I am delighted to be part of Scotland's newest writing group, working out of Kirkudbright in Dumfries and Galloway - meet the Gallery Writers at …
ContinueAdded by John Dean on May 23, 2019 at 9:42 — No Comments
I am preparing a new course and at the heart of it, as so often, will be the subject of characters.
Creating strong characters – not necessarily strong people but well defined characters – is crucial because you can create the finest landscapes, the…
ContinueAdded by John Dean on May 22, 2019 at 9:00 — No Comments
Added by John Dean on May 17, 2019 at 11:30 — No Comments
I am delighted that the dates for the next creative writing course at Kirkudbright Galleries have been announced.
Added by John Dean on May 15, 2019 at 11:30 — No Comments
As some of you may know, I am a big supporter of the UK’s National Crime Reading Month, which runs throughout May.
Initiated by the Crime Writers' Association and its sister the Crime Readers Association, it is featuring events the length and breadth of the UK.
What has come home time and time again is the public's insatiable thirst for…
ContinueAdded by John Dean on May 9, 2019 at 15:27 — No Comments
The DCI Blizzard Murder Mysteries Books 1 to 3
A Collection containing the first three books in the DCI John Blizzard series of murder mysteries (The Book Folks) has been published in e-book format.
You can find out more and buy the book at…
ContinueAdded by John Dean on May 9, 2019 at 9:52 — No Comments
You may be aware that I run an online crime fiction course and one student writing a novel asked me a couple of questions about his main character, the protagonist. The answers may interest those writers who are…
ContinueAdded by John Dean on May 7, 2019 at 14:40 — No Comments
I am very grateful to all those people who have bought the latest DCI Jack Harris novel Error of Judgement (The Book Folks), keeping it high in the Amazon Kindle charts. Your support is much appreciated.
You can buy the book in e-book or paperback at…
ContinueAdded by John Dean on May 3, 2019 at 11:40 — No Comments
Railways have always played a part in my life. My grandfather worked on the recovery trains in World War Two and my father helped found a railway museum so it is not surprising that I shared his interest as I grew up.…
ContinueAdded by John Dean on May 3, 2019 at 11:34 — No Comments
I have always been interested in where writers’ ideas come from. Indeed, it is the theme of the talk I will deliver at Catstrand Arts Centre as part of National Crime Reading Month in May,…
ContinueAdded by John Dean on May 2, 2019 at 10:48 — No Comments
I am always interested in what triggers a new character for a writer. Maybe the process begins with something physical. Maybe, for example, the writer becomes taken by someone who cannot wear a tie smartly. That is where DCI John Blizzard…
ContinueAdded by John Dean on April 30, 2019 at 9:10 — No Comments
Crime writers owe a lot to libraries. They lend our books in return for PLR, they stage our events, including during National Crime Reading Month in May each year, and they raise our profiles.
So, I had no hesitation when I was asked by Martin Edwards to be the Crime Writers’ Association Libraries Champion in Scotland.
For me, like many…
ContinueAdded by John Dean on April 29, 2019 at 8:39 — No Comments
It’s funny how a sense of place inspires writers. As you may know if you have read my blogs on our weekend writing courses at my home (details below), we moved to a hillside in Dumfries and Galloway a year and a half ago. The landscape has had a…
ContinueAdded by John Dean on April 26, 2019 at 10:00 — No Comments
Writers, even the biggest names with many millions of sales behind them, will readily acknowledge that they are always learning. I certainly am, striving to make sure that the next sentence, the next paragraph, the next novel is better than the one it follows.
Editing is where a…
ContinueAdded by John Dean on April 25, 2019 at 11:43 — No Comments
I talk to many writers who say: ‘I can write but I can’t do dialogue.’ For those struggling, here’s an experiment. It’ll make you feel self-conscious but it could be worth the embarrassment. Sit down with a group of friends and chat about whatever you fancy. Get one of you to take notes and come up with the…
ContinueAdded by John Dean on April 25, 2019 at 11:12 — No Comments
Places are still available for a crime fiction workshop being run by best-selling crime novelist John Dean as part of the literary line-up during Darlington Arts Festival in May.…
ContinueAdded by John Dean on April 25, 2019 at 9:41 — No Comments
Delighted to say that Error of Judgement (The Book Folks), the new DCI Jack Harris mystery, is out.
Years after a fatal plane crash, the investigation is reopened when a missing body is discovered. It was a tragedy that shocked the nearby Pennine communities to the core. Several deaths were recorded, but one body was never found. That changes…
ContinueAdded by John Dean on April 23, 2019 at 19:20 — No Comments
Feast of events organised for national crime writing festival in May
From Staffordshire to Cardiff, Newcastle to Bristol, Middlesex to the hills of Dumfries and Galloway, May will be a time for murder and mayhem as National Crime Reading Month (NCRM) makes a welcome return.
Dozens of events have been organised for NCRM,…
ContinueAdded by John Dean on April 23, 2019 at 11:00 — No Comments
As a writer, I am always inspired by a sense of place. Whether it be a gloomy city or a stunning hillside, a glass-strewn council estate or a majestic waterfall, something about my surroundings repeatedly triggers…
ContinueAdded by John Dean on April 23, 2019 at 10:51 — No Comments
I was asked the other day for my golden rules for new writers. I replied: “Write something every day because you cannot be a writer if you do not write– it may not always be brilliant but at least you’ve done it.”…
ContinueAdded by John Dean on April 18, 2019 at 13:30 — No Comments
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