February 2019 Blog Posts (19)

A festival of crime writing

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Added by John Dean on February 28, 2019 at 9:00 — No Comments

Crossing the Rubicon



I have just read Ian Patrick’s debut crime novel Rubicon (Fahrenheit Press) and was blown away by it. It is a terrific read and I can heartily recommend it.…

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Added by John Dean on February 27, 2019 at 8:30 — No Comments

Keeping up to date with crime fiction

It is well worth checking out the latest news and views from the world of crime fiction by becoming part of the excellent …

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Added by John Dean on February 26, 2019 at 15:19 — No Comments

Why, oh why?

As a writer, one of my guiding lights is ‘why?’ Why do people behave the way they do, why do they risk imprisonment by breaking the law, why did they let events unfold the way they do?…

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Added by John Dean on February 26, 2019 at 9:24 — No Comments

An excellent writing insight from Peter James

The brilliant best-selling crime writer Peter James recently tweeted: “I always plan the beginning, end and the first 20% of a book in detail – but after that I like events to happen spontaneously, and for the story to take on a life of its own. That way, events, and how the characters react to them, feel authentic.”…

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Added by John Dean on February 21, 2019 at 11:59 — No Comments

Encouraging reviews



Nice to have some good reviews for the DCI Blizzard crime novel Death List - they are much appreciated!  You can read them at …

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Added by John Dean on February 18, 2019 at 14:30 — No Comments

A question of pace

I am editing the first draft of a new Jack Harris novel at the moment and my big preoccupation is pace.

Learning how to write a narrative with the right pace is one of the most crucial writing skills. Get it wrong and you are jeopardising your chances of success. Get…

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Added by John Dean on February 14, 2019 at 9:00 — No Comments

Getting cosy with a murderer!

Following the news that we are running an online crime fiction course, I thought it would be useful to look at how to create a murderer!

The key to good crime writing is to create strong characters - do not stray into cliché, make your characters come over as real.So, that means you must make the villain real and not some clichéd figure from the movies.

The best thing is for them to have appeared earlier in the story so the reader knows them, becomes engaged with their life, starts…

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Added by John Dean on February 12, 2019 at 11:25 — No Comments

Events as part of Darlington Arts Festival



I am  d…

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Added by John Dean on February 12, 2019 at 9:00 — No Comments

To Die Alone on special offer



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Added by John Dean on February 11, 2019 at 15:30 — No Comments

Sitting down with your character

Getting to know your characters before you begin to write your story is critical. If you don’t know much about them at the outset, you’ll struggle to bring them to life on the printed page.

So here’s a…

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Added by John Dean on February 11, 2019 at 14:45 — No Comments

Who's writing this novel anyway?

Writers spend a lot of time thinking about the technical aspect of their work  - does the plot hold together, is the pace right, is there too much description, an over-use of back story, poor grammar, literals etc…

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Added by John Dean on February 8, 2019 at 11:06 — No Comments

Online crime writing course

Best-selling crime novelist and creative writing tutor John Dean has started to run an online Crime Fiction Course.

John, author of 17 novels and currently published by London-based The Book Folks, and the creator of DCI John Blizzard and DCI Jack Harris, also runs Inscribe Media Ltd, through which the course will be administered.

The…

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Added by John Dean on February 7, 2019 at 15:11 — No Comments

Strange Little Girl on audio

You can check out the excellent Nicholas Camm reading the audio version of the DCI Blizzard mystery Strange Little Girl at…

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Added by John Dean on February 7, 2019 at 8:55 — No Comments

Something extra

What turns a story from good to very good? For me, it is that extra something.

Whether it be the description of a place that makes you shiver because you feel the chill air coming off the hills, or a portrayal of a character so real they could easily walk in through the door and…

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Added by John Dean on February 6, 2019 at 14:07 — No Comments

The novel at rest

I have just finished the first draft of a new Jack Harris novel. As always, I’ll let it rest for a week or two then come back to start the edit with fresh eyes.

For me, that is a crucial part of the writing process and the test for me is that, if I enjoy the novel and forgot I wrote it, I must be doing something right!

The read-through is also crucial to search for problems with flow, plotlines, poor grammar, literals etc. I want the team at The Book Folks to have a manuscript…

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Added by John Dean on February 6, 2019 at 13:53 — No Comments

Weekend writing workshops – taking inspiration from your surroundings



Writers! Fancy writing in a 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? And all with…

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Added by John Dean on February 4, 2019 at 10:00 — No Comments

How do you recognise the truth?



So how do you solve a crime when your main information is coming from someone with dementia - how do you know you are being told the truth?

Check out how DCI John Blizzard fares at…

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Added by John Dean on February 1, 2019 at 11:00 — No Comments

Crime at Catstrand

As part of…

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Added by John Dean on February 1, 2019 at 10:00 — 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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