Dean Wesley Smith is an incredibly prolific writer. He writes with his cats. I write with my pooch. Dean is adept at writing into the dark at speed. In other words, he does not outline his work before writing and sets for himself some remarkable word—count challenges. In a book of his I recently read, Writing With the Waltese Falcon, he shows us how he wrote three books—one in ten days, one in seven, and one in five while traveling on vacation. That’s incredible. In a column I share on SleuthSayers, the mystery blog, this week, I do a quick overview of the book and then share the story of my one and only experiment writing at speed. I’ve shared that story on this blog a few years ago.

I’ve been on the road with my wife Denise Kiernan as she visits bookstores and promotes her new book, Obstinate Daughters, about the women behind the American Revolution. The experience of being on the road together to sell copies of a RevWar book brought back a ton of memories—going as far back as childhood. “I have been here before, and before, and before,” is all I keep thinking. Why? In 1976…

There’s a book about writing that I re-read every year. It does not teach whole lot of craft. But it does speak to the heart. It will probably speak to you, if you care about writing. It’s a classic book written by Brenda Ueland called If You Want to Write (affiliate link). I cannot remember how or when I first learned about it, but my wife and I bought a paperback copy ages ago, read and enjoyed it, and have re-read it over the years and even handed out copies to fellow writers as well. It’s an inspirational book first…

I attended a college graduation recently and got strangely emotional before the ceremony began. I started analyzing why, and I finally landed on the fact that I love learning, and haven’t stopped doing so, really, since I was a kid. I took out a notebook, started jotting down some thoughts, and before long I had the makings of an article on the topic that dips into nostalgia, yes, but also touches on a prophecy made by one of my professors way back in…

I have too many books, and I’ve grown to accept that I always will. When I first started reading, I always finished books that I bought or borrowed before buying another one. This used to be an unspoken rule of mine. It just felt like the smart thing to do. But somehow I took a wrong turn. It happened after college when I was living on my own. Slowly, I started buying books that I intended to read, brought them home, stuck them on a shelf somewhere, and never…

Yes, I know it is 2026, and the holidays are technically behind us. But our house and front yard are still festooned with decorations, and I don’t think I’ve taken enough photos of the Christmas Village that took so much effort to put up this year. So when it came time to write a post for SleuthSayers, the mystery blog, this week, my head was still stuck on Christmas. In one of my first posts of the new year, I always try to share some sort of inspirational message for writers. Today I am sharing an anecdote of how I came to write my first published story, and the strange thing that happened immediately afterward.

You can read my article at this link. It is called…

Even before I wrote for a living, I read and absorbed the advice that dropped from the lips of writers. I’ve amassed a collection of these gems on my hard drive over the years. This week, in honor of the back-to-school mentality that permeates my soul at this time of year, I thought I’d dig in the files and see if any of the quotes I’ve saved actually makes sense, decades after I collected them.

You know what I discovered? The oldest quotes are the most useless. The one I harvested earlier this year is gold. And I would have expected better from the talented writers and creatives who uttered these words.

The words of wisdom come from people such as…

As a gentleman of a certain age, I suppose I am shocked that Steven Spielberg’s film Jaws is fast approaching its 50th Anniversary. It’s not a film I saw as a kid. (I was 10 when the film debuted at the drive-ins of my youth.) But as an adult, I’ve not only watched it numerous times, I actually love it as a great film and a great piece of storytelling. Recently, when my wife returned a trip with a girlfriend to Martha’s Vineyard, where the film was shot, she brought back some Jaws swag for me that sent me down a rabbit hole of nostalgia and research…

The only real occupational hazard as a writer is that many people will ask you if you can help them write their book. The only appropriate answer to this question is “Hell no!” For lots of reasons. If they’ve never tried to write before, such people think it’s incredibly easy to write a book. You just sit down and type whatever comes to mind. How freeing! What could be easier? Well, it’s not easy. It’s the toughest and yet most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my life. And sometimes, despite my misgivings, I help others achieve their dreams. But most people get the brush-off. Why?

I spotted a book online that grabbed me as soon as I read the premise. The great thriller writer John Grisham agreed to coach a personal friend of his write a first-time thriller novel. I was hooked, mostly because I was curious what Grisham’s advice would be. I’m a professional writer, and I’m always fascinated by how highly successful commercial writers work their magic. This book seemed too good to pass up. The book is called Writing with the Master, and before you run out and buy it, I think you ought to read my article first, because…