collection is made up of short, […]

Think Like a Librarian: The Vegetarian, by Han Kang

I’m trying to look at books the way a librarian might, in order to help get me better at thinking from a reader’s point of view. Here are the other posts in the series. … The Vegetarian is a short novel set in contemporary Korea.  Yeong-hye is a housewife who, after a terrible dream, decides to become […]

How to Study Fiction, Part 11: Scenes, Part 3. Beginnings.

This is part of a series on how to study fiction, mainly directed at writers who have read all the beginning writing books and are like, “What now?!?”  The rest of the series is here.  You may also want to check out the series on pacing, here, which I’m eventually going to fold into this series […]

How to Come Up With Story Ideas

Something that you have to do as an author is come up with story ideas: on time, on certain subjects, about 80% as expected and 20% new and fresh, and to fit with the rest of your work. Difficult. But what’s even more difficult are the requirements left unsaid: The idea has to generate a […]

What Am I Selling, When I Sell a Story

I’ve been working a lot on studying marketing lately.  Not just indie book marketing, but the principles behind selling stuff. When I started out as a writer, I thought writing was mostly about putting one’s thoughts and feelings down on the page, and then some magic would happen, and people would like what I wrote […]

How to Study Fiction, Part 10: Scenes, Part 2

This is part of a series on how to study fiction, mainly directed at writers who have read all the beginning writing books and are like, “What now?!?”  The rest of the series is here.  You may also want to check out the series on pacing, here, which I’m eventually going to fold into this series […]

Interview with M.J. Bell, author of Next Time I See You

Amazon | Goodreads | Author Website Author Facebook Page | Author Goodreads Page | Author Amazon Page Welcome to fellow author M.J. Bell, also author of The Chronicles of the Secret Prince trilogy.  Previous interviews with Richard Bamberg, Rob Chansky, P.R. Adams, Megan Rutter, and Jason Dias are also available. 1. I know you worked hard on making the time travel as accurate as possible.  Can you tell […]

The Art of Lockpicking

On June 23, I went to an introductory lockpicking class, The Art of Lockpicking, hosted by Atlas Obscura and taught by Jeremiah Jensen. It was held at the Lighthouse Writers’ Race Street location, which I’d never been to before.  It’s a charming location aswamp in parking issues, so I was late getting there.  Fortunately, although […]