Terry Shames's Blog: 7 Criminal Minds, page 74

Analog man in a digital world

In Murder, She Wrote, Jessica Fletcher pecked out mysteries on an old Royal typewriter in 1984 and ended up tapping them out on her laptop by 1996. What changes in technology had the greatest impact on you in your writing career?

by Dietrich

Covid shut down many live events for a couple of years, so it’s a good thing online avenues for promotion were available: Zoom, YouTube, SoundCloud, author’s websites, social media, email services, and so on. Technology that wasn’t around not so long ago.

On-de...

What Have We Here?

 

Terry here, with our week's discussion: What changes in technology had the greatest impact on you in your writing career? 
 Ah, nostalgia! Papyrus. The quill pen. The ink pen. The ball point pen. The manual typewriter. The electric typewriter. The self-correcting electric typewriter. The IBM “ball” electric typewriter. The computer! 



 So yeah, things actually have gotten better. I used to type books, college papers (mine own, and others to make money) on a manual typewriter. And was delighted not...

Teaching An Old Dog ...

In Murder, She Wrote, Jessica Fletcher pecked out mysteries on an old Royal typewriter in 1984 and ended up tapping them out on her laptop by 1996. What changes in technology had the greatest impact on you in your writing career?

 Brenda starting off the week.

I remember pecking out essays on my old Olivetti typewriter at university. I had a self-imposed limit of three errors before I'd retype an entire page. I used white eraser tape that you slip in over the wrong letter and then hit the same key...

Bad Actors Make Good Writers, by Josh Stallings

 Q: Most writers have had other jobs. What’s one thing you learned in an entirely different professional setting that you’re grateful for?

A: From a young age I wanted to be an actor. Or a bank robber. Or a spy. But mostly an actor. I worked very hard to learn the craft. It never became a job, in that I was never paid to act. But I am deeply grateful for all it taught me.

That’s me on the far right, playing cowboy #2 in a Western staging of a Shakespeare comedy.

At sixteen I graduated high-school a...

Got here in the end, by Catriona

 LIFE: Most writers have had other jobs. What’s one thing you learned in an entirely different professional setting that you’re grateful for?

I think I learned something from every job I ever had. Let's see:

Saturday shampoo girl at a hairdressers: I earwigged into the most rambunctious, free-wheeling, joyously hedonistic conversations in the staffroom. I think those little playlets still crop up in ensemble scenes in the Last Ditch. So that, and folding towels so they look nice.

Coming Dec 6

Bank c...

Pedal to the metal... by Cathy Ace

LIFE: Most writers have had other jobs. What’s one thing you learned in an entirely different professional setting that you’re grateful for?

Honored to be made a Freeman of the City of London, 
in recognition of my career in marketing communications

Oh…a past lives question…lovely! The only job I’ve had for the past nine years has been that of a full-time author. Within that job description lie a host of duties (yes, duties) other than plotting, researching, writing, editing, and polishing books, ...

All In A Day's Work by Gabriel Valjan

 

Most writers have had other jobs. What’s one thing you learned in an entirely different professional setting that you’re grateful for?

 

My employment history is eclectic, in that I worked in industries unrelated to my college and graduate school education. There is no rhyme or reason unless I impose a narrative, but each job provided me with an experience that helped me become a better person. I tied what I am grateful for from each position and explain how they helped me wi...

A Resume

 Q: Most writers have had other jobs. What’s one thing you learned in an entirely different professional setting that you’re grateful for?

-from Susan

 

1.     Waitress. I can’t do it and will always have the greatest respect for people who can remember who ordered what, when they ordered it, and how to get it to them without putting my thumb on the portion of the plate their food is on. 

2.     Shelver in academic library: There is at least one book written on every subject and sub-subject, and tin...

Writers to Watch: Anna Bailey

 

Let’s do a shout-out to the debut authors. What’s a wonderful book by a first time crime fiction author you’ve read in the last six months?

 

One of the joys of this job is that you get to discover new talented writers before they become world famous. It’s always great to find a new author, a debut or just someone who’s work is new to you, whose writing is different and fresh. It always leaves me buzzing.

 

The world of crime fiction is vibrant. Every year, new, remarkable authors appear on the sce...

Kim Hays: an Exciting New Author to Watch from James W. Ziskin

Let’s do a shout-out to the debut authors. What’s a wonderful book by a first time crime fi ction author you’ve read in the last six months?

I haven’t read a lot of debuts recently, but one that truly wowed me was Pesticide by Kim Hays. Hays sets her debut in Bern, Switzerland, and it’s a winner.

From the book jacket:

Bern, Switzerland—known for its narrow cobblestone streets, decorative fountains, and  striking towers. Yet dark currents run through this charming medieval city and beyond, to the idy...