Terry Shames's Blog: 7 Criminal Minds, page 22

Books Adapted to the Big Screen

Is there a movie better than the book? And name a book that you think defies adaptation?

Good Monday morning - Brenda here.

A subjective kind of question this week. I'm often amazed at how one person can love a book or movie that another avidly dislikes. For me, the book and movie experiences are completely different kettles of fish. As a rule, I prefer to read the book before seeing the movie and have been excited to see the adaptation for those books I've really enjoyed.

I remember reading Gone W...

High Resolution by Poppy Gee

What areyour literary resolutions for 2025… as a Writer, as a Reader?

Great question!I love this topic for my first post on this blog. Making a to-do list alwaysgives me a surge of energy. Whenever I write down my goals, no matter how bigor complicated they are, the path to them becomes clearer.

This feels especiallytrue for resolutions made in January. Here in Australia, we’re in the middle of delightfully long summer school holidays. We’ve shared the timebetween Tasmania, staying with...

New Year, Same Old Me, by Catriona

 What are your Literary Resolutions for 2025…as a Writer, as a Reader?

I'm quite big on New Year's resolutions. Making them, that is. Not so much keeping them. But that doesn't stop me.

I don't have any reading resolutions, beyond carrying on reading exactly what I want. And giving up on page 50, if I'm still checking page numbers at 49. Right now, I'm reading this:

It's a 1920 domestic novel about middle-class Scottish life written by John Buchan's sister. (He wrote The Thirty Nine Steps.) Imagine...

Hold me to it! by Eric Beetner

What are your Literary Resolutions for 2025…as a Writer, as a Reader?

I usually vow to read more, but I usually fall short of my goals even though I read quite a bit. I think what I need to do is read more for myself and less for obligation. Beyond the fact that I have spent several years as a judge for major writing awards, I like to keep abreast of what is popular out there and what other are reading, so I try for some books that more often than not, disappoint me. I know this is my issue, and ...

Literary Resolutions in 2025

 

What are your Literary Resolutions for 2025…as aWriter, as a Reader?

 

Ah, January, the month of intentions where we promise tobecome our best version of ourselves. We vow to eat better, exercise more, andbe kinder and gentler to ourselves and to those around us. Writers are wordnerds, so we promise to write more, read more, and be more active in thecommunity. That all said, I’ve been made aware that most resolutions die aquiet death by the second Friday of January. T...

New Year Newish Literary Me? From Angela Crook

 What are your Literary Resolutions for 2025...as a Writer, as a Reader?

Welcome 2025! We made it through 2024. We survived.Maybe, some of you even thrived. Was 2024 the year you had hoped for? Plannedfor? Prayed for? And more importantly, did you cross off resolutions you madesometime in December of 2023? Have you finished with your list of grand plansfor 2025? Or are you, like me, still considering every option to make 2025 themost perfect year of your life so far? Let’s discuss. Tell us, ...

Advice and Dissent from James W. Ziskin

Tell us, the best edit or manuscript advice you received, and the worst?  

I have a tradition of posting my New Year’s resolutions poem every January. You’ll find it below, following my answer (rant) to this week’s question. Happy New Year!

For this week’s question, I’m going to limit myself to my least favorite bit of writing advice and make some enemies in the process. I strongly disagree with the conventional wisdom that it’s “bad” style to use any dialogue tag other than “said.”

Such advice rem...

It Was the Best of Edits, It Was the Worst of Edits.

This week, I’m pleased to welcome fellow Vancouver author Iona Whishaw. She’s the award-winning author of the Globe and Mail bestselling Lane Winslow Mystery series, and she’s here to answer the question: Tell us, the best edit or manuscript advice you received, and the worst?

by Iona Whishaw

So, let me start by saying I’ve adored my editors, every one, across the twelve books. But one of the things I’ve learned is that editors are people too. I’d been apt to think of them as disinterested geni...

Editing: Who Needs It?

 

Terry here, with this week’s question: Tell us, the best edit or manuscript advice you received, and the worst? 
 First let’s talk about editing. People either love it or hate. I happen to like it better than writing first draft. At least you have something to work with. And it always needs work. 
 I know people who edit their own work, and I admire them. But I have to have other people take a look at what I consider my final product. Even though I know it isn’t “final,” it means I’ve done ever...

It was the best of edits, it was the worst of edits. Tell...

It was the best of edits, it was the worst of edits. Tell us, the best edit or manuscript advice you received, and the worst?

Happy New Year! Brenda starting off 2025.

Hope you gave and received lots of books these holidays :-) 

As every writer knows, a book will succeed or fail based on the quality of the editing. I've come to appreciate the editing process more and more with every manuscript that I've written, accepting that you simply can't skimp on the process.

As a helpful side note, I watched ...