My blog this month is another in the series about crime fiction. This time it’s about unusual narratives, which is more interesting than it sounds! Yes it’s a bit niche, but whether you’re a writer or a reader, I think you’ll enjoy seeing the many different ways modern authors are writing about crime. If you have a family member who loves crime, then there might be some slightly left field ideas there for presents. And if you’re a writer struggling with narrative, there might be some good examples of what you’re trying to do.
On the subject of books as Christmas presents, there are a few previous blogs which could help you. I know I’ve plugged these in previous newsletters, but I had so many emails saying how useful these lists were last Christmas, I thought it might help if I repeated some of them! If you have a photographic memory and have already memorised last November’s newsletter, I do apologise. Please feel free to skip over the next bit.
Top ten non-fiction books– I guarantee there will be something there for that awkward but literate man in your life.
For the writer in your life, here are the five best “how to write” books
Top ten funny books
Top ten supernatural books
Top ten books about time travel
Top ten YA books of the decade
Top ten post apocalyptic novels
Top ten dystopian/utopian novels
Top ten Stephen King Novels
Top ten enormous books that are worth the effort (and which should certainly keep Uncle Jim quiet right through to the New Year)
And if you’re still stuck, here were the best books of the last decade.
And finally.. last Christmas’s blog -the top ten Christmas books.
Make sure you order them all from your local indie bookshop. You can do that online as well, you know.
See you in January! Looking forward to sharing with you then my top books of 2022, as well as gloating about the pile of books accumulated over the Yuletide.
How to write
This month’s recommended how to write book seems appropriate for the end of the year. I’m not sure there is anything in here which the avid reader of ‘how to’ books has not come across before – information on writing character, creating conflict etc, but I like the approach. Focusing on what’s wrong with your book, or how to make it better, by considering it as something in three parts – beginning, middle and end – is really useful. Got a cracking beginning but it all seems to run out of fizz? Ending is great but the middle sags? This book is a great help. there are lots of exercises – for example one how to create a great opening scene, exercises in making writing the novel more manageable; it’s all good stuff. I’d suggest this as a book for someone who is well into a project, or who wants help with editing and is looking for a fresh approach.
