Terry Shames's Blog: 7 Criminal Minds, page 26

“The arc of the moral universe,” and Other Stories Ripped from the Headlines, by Josh Stallings

 

Q: As we head into a rather big news week - do you ever write stories “ripped from the headlines”? How much do you rely on current events to fuel your work?

A: I feel I sometimes write “ripped from the headlines that are about to happen”. I wrote a short story Life Time Appointment, not long after that beer swilling rapist Brett Kavanaugh was installed on the Supreme Court, but before they overturned women's rights to bodily autonomy. It was a dark futuristic tale that came true way too fast. ...

While my first draft gently weeps, by Catriona

As we head into a rather big news week - do you ever get stories “ripped from the headlines”? How much do you rely on current events to fuel your stories?

Ha-HA-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. If that's how we're spelling hollow and yet deranged laughter. I'm writing this on Wednesday night and my kneejerk answer is to say that this week's big news doesn't fit anywhere into my fictional universe. But let's see. 

(I'm illustrating the rest of the blog, not with book pics for once, but with a few recent snaps fr...

Be Here Now by Eric Beetner

 As we head into a rather big news week - do you ever get stories “ripped from the headlines”? How much do you rely on current events to fuel your stories?

I don’t typically write anything that is “of the moment” or places it in a specific here and now. I’ve written period pieces set in the 1930s, the 50s and the 60s. For those books the time was a factor in the story for sure. And you have to get the details accurate to make the world believable in everything from pop culture to news of the day....

Write with Special Sauce

 

Do you ever get stories “ripped from theheadlines”? How much do you rely on current events to fuel your stories?

 

We’ve allheard the familiar chestnuts: ‘Reality is stranger than Fiction’ and ‘Everystory has already been told,’ or a permutation on the latter, ‘Every book hasbeen rewritten.’

 

I thinkthe reason why readers see the same stories over and over again, and why agentsand publishers are reluctant to take on inventive stories or creative uses oflanguage is...

My Truth

Q: As we head into a rather big news week - do you ever write stories “ripped from the headlines”? How much do you rely on current events to fuel your work?

From Susan

 

Taking a whole story or a major plot from something that made the news doesn’t work for me. For one thing, the real story already exists. And if it’s crime fiction, there are real people who might feel I was ripping the scars off their devastating wounds for my own benefit. I know there are TV shows that do it all the time. I would...

When Diwali and Halloween coincide - by Harini Nagendra

 It's Halloween week. Do you read horror? Have you written any? Why or why are you not a fan?

It's Diwali week in India - festival of lights, which we call Deepawali in the south of India, where I am. We stopped bursting crackers several decades back, when my nephew was in primary school, and got us to sign an anti-pollution petition after reading about child labour in some of the manufacturing factories. But we do light lamps with oil and cotton wicks and set them out in the garden, and enjoy ho...

It’s Opera—Everybody Dies from Erica Miner

As we head into a rather big news week, do you ever get stories “ripped from the headlines”? How much do you rely on current events to fuel your stories?

Jim: I take full responsibility for the premature appearance of week’s question, which was supposed to be next week’s question. I miscalculated the date. So, apologies to all. But I feel this topic fits our guest poster’s book better anyway. 

Erica Miner writes a thrilling series of mysteries set in the world of opera. I’ve had the privilege and ...

The Goosebump Genre

It's Halloween week. Do you read horror? Have you written any? Why or why are you not a fan?

by Dietrich

While I’ve written some dark stuff, I haven’t attempted to write a horror novel. I don’t possess the macabre fascination that would be needed, and there’s no draw to explore that line between what’s real and what’s hiding under the stairs. 

"The tale of monstrosity and terror is a basket loosely packed with phobias; when the writer passes you by, you take one of his imaginary horrors out of ...

The Goosebump genre

It's Halloween week. Do you read horror? Have you written any? Why or why are you not a fan?

by Dietrich

While I’ve written some dark stuff, I haven’t attempted to write a horror novel. I don’t possess the macabre fascination that would be needed, and there’s no draw to explore that line between what’s real and what’s hiding under the stairs. 

"The tale of monstrosity and terror is a basket loosely packed with phobias; when the writer passes you by, you take one of his imaginary horrors out of ...

Over the Top

 

Terry here: It’s Halloween week. The question: Do you read horror? Have you written any? Why or why are you not a fan?Here’s a Halloween scene. Bet you can’t guess where it is. It’s Athens! We were there for three weeks, and the last day, October 11, we went to a lively part of Athens where there were a lot of outdoor cafes and a general air of merriment. Here, we ran into a street decorated for Halloween that surpassed anything I’ve seen in other cities. 
 When we were in Florence, years ...