One of the key things that I tell my creative writing students is that the opening lines of their stories are crucial.

Why? Because harassed publishers, overworked agents and readers with a mass of choice all need grabbing within moments of picking up the book/short story/manuscript.

It is like the writer reaching out of the page, clutching the reader by the lapel and saying ‘don’t you dare go away, this is going to be good!’

The first rule of opening lines is that they…

A reminder that, in addition to the various free things I do with writers, one of the paid-for services I offer is one that supports writers through online mentoring.

But why should you hire a professional writing mentor? Isn’t it enough to attend a class/workshop or a writing group? Well, yes, it can be but not everyone can get to a group,…

I am working on the latest DCI John Blizzard crime novel for those excellent people at The Book Folks at the moment and the story is full of people falling out, each fighting their corner, defending what is important to them.

That is how it should be but why is conflict important in writing? Because stories need things to happen and that usually comes out of conflict - characters argue, fight, feud etc. It is through seeing characters in conflict that we see them at their…

Young people falling foul of drugs, dealers who don't care, a hill town in turmoil, it all adds up to a testing case for DCI Jack Harris, who has already got plenty on his mind as tough memories start to crowd in on him. You can find out more in the latest in the…

In addition to my crime fiction, I make the occasional foray into other genres, including humour. But how do you write humour? Well, here are some suggested rules:

The first thing to remember is that humour is subjective. What is funny to one person may easily leave another cold.

The best approach is write in your own style in the way…

Congratulations to author Keven Shevels, who is donating proceeds from sales of his comic novel The Haddock Flies at Midnight to St Teresa's Hospice in Darlington, County Durham, to help it through these difficult times. An adult comedy, the book recounts thirty days in the life of a town hall housing official in the north of England who joins forces…

Every writer is obsessed with keeping their reader engaged, and rightly so. That’s what keeps them turning the page.

But what allows you to do that? Well, I think that good writing works because it triggers responses in its readers.

I think writing works best when readers say ‘I have been in that situation, ‘I know someone like that’, ‘what a terrible thing to be faced with, I remember when…’ etc etc.

If readers feel like that, it means that they are being drawn into the…

My lockdown is being spent at home with my family plus a cast of characters from the latest DCI John Blizzard crime novel that I am writing for those fine people at The Book Folks.

Indeed, the challenges of being restricted to a hillside in Scotland during these testing times have given me more opportunity to write.

What has emerged from…

Novelist John Dean is running an online mentoring and writing workshop programme for aspiring authors, ideal for people seeking something to do under current virus-related restrictions.

John, who is based in Dumfries and Galloway, has had nineteen crime novels published and is with London-based The Book Folks, said: “Writing can be a lonely enough pastime as it is, even without the current restrictions on people’s movements. With the new restrictions, digital learning will be even…

One of the key skills which the crime writer must master is the ability to be totally unreliable.

What do I mean by that? Surely, we’re all down-to-earth, honest folks? Of course, we are (!) but that does not mean that we do not dedicate every writing moment to trying to mislead our readers. Readers of crime novels expect nothing less, it’s part of the contract between us.

So how does the arrangement work? Well, at the heart of a good crime novel is secrecy, things that…

The box set featuring the first three DCI Jack Harris mysteries published by The Book Folks, is on sale.

DCI Jack Harris loves the peace and solitude of the rolling hills of the Pennines in the north of England so when criminals interrupt his quietude, he makes no qualms about catching them, even if his actions run the townsfolk and his fellow…

As you may know from some of my earlier blogs, I am one of the organisers of the first ever Kirkcudbright Book Week in the Dumfries and Galloway town (it finishes on Friday March 6).

The early events have been well attended and enthusiastically received and have reminded me how much people like to listen to the written word being read out loud.

Our programme (you can find it on…

I have written before about the way that some writers respond first and foremost to plots, ideas they hear or read which become the germ of a story. Others respond to characters. Maybe they see someone in the bus queue and an idea sparks to life featuring that person.

I have always thought that I am a writer who reacts primarily to places, as…

The latest DCI Jack Harris mystery is out. The Killing Line is published by The Book Folks and is my nineteenth published crime novel.

In the book, a schoolgirl is found dead after taking drugs, the second death…

Good writers, particularly when it comes to novels, have a deep knowledge of their characters and the way they interact with each other. And they know all about their history.

The thought process is crucial but comes with a cautionary note - you do not necessarily need every detail to go onto the page. Why? Because back story has become an increasingly hot topic for many publishers. The argument goes that the modern reader wants things to keep moving. That is certainly true of crime…

Best-selling crime novelist John Dean is running an online mentoring and writing workshop programme for aspiring authors.

John, who is based in Dumfries and Galloway, has had eighteen novels published and is with London-based The Book Folks.

John said: “Writing can be a lonely pastime and my programmes help writers tackle some of the…

I dropped in on one of the crime fiction Facebook sites of which I am a member the other day and someone had asked authors of series featuring the same characters what kept them coming back to them?

I have been thinking about this recently, having just delivered the latest in the DCI Jack Harris series to my publisher The Book Folks and moved on to the next novel, one in the DCI John Blizzard series.

So what keeps me coming back? After all, I could tell my stories using other…

Had enough of the cold, wet and dark? The hint of better things to come making you look forward to your Summer break? Then why not include a writing weekend in Scotland?

Best-selling crime novelist John Dean has announced the 2020 dates for weekend writing workshops at his home between Castle Douglas and Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and…

There is still time to enter the Crime Writers’ Association’s Margery Allingham Short Mystery competition 2020, which closes at 6pm on 29 February.

The CWA’s mission is to find the best unpublished short mystery, one that fits into legendary crime writer Margery’s definition of what makes a great story when she said: “The Mystery remains…