Throughlines

a recurring character/setting/element anchoring the reader in the story that keeps the reader interested I use throughlines in my own writing and mentioned them previously in Using One-Line Summaries to Write Better Stories and Writing Mentoring. Recent conversations demonstrated confusion; some people thought a throughline is the same as a plot line, some thought a … Continue reading “Throughlines”

The Alibi (A John Chance Mystery) – Chapter 5 (Brand new! Again!)

Yeah. Well. So. As I wrote in The Alibi (A John Chance Mystery) – Chapter 6 (Brand new!), The Alibi continues to grow and get restructured. I mentioned in that previous post – Surprise! – Quite a bit got added and edited in June. The throughlines are pretty well established, individual character plotlines are merging. … Continue reading “The Alibi (A John Chance Mystery) – Chapter 5 (Brand new! Again!)”

The Alibi (A John Chance Mystery) – Chapter 6 (Brand new!)

Yeah. Well. The Alibi continues to grow and get restructured. Surprise! Quite a bit got added and edited in June. The throughlines are pretty well established, individual character plotlines are merging. Characters are changing and growing, allegiances are shifting. The Alibi‘s Boston is a fun place to be. This chapter is one of the ones … Continue reading “The Alibi (A John Chance Mystery) – Chapter 6 (Brand new!)”

The Alibi (A John Chance Mystery) – Chapter 1 (Redux)

I’ve mentioned a few times how much I work to nail down the opening of whatever I’m working on. Doesn’t matter if it’s a short story, novella, novel, poem, … unless and until that opening sequence is working, everything’s going to suffer because I have no clear direction of where things are heading in the … Continue reading “The Alibi (A John Chance Mystery) – Chapter 1 (Redux)”

The Alibi (A John Chance Mystery) – Chapter 1 (backstory)

Long Ago and Far Away…okay, starting in August 2022, I shared chapters from The Alibi. That lasted to mid-September when life and starting a new business got in the way. Life and a new business consumed more time than I expected. I still wrote – actually updated, edited, and got ready for publication my first … Continue reading “The Alibi (A John Chance Mystery) – Chapter 1 (backstory)”