Terry Shames's Blog: 7 Criminal Minds, page 93

And soon it'll be Christmas, by Catriona

 Q: How do you handle the passage of time and the aging of characters in your series?

Okay, I should probably be answering this with respect to the Dandy Gilver series, which is fifteen books long now and spans 1922 - 1938. And I do want to say two things about the world of Gilverton. 

First, how the hell did Dandy and I start out the same age, collaborate on a book a year, and end up with her younger than me?

Second - advice for new writers starting out - if you are going to have a series that pro...

Where (or WHEN) are they now? by Cathy Ace

Q: How do you handle the passage of time and the aging of characters in your series?

Oh, this is an interesting one... 

On my wall...

When I wrote THE CORPSE WITH THE SILVER TONGUE, the first Cait Morgan Mystery and my first novel, I set it to take place “now”.

To be precise, the “now” I set it in was 2012, which is when the book was published. That meant I calculated the birth years of my main and subsidiary characters to be the ages I wanted them to be in the book. I always do this, even if a ...

As Time Goes By

How do you handle the passage of time and the aging of characters in your series (if you don't write a series, speak to this in terms of your preference as a reader)? Are your characters living in a short span of time while many years pass in our world? Does time pass at roughly the same pace as the publication of each book? Or do you have a different method?

From Frank

I write a number of different series ("gritty crime fiction from both sides of the badge," after all!) but I tend to handle the p...

Tempus fugit, or not

 Q: How do you handle the passage of time and the aging of characters in your series? Are your characters living in a short span of time while many years pass in our world? Does time pass at roughly the same pace as the publication of each book? Or do you have a different method?

 

-from Susan

 

Good question. My answer is couched in the fact that I have written two series, one with three books (the Dani O’Rourke series) and one with two so far (the French Village novels). I haven’t had to deal with...

I Have A Request

Over the past several years, the US has become objectively more polarized politically. Have you accounted for this in your recent work in any way? If so, how?

 

My writing is political. Every book I have written and almost every short story or article has a kernel of politics at its heart. Political issues, in the general sense of how the world is, and is governed: the inequalities and the injustices, are the animus for most of my writing; the fuel which propels and compels me to wri...

What’s Old is New Again from James W. Ziskin

Over the past several years, the US has become objectively more polarized politically. Have you accounted for this in your recent work in any way? If so, how?

This week’s question is one I’d rather avoid. I have strong views on politics, but have come to realize that arguing my side publicly does not convince or convert people who disagree with me. The country has become so divided that I truly fear for its future. Civility, if it ever was present in our political culture, has certainly dried up ...

A fine line

Over the past several years, the US has become objectively more polarized politically. Have you accounted for this in your recent work in any way? If so, how?

by Dietrich

Most of my novels are set in times gone by, so the stories have nothing to do with the current political or social climate.

That said, I do allow my characters to shake out their own views, political or otherwise. No matter what the setting, the stories are told from the point of view of the characters, and these imaginary folk ha...

Fiction, or Politics

 

Hi, Terry Shames here. This week we are talking about politics, and whether we tackle our country’s increasingly strong political polarization in our books. 
 I am outspoken on social media about politics. More than once I’ve had a reader tell me they think I should keep quiet lest I lose some readers. Sorry, but if lose readers over what I consider the most important issue of our time—our continued existence as a Republic--so be it. 
 But what I do in my personal life on social media is not equa...

Politically Speaking ...

Over the past several years, the US has become objectively more polarized politically. Have you accounted for this in your recent work in any way? If so, how? 

Brenda Chapman at the keyboard.

This week's question is a difficult one for me. I live in Canada (Ottawa) and my books are placed squarely in this country. I shy away from politics as a rule in my stories although I touch on many topical issues. All this to say that the political polarization in the U.S. hasn't had an impact on my writing.

T...

How to Handle Muther-trucking Criticism - By Josh Stallings

 Q: Taking negative/critical feedback isn't often heralded as a skill but perhaps it should be. How do you handle it when it comes your way? 

A: You would think after years as a movie advertising trailer editor I would have gotten good at taking criticism. You’d be half right. What I got good at was separating negative feedback into categories. A) Things that will make the trailer better. B) Things that are unachievable with the film they shot. C) Things that have nothing to do with the trailer I...