September 2018 Blog Posts (23)

Don't give your idea away - short story or novel?

Sometimes, I find myself telling a writing student that they ‘have given their idea’ away, by which I mean that the idea for a story is a really good one but that it has been wasted.…

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Added by John Dean on September 27, 2018 at 15:07 — No Comments

Creative writing course to run in Kirkcudbright

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Added by John Dean on September 27, 2018 at 15:00 — No Comments

Music to my ears

One of…

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Added by John Dean on September 27, 2018 at 14:30 — No Comments

Death on the Northern hills



What brings hardened city gangland figures to the North Pennines and one of them to his violent death? DCI Jack Harris must find out…

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Added by John Dean on September 27, 2018 at 14:01 — No Comments

Weekend writing workshop – taking inspiration from your surroundings

Seeking inspiration for your writing? Fancy writing in a 160-year-old house on a hill? Looking to learn more about how writers draw inspiration from their surroundings? Like to find a peaceful corner of a garden to write (weather permitting!)? And all with delicious home-cooked meals?

Then this is a reminder that a weekend course at Kettle Knowe near Castle Douglas is for you. Best-selling crime novelist and creative writing tutor John Dean is offering courses for your writing group…

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Added by John Dean on September 27, 2018 at 11:41 — No Comments

Making life difficult for your characters

At the heart of every crime novel is a strong story. But how do you put it all together? Well, at the heart of any interesting story is the way characters overcome obstacles through their own skills…

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Added by John Dean on September 25, 2018 at 13:59 — No Comments

Standing next to your readers

I think good writing is good writing because it triggers responses in its readers. Readers say ‘I have been in that situation',  ‘I know someone like that’ or ‘what a terrible thing to be faced with, how would I react?'’ etc etc.

If readers feel like that, it means that they are being drawn into the story. They stand next to your characters, they fear for what is about to happen, they simply must know what is on the next page.

If a reader does not really care what is happening…

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Added by John Dean on September 24, 2018 at 15:24 — No Comments

Thou Shalt Kill is published

The latest DCI Jack Harris novel has been published by the Book Folks. Thou Shalt Kill is my seventeenth crime novel to be published.

Book details: When a man is discovered murdered by crucifixion, an evangelical religious group falls under suspicion.

A dead body nailed to a shed unsettles even hardened detective Jack Harris. Despite being told that…

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Added by John Dean on September 22, 2018 at 9:53 — No Comments

How much gore is enough?

I recently taught a class on horror writing, as part of a creative writing course I was running. The session threw up that old chestnut. How much gore do you use? Do you leave it to the reader's imagination or soak them in blood on every page?…

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Added by John Dean on September 21, 2018 at 11:15 — No Comments

Death by delete button

I have always said that I write fast and edit slow, by which I mean that I hurl words onto the page then spend most of the time working and reworking them, rather like a…

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Added by John Dean on September 21, 2018 at 11:00 — No Comments

Fancy turning to crime?



 
Just a quick reminder that best-selling crime novelist and creative writing tutor John Dean has launched an online Crime Fiction Course.…

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Added by John Dean on September 20, 2018 at 10:09 — No Comments

Key questions to ask when writing a novel

As part of my teaching of aspiring authors, I am often asked what they need to consider when writing a novel. I always say that, if…

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Added by John Dean on September 18, 2018 at 11:53 — No Comments

The Vixen's Scream goes on special offer

My DCI Jack Harris crime novel The Vixen’s Scream, published by the Book Folks, is on special offer of just 99p/99 cents for a short…

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Added by John Dean on September 12, 2018 at 15:28 — No Comments

When a plan comes together

As I have mentioned in a previous blog, I have just started work on a new DCI Jack Harris crime novel and, yet again, the process has focused my thoughts on beginnings.

The first rule of opening lines is that they should possess most of the individual elements that make up the…

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Added by John Dean on September 12, 2018 at 11:32 — No Comments

Creating realistic characters in fiction

I have had a few reviews from readers on Amazon lately that praise the way my characters feel like they are real people. I am greatly gratified by such comments. It’s what all writers seek to achieve.

I guess those readers can make such comments because, although they are fictional, my characters are also real people, comprising bits taken from people I know. A wisp of hair here, a jacket there, a prejudice from someone else.

I take a lot of time developing my characters but always…

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Added by John Dean on September 12, 2018 at 9:23 — No Comments

The Secrets Man reviewed on award-winning Canadian website

I have a growing number of readers in Canada so I am delighted that Canada-based crime fiction reviewer Jim Napier has featured The Secrets Man on his award-winning Deadly Diversions website.…

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Added by John Dean on September 11, 2018 at 10:07 — No Comments

If you want to be a writer then write

I have just started work on a new DCI Jack Harris novel. I have a strong idea and a strong setting but, as always happens in writing, I get stuck from time to time. The cursor hovers over the page but nothing happens.

How do I get over the problem? Simple. I close my eyes and imagine myself there with my characters. What can they see, what can they hear,…

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Added by John Dean on September 7, 2018 at 9:08 — No Comments

You can't please all of the people all of the time

I have written before about reviews. As I said last time, if a review has useful points to make I always take them away with me, think them over and address them in my writing if I feel it is necessary.

However, they can sometime…

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Added by John Dean on September 7, 2018 at 8:55 — No Comments

Five titles hit top 100

Delighted to say that, as of today (September 6, 2018), I have five titles in the Amazon Kindle Top 100 British Detectives chart, including The Railway Man. You can find the full Top 100 at …

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Added by John Dean on September 6, 2018 at 15:26 — No Comments

CWA appoints new champions for libraries

I am delighted to have been named one of the CWA's Libraries Champions - here is the full story

The Crime Writers’ Association has appointed new Libraries Champions based in England,…

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Added by John Dean on September 6, 2018 at 9:00 — No Comments

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An exciting character

Author Ian Robinson has a new crime novel out - and it’s attracting plenty of glowing reviews. Criminal Justice (The Book Folks) introduces undercover police officer Sam Batford, a man who walks the narrow line between successful detective and corrupt cop. The novel sees him sent to work with a serious crime team in London in an investigation which sees him play the good…See More
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Authors highlight different ways of starting to write a book

I have just started writing my next crime novel and I have more time to concentrate on it now that Kirkcudbright Book Week, which I help organise, has come to an end for this year.In fact, the subject of how best to begin a story cropped up during Book Week, not least when I chaired an in-conversation event at the Selkirk Arms, featuring crime writers Traude Ailinger,…See More
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Tackling the dreaded blank first page

 I am working on a new DCI John Bizzard crime novel for my publisher The Book Folks, and that means being faced with the dreaded blank first page.So, how do writers get going under such circumstances? How do they start writing their story? Well, in this hectic world, I have always felt that there is a lot to be said for holding back and allowing myself a little time to…See More
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