March 2019 Blog Posts (26)

Bookings open for festival crime writing workshop

A reminder that bookings are open for my crime writing workshop taking place on my return to Darlington for the Darlington Arts Festival in May.

Title: An Introduction to Crime Fiction – Writing workshop

Event details Best-selling crime novelist John Dean is to run an Introduction to Crime Fiction creative writing workshop. John, author…

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Added by John Dean on March 29, 2019 at 9:10 — No Comments

More thoughts on the writer's tools of the trade

Further to my previous blog on words, they are our tools and, as with any tools, you need to select the right ones for the job.

For me, it is best to keep it simple and effective: write what you want to say. Don’t be tempted to use different words just for the sake of it.

Sometimes it’s not necessary to find alternatives. It can make a…

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Added by John Dean on March 28, 2019 at 14:00 — No Comments

Getting the words right

The use of words is something dear to all our hearts as writers. They are, after all, our tools of the trade and we should wield them with all the care taken by an artisan when using a chisel.

I once came across a web page published by the Now York Times, saying that the titles of every book published in English in and around the 19th Century — 1,681,161 of them - were electronically scoured by American researchers for key words and phrases that might offer insight into the minds of…

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Added by John Dean on March 28, 2019 at 13:48 — No Comments

Evoking reactions in your readers

Good writing works because it evokes reactions in your reader though the use of triggers - words, phrases, images, places, sensations that reach deep into the reader’s mind.

That reaction will be based on something the reader has actually experienced, or maybe something that the reader dreads ever having to experience. It is why horror and…

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Added by John Dean on March 27, 2019 at 15:20 — No Comments

Doing our bit for Scotland

We are proud that our weekend writing courses are helping to attract people to Scotland. You can check out our VisitScotland page at

https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/inscribe-media-ltd-p2100651…

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Added by John Dean on March 27, 2019 at 14:29 — No Comments

Festival programme is revealed

What a brilliant programme for this year's Darlington Arts Festival in May - looking forward to being part of it!…

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Added by John Dean on March 27, 2019 at 10:02 — No Comments

50 up



Delighted to say that the DCI Blizzard mystery The Railway Man (The Book Folks), set in a world of veteran railway workers  and seedy boxing clubs, has reached 50 reviews on Amazon.

You can read them at…

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Added by John Dean on March 22, 2019 at 15:00 — No Comments

The image behind a novel

Funny how ideas work their way into a writer’s consciousness. The idea for my recently-published DCI Jack Harris novel To Honour the Dead (The Book Folks) came, in part, from my father recounting a tale from his National Service days when a soldier won a medal for valour but was drunk at the time.

The story got me thinking about the thin line…

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Added by John Dean on March 21, 2019 at 10:14 — No Comments

Reflecting on the role of conflict in crime fiction

One of my Darlington Arts Festival events, taking place during National Crime Reading Month in May, will be a talk looking at the role of conflict as an inspiration for crime writers.

Conflict fascinates crime writers, regardless of where it happens, and one of the novels that gave me the idea for the talk, and to which I shall refer, was my…

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Added by John Dean on March 18, 2019 at 14:10 — No Comments

Crime Writers' Association strengthens festivals link

The Crime Writers’ Association (CWA), of which I am a member, has created the role of Festival Liaison Officer, which is intended to strengthen connections between crime writers and literary and arts festivals. Authors Isabelle Grey and William Shaw will share the…

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Added by John Dean on March 18, 2019 at 11:43 — No Comments

Improving your crime novel

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Added by John Dean on March 12, 2019 at 9:16 — No Comments

Some musings on the role of sense of place





I do a lot of creative writing teaching and I always contend that, despite the many elements of fiction, it comes down to a triangle, three things that come together to make the story work right from the off - story, character and…

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Added by John Dean on March 11, 2019 at 13:00 — No Comments

Some thoughts on writing

I was recently interviewed for the Middlesbrough Council magazine Empower Middlesbrough (many thanks to my old friend Ian Cross for the opportunity). My responses may interest

 

Tell me your story about becoming an author. What inspired you?

I always wanted to tell stories and had written from a young age, banging…

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Added by John Dean on March 11, 2019 at 11:09 — No Comments

Your chance to support threatened libraries



Libraries across the country are being hit hard by government cuts to local authority budgets.…

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Added by John Dean on March 10, 2019 at 14:30 — No Comments

Online Crime Fiction Course

Best-selling crime novelist and creative writing tutor John Dean, who is based in Dumfries and Galloway, is still running an…

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Added by John Dean on March 8, 2019 at 14:25 — No Comments

Thinking of turning to crime?

Thinking of writing a crime novel? Then you need to consider that to write a good crime story, you need to:

* Create a strong story (e
ven with a short story, it is worth mapping out a synopsis because crime stories are often complicated and you need to get it right).…

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Added by John Dean on March 8, 2019 at 14:20 — No Comments

Debut crime prize is launched

The McIlvanney Prize is launching a new award for 2019…

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Added by John Dean on March 8, 2019 at 9:01 — No Comments

Author prepares for homecoming Festival appearance



Best-selling crime novelist John Dean is returning to Darlington to stage a couple of events as part of the literary line-up during Darlington Arts Festival in May.

John, the former chair of Festival organisers Darlington for Culture, left the town after 26 years at the end of 2017 to live in South West Scotland.

The author of 17…

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Added by John Dean on March 7, 2019 at 13:00 — 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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