Last week, I was admitted to the literal vault of the Enoch Pratt Free Library. Among the treasures I saw was a handwritten letter from F. Scott Fitzgerald to H.L. Mencken, thanking him for his review of THE GREAT GATSBY, which Fitzgerald believed (or so he told Mencken) had turned the critical tide in Fitzgerald's favor. As a former journalist, it is very hard for me to reach out to critics. It seems improper. I have my job to do, they have theirs. Certainly, there are critics who have made me very Read more [...]

Let's jump ahead to that frabjous day when the race has been won -- you have sold your first book and now it's being published. But it comes at a terrible price. You now most likely have a disease: First Author-itis.Oh, a few people escape it, but they are very noble people. I wasn't among them. For about eight months, I was the center of the universe. Didn't you know? Haven't you heard? I WROTE A BOOK! I actually uttered those words at my first Bouchercon, upon meeting a woman, Sally Fellows, who Read more [...]

Super Reader Marjorie, an incredibly generous and thoughtful woman, suggested yesterday that I talk about my physical travails vis a vis writing. I have had some bum times, to quote Sondheim, but I'm still here. And relative to a lot of people, I've drawn to a genetic inside straight, if you will. You should see my mom. So, instead, I want to talk about how writers need hobbies that remind us that certain things are futile, frustrating, surprising, unexpectedly rewarding. Gardening, cooking, carpentry, Read more [...]

If you are a writer, or thinking about writing fiction, make a list: What do you think you will do well? What do you think your weaknesses will be? If I had made such a list in 1991, when the first Tess Monaghan novel began taking shape in a black-and-white Roaring Springs notebook, my list of perceived strengths would have been: DialogueCharacterHumorSense of PlaceAnd my list of weaknesses would have included: PlotPacingSyntax (I suffer from a kind of logical dyslexia in which I deliver information Read more [...]

"That's the problem with all you readers. You know all the plots." That line jumped out of SUNSET BOULEVARD the other night. William Holden is speaking to a studio reader, a young woman who earns a living by reading books and scenarios for possible adaptation. But it gave me an idea for today's entry, which is about plotting and recreational readers.If anything can be learned, it's plot. First of all, you already know more about plot than you realize. As a reader and a movie-goer and a television Read more [...]

Of all the things I do as a writer, I find creating character names difficult and baffling. Except when it's not. Some characters have arrived in my life with names affixed. Tess Monaghan, the Bethany girls. Others, as explained yesterday in the comments section, were drawn from newspaper bylines. If I were a historical novelist, I might use cemeteries for names. I have consulted phone books to find surnames and Googled the popular names lists of particular years. Whenever I fantasize about hiring Read more [...]

Yesterday, regular commenter Andy mentioned a poet who seemed to resent being asked if his poem had been inspired by him and his son. As I hope I made clear, I think all questions for writers are fair game. But this is one of the trickiest. It happens that I was asked Friday if a character in one of my early novels was inspired by someone close to me and I found myself almost -- almost -- nonplussed. The best response, I think, is the new cliche: It's complicated. First of all, let's put aside the Read more [...]

Holy cats -- I just realized I have a book coming out in a week from Tuesday. It's the paperback edition of Life Sentences and, for the first time since 1997, I am NOT touring. I am doing events in my two hometowns, Baltimore and New Orleans. You can find me:March 2, 7 p.m., Barnes and Noble, Ellicott City, MD, Long Gate Shopping Center.March 15, 7 p.m, Garden District Bookshop, 2727 Prytania, New Orleans. But as a countdown to publication, I'd like to switch this blog from memories to advice for Read more [...]

I am writing a new book and a character arrived with a sweet tooth. That's how these things work, as the writers who visit here know. You're toodling along, making stuff up, and suddenly there's this little girl lying belly down on the banks of the Gwynn's Falls, a net at the ready to catch the crayfish (as we called them) and the next thing I know, she's demanding that her new friend help her acquire "Circus Peanuts." I don't think I've ever actually eaten a circus peanut and, having read up on Read more [...]

I missed what appears to be a record-breaking snowfall in Baltimore. And, in some ways, I really did MISS it. I don't much care for snow, particularly in my hometown, which isn't particularly skilled at handling it. (Our snow removal plan seems to rely rather heavily on the old-fashioned technology known as "Melt, please.") But these are the things of which memories are made. And, sometimes, valuable new habits: It was the blizzard of 2025 that got me started writing at Spoons on a daily basis. I Read more [...]