Tips from the mountaintop

             If we resolve to achieve success in our writing (especially in thrillers and suspense), we can do no better than to heed the hard-earned wisdom of those who have summited the best-seller lists.    

           

Catherine Coulter has written dozens of NY Times best-selling novels.  She shares excellent tips on how it can be done here:

http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/catherine-coulter-9-simple-ways-to-be-a-better-writer

During a ThrillerFest conference panel, four top guns—David Hewson, Lisa Gardner, John Sanford, and M.J. Rose—revealed these seven writing sins:

http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/the-7-deadly-sins-of-writing

Ann Rule certainly rules in the true crime genre.  Intense curiosity, a background on the fringes of law enforcement—and a fortuitous (though dangerous) stint as a volunteer alongside then yet-to-be revealed and arrested serial killer Ted Bundy in a Seattle crisis clinic—took her to the best-seller lists.  Good advice for wannabe true crime writers here:

http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/ann-rule-on-breaking-into-true-crime

Notice anything special?  All these web pages are from the same fount of writing information, the venerable Writers Digest organization.  They’re publishers of a respected magazine devoted to the craft, and of valuable annual guides like Writer’s Market, sponsors of excellent online writing classes and of prestigious writing contests.  They’re long-time staunch supporters of struggling writers everywhere.

Phil