Thoughts on writing fiction

Dash Hammett on Crime Writing

Dashiell Hammett on writing crime fiction  (The Brooklyn Eagle Magazine http://www.thrillingdetective.com/non_fiction/i006.html, 1929): What I try to do is write a story about a detective rather than a detective story. Keeping the reader fooled until the last, possible moment is a good trick and I usually try to play it, but I can't attach more than secondary importance to it. The... Continue Reading

Why I write (#1)

 I retired 20 years ago in order to write stories, i.e., novels and shorter works, which I've wanted to do since college.   During my gainfully employed years, I wrote nonfiction books and articles, which frankly requires a competitive mindset as publishers demand that prospective authors tell what, who, and why they are competing with.  Fiction, not so much, as here... Continue Reading