Is that you? by Eric Beetner

 How you you choose your characters? Do you base them off of people from real-life? If so, how you disguise your characters so their real-life counterparts don't recognize them?

I’ve taken names, verbal tics, physical attributes from people I know, but never a whole person. Part of that comes from not wanting them to take offense if I kill them off, but also I feel like if I’m writing about someone I know then I’m shortcutting the creative process for myself.

Also, I write about a lot of bad people doing bad things and I’m fortunate enough to only know nice people, I guess. I don’t even have a weird uncle in prison somewhere I can draw from. My extended family is midwestern nice and would be very boring in a book. The closest I came was using my Grandfather’s first name for a character who was a boxer, as he was in real life. Even that came with too many explanations that he, in fact, never killed anyone like the character, even in self defense like the character. It got exhausting to keep clarifying that the only thing the two people shared was a name and an occupation.  

If people want to choose to see themselves in a book of mine I always find that curious. And it’s fascinating to find out how they see themselves. “You though that might be based off of you, huh? This guy who killed three people?”

There are also a few names I’ve kept a ban on, like my wife’s. No matter how far removed from her I would write someone, sharing a name would invite some awkward conversations and assumptions about how she thinks I see her. Is she a femme fatale? A victim? A shrill, hard-boiled matron? I want to avoid that at all costs. Same thing with my kids. I can live without those three names in my fiction.

Characters come to me when I find the right person to plug into a plot who would give it the maximum friction. Someone outside of their comfort zone. Someone not used to dealing with an extreme situation of life and death. Someone you might not expect to be involved in a crime novel.

I like writing older characters, and often dislike writing children. I like writing outside of my gender and race, but always worry I’m getting it wrong. 

Mostly, I like making up people from out of thin air. I like nothing beholden to impressions of someone I know in real life. I like the total freedom with a person I’ve invented. And when they begin to feel fleshed out and fully formed to the point that certain reactions or feelings they have make sense and what they wouldn’t do or say are apparent, then I know I have a three-dimensional character. 

If I ever did use a real person as inspiration or placed a person I know in a story and didn’t change a thing about them, I would never try to hide it. If I ever do it, it will be an homage. I’d want them to know. I’d want them to see it on the page and hopefully get excited and not embarrassed or question what I think of them in real life. It could be an honorific, a tribute or a payback for some kindness they paid to me. But if you end up in one of my books, trust me, you’ll know it. 

The Shape of What Remains in Character

How do you choose your characters? Do you base them on people from real life? If so, how do you disguise your characters so their real-life counterparts don’t recognize them?

 

The characters in my Shane series are composites and amalgams. They were part of my ecosystem. They’re all dead, which is convenient. As for The Company Files, my characters are part of a narrative strategy. For you to understand me, I need to provide context.

I didn’t do writing right. I wasn’t the child who knew he wanted to be a writer at seven, Crayola in hand, the plot outlined in cursive, back when they taught Penmanship and Geography. I was seven in 1975. For those who remember Arithmetic, I was born in 1968.

I’ll spare you the stereotype of Gen X as feral latchkey kids who learned self-reliance. My childhood was starker and stranger than that. I had a room that wasn’t mine. My clothes were elsewhere, in two parts of the house. A bedside table held a .357.

Home was not where I wanted to be.

If asked who I was then, I might say: listen to the opening of Billy Joel’s Vienna. That was me. Ambitious. Afraid. Moving too fast without knowing why.

By twenty-one, I had lived and experienced more than most, and internalized trauma.

Reviews and readers say I write hard-boiled crime fiction tinged with a quirky sense of humor, or that I write intelligent historical fiction.

Yes and No.

What I write isn’t trying to look like 1975; it’s that I learned something from 1975. A reader can take the work at face value, or read between the lines and see it as metaphor—for society, and for trauma normalized.

Walker, from The Company Files, survived World War II. He floats, unmoored, and slowly learns that he is a writer. That’s me. I survived things most people don’t, and I didn’t come to writing until my early forties—after cancer, after learning how to live with what remained.

Shane Cleary, in my series set in 1970s Boston, is displaced. He doesn’t belong.
He navigates dangerous systems because he has no faith in benign ones.

I was betrayed by every institutional authority figure there was.

I was the cub fed to the wolf as a child. Those who should have offered sanctuary provided betrayal—psychological and physical violence. Shane’s long arc is learning to live with the violence he committed in Vietnam and recognizing Bonnie as home. His cat, Delilah, is his conscience and the one living thing he trusts. I’ve spent years trying to reconcile the violence visited upon me and what I did in self-defense.

I was an inquisitive kid—call it intelligent or precocious—but I saw patterns early and asked questions. Too many questions. I was told, explicitly, to shut up. Nobody cared what I thought. Nobody wanted to hear it.

I write spare and compressed because fear is an efficient teacher.

Some contradictions I observed at a young age:

• We say separation of Church and State, but recite the Pledge of Allegiance and mention God.
• If we don’t know geography, “conflict” is out of sight and out of mind.
• If you’re bombarded with media nonstop, you don’t think—you react.
• If you don’t know how to write cursive, thought and connection are lost.
• We buy stuff we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.

Style for me isn’t about being current. It’s about being coherent.

I write between categories, which makes me a challenge to agents. I write what I know and what I knew. I know the Seventies because I lived them as a child. This isn’t nostalgia. It’s integrity. The decade has been labeled the Me Decade, but it’s really the graveyard of Sixties idealism. The Eighties, for me, were Conservatism, Consumerism, and Cocaine. After that, the pattern repeats—same impulses, new packaging.

Are my characters based on people I knew?

Yes and No.

Composites and amalgams, like I said earlier. I won’t name-drop because the dead can’t defend themselves. I didn’t write them to exploit them. I write to work through trauma. Catharsis. I write to reveal uncomfortable truths. All my fiction is about pattern recognition.

A reviewer once declined to cover my work because I write about organized crime. I found that ironic and unfortunate. My protagonists are anti-heroes. They live at the intersection of personal history and History with a capital H. Nuance is lost these days. I’d like to think I write about living in the Upside Down. My “bad” guys have ethics. My “good” guys and the ‘System’ are corrupt and amoral.

Look outside your window and tell me it isn’t a mafia democracy.

 

And now, coming to the stage…

 

 

How do you choose your characters?

 

Long before I ever attempted to write or publish a word, this was the question I heard asked to every writer I’ve ever heard speak. Whether it was an experienced journalist doing a professional interview, or me, timidly raising my hand from a fold-up chair in a room full of aspiring writers like myself. We all want to know the same thing, where do these strange people living in our heads come from?

 

The simple answer is, I don’t know. They simply appear. Sometimes they rush into the creative waiting room in my brain, quietly take a seat, and wait politely for me to build their world giving me little more than a name and a desire to tell their story.

 

Other times, they come charging in, their whole story already intact, refusing to be still until I’ve written down every single word. But whether they slink in as quiet as a ghost or kick in the door. There is nothing more exciting than meeting or finding a new character.

 

I once sat behind a lady with a thick white rope of a braid hanging all the way down the middle of her back. I shuffled her write into my waiting room, where her story is still percolating today. One day I hope to bring her to life on the page. And when someone asks, how did you come up with that wild character, maybe I’ll tell the boring truth, or maybe I’ll have written her a whole new backstory by then.  

 

This is one writer’s way, not the only way. I know this all too well. I’ve heard that some writers actually plan their entire stories before ever writing a word, including their characters. They sketch them out, get to know them, and build their story around the character. Far be it for me to judge, but I’m judging, but not really. Everyone’s process is different. And for that reason, I’ve come to believe that is an impossible question to answer.

 

But we’ll keep trying, because characters are the most important part of the story, right?

 RIP Renee Good, Alex Pretti, and Keith Porter Jr. 

 

Staying Connected Across Continents - by Harini Nagendra

In-person conferences are great for socialization and building a community and increasing motivation. But if you're not in the position to make it to one of these conferences, what are some good way to stay involved in the writing community?

This week's question felt very personal - as most of you know, I'm based in India, and write for an international readership. Most of my readers are in India or North America (USA and Canada) - and while I do go to a number of in-person literature festivals and other writers' events in India, I've made it to just one writer conference in Canada, and one in the US, over the past 5 years and 4 historical mysteries.

I'd love to do more in-person events - the energy and camaraderie that comes from meeting other writers over meals and drinks, and the high of meeting readers face-to-face, can't quite be captured online. And yet the barriers are steep - flight distances, costs, visas, and complex logistics.

Writer networks have been a great boon for me. I'm a member of three terrific writer organizations - Sisters in Crime, Crime Writers of Color and Mystery Writers of America - through these, I've made so many friends, despite having never met most of them in person, including James Ziskin, Catriona McPherson and Gigi Pandian, just to name a few. When I was struggling to find time and mind space to complete my latest book, I reached out to writers I've known only on email for advice, and based on years of their own experience with writing, through good times and bad, they offered suggestions that helped me push through and cross the finish line. 

I've also coordinated online conversations with some of the writers I first met through these writer communities - like Sujata Massey, with whom I did an Instagram conversation, and whom I later had the joy of meeting in Bangalore. A shoutout to all my writer friends reading this - if you make it to my city, let me know! 

And of course, there are ways now to participate in writer conferences online too - a couple of years back, I participated in the Surrey International Writer's Conference in Canada and gave three workshops, meeting other writers there too, all thanks to the magic of online conference platforms like Zoom.

With a little ingenuity and a lot of persistence, there are many ways in this age of internet to stay connected with your writing tribe - it's not quite the same as an in-person conference, but can come quite close!     

     

Sow What You Reap from James W. Ziskin

In person conferences are great for socialization and building a community and increasing motivation. But if you're not in the position to make it to one of these conferences. What are some good way to stay involved in the writing community? 

Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to have made many friends in the writing community. I advise all writers, aspiring, new, and old hands to do the same. The benefits of belonging are undeniable. But be sure to sow or you will not reap.

Ways to belong:

When my first novel (Styx & Stone) was published in 2013, I didn’t know anyone in the writing biz. My editor suggested I attend conferences to get to know people, so I started with Bouchercon (Albany). I’ve written in this space before that many in our community have less-than-fond memories of that conference, but I had a blast. For me, it opened up a brand-new world of ideas, possibilities, and dreams. During those four days back in 2013, I made lots of new, fast friends. But along with the camaraderie, I embarked on a long journey of learning and enrichment, thanks in great part to the many conferences I attended in the years that followed. I quickly came to consider Bouchercon, Left Coast Crime, ThrillerFest, Malice Domestic, New England Crime Bake, California Crime, and other industry gatherings as priceless opportunities to improve my craft. I tried to attend as many panels as I could and introduced myself to other authors and readers whenever they stood still. Yes, I made the most of my time by listening and socializing. But I also paid it back to the community. How? I invited countless others into the conversations I was having, introduced newbies and wallflowers to my acquaintances, and tried to be a good citizen. An author unwilling to lend a hand—or ear—to an aspiring writer or eager reader is an author who should have stayed home.

If, however, you’re unable to attend conferences as often as you’d like, there are other ways to get involved. You can join professional organizations such as Sisters in Crime (SinC), Mystery Writers of America (MWA), and local writers groups. Want to meet some fine, generous writers? Offer to judge some of the juried award competitions such as the MWA’s Edgars and Thrillerfest’s Thriller Awards. It’s a ton of reading, but that’s a good thing!

You should also make productive use of social media. We all know social media can be a cesspool of…well…sewage. But we can at least attempt to water down the sewage with some positivity. Make friends on Facebook, promote yourself but also others. If you only toot your own horn, you’ll end up in a one-man band. There’s also Instagram and Bluesky, but I find that writers tend to gravitate toward Facebook. Don’t be afraid to reach out and request friendships! But be careful whom you accept. Avoid the bots and trolls.

What will you get out of it?

So what benefits can you expect to receive from all this hard work and socializing? That’s easy.

1. Emotional support—ears to bend, encouragement, care.

2. Editorial support—e.g. beta readers, subject-matter experts, etc.

3. Promotional support—ideas for publicity, brand development.

4. Friendship

5. Resources—research, questions, networking.

6. Hive mind—get advice and answers.

7. Blurbs—Be polite and realize it’s a big ask. Pay it forward and backward.

8. Introductions—you might be able to make important contacts with agents, editors, writers you admire.

9. Help in burying bodies—This goes without saying.

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Stay Connected

In person conferences are great for socialization and building a community and increasing motivation. But if you're not in the position to make it to one of these conferences, what are some good way to stay involved in the writing community?

by Dietrich

Writing conferences can be pure magic. There’s that electric buzz in the air, the random hallway chats that turn into lifelong friendships, those spontaneous coffee runs where you network or brainstorm a plot twist with someone who just gets it. Hearing a favorite author on a panel or sharing a quick word can light a fire like nothing else. And being there is a reminder that we’re part of this wonderful tribe of storytellers.

But life doesn’t always make it easy. Travel costs add up in a hurry. Work and family obligations pull us in a dozen directions. Distance can be a real barrier. Hopping to the next big event can mean setting aside work and spending a chunk of time away. 

And for those of us who lean introverted, the crowded hallways, endless small talk, and noisy conference bars can feel more draining than energizing. I’ve come home from great events feeling both exhilarated and completely overstimulated, needing a full day to recharge.

The good news is we don’t have to miss out on the community, motivation, feedback or networking. The online writing world offers plenty of ways to stay plugged in—right from the home office, the couch, or wherever we write best. No suitcase, no sensory overload, and we can engage at our own pace.

There are dedicated online communities and forums like Absolute Write Water Cooler year-round. Virtual workshops, panel discussions and courses are everywhere — sites like Writer’s Digest University and MasterClass, and many more. There are organizations that offer on-line support too: Authors Guild, Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, International Association of Crime Writers, Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters in Crime, and so on.

Social media has become the modern-day water cooler. Facebook groups, X, Bluesky, Instagram and similar platforms let us share snippets, celebrate wins, vent about rejections, and swap advice. We can join genre-specific groups or follow authors we admire. Okay, it’s not the same as shaking hands in person (not even close), but those quick daily interactions keep the momentum going and can lead to real friendships and collaborations.

Marketing has moved online too. We can build a newsletter, promote on social platforms, host virtual launches, and join online book clubs—all low-pressure ways to grow an audience and connect with readers.

The bottom line: whether we’re dealing with budget, health, introversion, or simply prefer our own space, the writing community is wide open online. We can build meaningful relationships, get thoughtful feedback, stay fired up, and promote our work—all without getting off the couch.

Release date: March 31, 2026

Connections without Cons

 

January 20 Hi! Terry here with our question of the week: In person conferences are great for socialization and building a community and increasing motivation. But if you're not in the position to make it to one of these conferences. What are some good way to stay involved in the writing community? 

 Long before I was published, I read a book called Making a Literary Life, by Carolyn See. She suggested that if you wanted to live a literary life, besides writing every day, you should write to authors you admire. She said doing so accomplishes the following: 

-It salutes the writer 

-It says, “I exist in the same world as you.” In other words, it announces to yourself that you are seriously pursuing the business of writing. 

-It invites the author to come out and play. The author may not respond, but they may. 

 I had a good friend who wrote short stories and who corresponded for years with the eminent science fiction writer Gene Wolfe. When he started out, he didn’t ask Wolfe for a favor. He didn’t gush about how wonderful a writer he was. He simply told him he admired his work, and why. And he asked questions. They “socialized” through long, rambling letters. 

 When I read See’s book, I decided to write an email to Attica Locke, who had just published her first book, Black Water Rising. I admired the novel, and told her why. And she answered! At the time I had no idea she was already well-known as a screen-writer. We corresponded several times—which made me feel like I was somehow getting a peek into the community of successful crime writers. 

 Now? All that letter-writing seems quaint. It may have satisfied the protagonist of The Correspondent, the breakout best-seller by Virginia Evans, but in today’s world, not so much. Besides the old-fashioned way of writing letters or emails, though, there are plenty of ways to stay involved without going to the expense in time and money of attending conferences. 

The best way to get connected is to join Sisters in Crime and/or Mystery Writers of America. Both groups have local chapters that host monthly meetings of interest to crime writers—interviews with authors, publishers, editors, screen-writers, publicists, and agents. Presentations by lawyers, doctors, forensic experts, psychologists, police detectives, members of federal law enforcement groups (CIA, FBI, etc). I attended one meeting where a hand-writing expert told us how she examined hand-writing to aid investigators. 

 If you can’t attend chapter meetings in person, many of these are presented digitally through Zoom and other apps. It may not be as social as in-person meetings, but it gives you a sense that there are other writers out there asking the same questions you’re asking; having the same issues of craft, research, editing, finding an agent, finding a publisher or publishing on your own. You find that you aren’t the only one who is struggling with the processes of writing your story, shaping the story, and finding an audience for it. 

 Then there are courses you can take, some on-line, some in person. Just today author Peggy Lucke put out a call for people who might be interested in a course on writing genre fiction that she gives at UC Berkeley’s extension. Look at community college offerings, adult education classes, and in local newspapers for private classes. That’s where you’ll meet other writers. 

 I have a further suggestion. When you are around people—at parties, at work, any social situation, tell others that you are writing. A book. A short story. A memoir. A few ideas. Whatever. Not only do people love to hear about that, but you’ll be surprised at how many other people are holed up, secretly trying to put words to page. You may find a good writing buddy that way. 

 And finally, there is social media. Follow some of your favorite authors in Bluesky or Facebook, etc., and engage with them and their other followers.

It may require a little effort on your part, the connections are out there. So go for it!

And now for a little BSP (Blatant self-promotion): The paperback version of my second Jessie Madison book, Deep Dive is no out! 

Writerly Resolutions by Poppy Gee

A new year is upon us! How do you plan for your writing calendar? 

Drafting a few new year writing resolutions is a great way to bound into the new year with positivity and hopefulness... Here are some of mine:

Writing resolutions 2026:

• Finish unfinished manuscripts - ski lodge mystery, Cloudland suburban noir, Elm's Mansion thriller. They're all complete, they just need a final polish. Watch this space!
• Start a new manuscript (my favourite thing to do).
• Ensure finished manuscripts go out on submission (evidence suggests this is my least favourite thing to do!) 

Reflection: Last year was a bad year for me as far as writing went. I couldn't focus on anything. I wonder what I have to offer, as far as a published book goes. I'm not sharing this to garner sympathy. Truthfully, I think the world is burning, for a range of reasons depending on geography and history, and I ask myself, what will more stories written by middleclass white people like me do to help anyone, or anything, at this point? This doesn't mean I don't want to write. I really do. When I'm writing is when I feel my happiest. It's how I try to make sense of things, or, at least, write through my emotions. My feeling as I write this, is that perhaps I will write something this year that won't be for publication. I have an idea, and it's probably not commercially viable. That's okay. I'll keep it short, maybe 50,000 words. This particular idea gives me a strong sense of urgency, that feeling when you can't wait to sit at the desk and tap away. Writing something from the deepest, darkest, tenderest part of your heart is always worth doing, no matter the result.

Time management resolutions 2026:

Mindfulness and being intentional. I want to schedule time for joy. Sometimes I feel like I'm trying to cram so much into my day - work, writing, family commitments - that I don't take time to slow down and enjoy the simple things. So this year, I want to block time out for things such as meeting friends for a coffee or a walk, going to a museum or art gallery, even driving to the Gold Coast to have brunch at Kirra with my writing friend Allie. I resolve to see a movie once a month, spend regular time pottering in my garden, read for one hour a day, and consistently set aside time to make healthy, delicious meals for my family. Organisation is key. I thrive when I'm organised, so I'm going to set a timetable and stick to it. I might even monitor and reward my progress!

Bad habits to kick in 2026:

Social media. How to cut back? It's like giving up smoking. You know it's not good for you, you know you shouldn't do it. But there's a voice in your head that says, one quick scroll won't matter too much. Such a time-drain! I'm interested to hear anyone's rules/regulations/habits regarding managing their social media consumption. Please share!

Also, leaving my blog to the last minute. Every time I log in to upload my post, Dietrich's next piece is sitting there, contentedly waiting in the queue. I envy him his organisational prowess. Being well organised with a blog contribution is a worthy, and hopefully realistic, writerly goal for me.

Lose weight, get fit and guess what, by Catriona

 A new year is upon us! How do you plan for your writing calendar? 

I've not been seething exactly, but at least rippling, with envy reading Minds saying they're setting goals and taking stock. My writing calendar doesn't run January to December; it runs deadline to deadline. At the moment I've got two first drafts done and I'm fixing the first one, before fixing the second one, before deciding, over the summer, what to write next and then, in September, starting again. It'll be the autumn when I pretend that I'm going to start keeping character bios and stop having panics about the dark side of pantsing.

But - and luckily for this blog - I'm a great maker of New Year's resolution for life in general. And a fair to medium keeper of them too. E.g. two years ago, I resolved to work in the garden for an hour every morning and stone the crows but by the middle of last year the place was looking pretty good. (There's a reason I didn't nip out there and take a pic of right now, mind you.)

So all that's left is getting down to one bottle of vodka and forty roll-ups a day. Nah, I don't smoke or drink but this year's resolutions do include the time-honoured "lose weight and get fit". I know, I know, but hear me out. Last July, see, I was fit, then an injury put me in a wheelchair, leg brace, and physiotherapy, while self-pity suggested that cake and pizza were an important part of recovery. So my resolution is actually 'Lose the weight and get fit again". Is that different? We'll see. 

I've got another top ten resolution and I think this one is related to my writing life. (Wait - actually I think health and fitness is related to writing too. Strong necks and backs help us type, right? Good sleep and fresh air help us think.) But also, at the tail end of last year someone in a Q&A asked me how I stay positive and fill the tank. My answer was rambling (I started with "Positive? Are you kidding? I'm ready to kick things and scream until my voice runs out.") but the cause of any periods of full tank I do get seems to boil down to: don't consume short-form content chosen for me by an algorithm and served on a phone.

So, doubling down on the choice to repair and protect my attention span is my big aim for 2026. I'll read my current book whatever it is (right now it's Tayari Jones' Leaving Atlanta), go out to watch films (still haven't seen Hamnet; can't decide about Marty Supreme) and binge telly (Bookish looks good), but I won't lose time scrolling, won't click on anything I didn't search for, won't unmute the passing ads for revolutionary bras, all-in-one make-up sticks and meal-kit delivery subscriptions. Well, I already don't do that because: I will die in an underwire; I know that every lipstick in the world can be used as rouge and eyeshadow; and I can't imagine a life without chopping boards and leftovers.

It's mystifying why we scroll, isn't it? No one ever stops scrolling with a satisfied sigh and lifts their head to beam at the world from a well of benevolence. We scroll until we hate ourselves, until we've seen something so revolting or enraging we throw the phone away, until we're cold and hungry and the sun's gone down. But we don't have to.

Cx   

Planning Your Writing Year Without Losing It

A new year is upon us! How do you plan for your writing calendar? 

A new year shows up like a stranger at the end of the bar—attractive, mysterious and with questionable intentions. Between Christmas and New Year’s, people like to stare into that glass and make big vows. New body. New habits. New you. By February, most of those resolutions are face-down in a snowbank, clutching a color-coded planner.

Writers are no different. We’re just more articulate about failure.

Every January, someone decides that THIS is the year they’ll write every day, outline every chapter, follow a proven system, and emerge by next December with a novel that looks like it was written by Apollo and stolen by Prometheus. This is the literary version of following that Men’s Health 90-day Workout and thinking they’ll rise from the waters looking like Daniel Craig. [Women: insert your Ideal]. The plan is rooted in the best of intentions but unrealistic expectations will kill you.

F. Scott Fitzgerald gave us Gatsby, who followed Benjamin Franklin’s self-improvement program with religious devotion. We know how that worked out for him. Ambition is great. Blind faith in the system is how you end up floating in a pool, wondering where it all went wrong.

So here’s my low-rent, no-seminar version of planning a writing year. It comes from nursing, not publishing, which means it’s designed to work when things are messy, human, and bleeding a little: S.M.A.R.T. goals—Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound. No PowerPoint necessary.

Specific means “finish a draft,” not “write a masterpiece.”
Measurable means pages, scenes, or hours—things that exist outside your feelings.
Attainable is you factor in that thing called Life, like a job, family, food, and don’t forget pets and spouses.
Time-bound means you give it a deadline, not a lifetime.

Personally, I plan the year like a small-time heist. I focus on one or two larger projects at a time. I write them hard and fast, then put them away. My experiences in Life have taught me to communicate with precision and efficiency, which is why my style is lean, compressed, and suggestive. While the Work rests, I work on short fiction—specifically for annual story calls for Bouchercon, Bridport, Fish, and Malice. Those deadlines are predictable and keep me honest. They also keep me sharp.

Later in the year, I come back to the Work with fresh eyes. Distance does what discipline can’t. It shows you what’s alive, what’s lying, and what needs to be buried quietly behind the shed.

That’s my calendar. No daily word-count commandments. No promises to become someone else. Just steady work, strategic pauses, and enough structure to keep me from lying to myself. I am the donkey who is not Eeyore, but persists without braying.

The new year doesn’t need a grand plan. It needs one foot in front of the other, a pawprint that survives contact with reality.

A Man A Plan from James W. Ziskin

A new year is upon us! How do you plan for your writing calendar? 

1. A bit of blatant self-promotion to follow. But never fear, it does speak to this week’s question, if tangentially. 

2. And after that, I’ve posted my annual poem, “I Hereby Resolve,” spelling out my New Year’s Resolutions.

For the past several years, the day job has prevented me from maintaining a regular writing schedule. I teach high school French and devote my time to creating my lesson plans, correcting assignments, attending meetings, communicating with parents, and gnashing my teeth in despair at the future of our civilization. 

Just kidding. 

My students make the early risings and tiring days worth the while. I love teaching the spirited little darlings, despite the headlock they exert on my writing time.

But school is only in session from September to June. That leaves me most of the summer to try to write. Ordinarily, I’d like to complete a first draft of a new novel in that time, but last summer, I had to content myself with a major overhaul of my upcoming release, THE PRANK, instead. (July 26, 2026, Level Best Books.) I’m truly excited about this new novel, and thrilled that Liz Nugent—a brilliant author I admire tremendously—read it and provided a wonderful blurb. For God’s sakes, read Liz Nugent now.

“THE PRANK…enigmatic and unnerving. The pace never flags for a second. This is some masterly plotting. I loved it.”

—Liz Nugent, author of Strange Sally Diamond

 

THE PRANK. A picture clipped from Playboy magazine, a missing Swiss Army Knife, and a prank gone terribly wrong conspire to make Christmas 1968 a deadly holiday to remember.

 

A psychological thriller, THE PRANK is a cautionary tale of bad judgment and smoldering menace. Pitched as “The Holdovers meets The Bad Seed,” THE PRANK features charming but volatile thirteen-year-old Jimmy Steuben. He befriends his seventh-grade English teacher, Patti Finch, just days after her boyfriend—also a teacher—is killed in an electrocution accident while hanging Christmas lights on his roof. Patti desperately needs respite from her grief, and a chance encounter with Jimmy provides just that. Ignoring the dangers of a potential scandal, the mismatched pair begins spending time together over Christmas break. Patti finds solace in Jimmy’s company; Jimmy discovers desire and infatuation. But what Patti doesn’t know is that it was Jimmy who caused the tragic accident that killed her lover.

From two-time Edgar Award finalist; Anthony, Barry, and Macavity award-winner James W. Ziskin, THE PRANK releases July 26, 2026.

*    *    *    *    *

And now, back, despite popular protest…

I Hereby Resolve

Upon the first of Jan-u-ary each and every year

I choose a comfy cushioned chair on which to park my rear

Then taking pencil, pen, or plume I think with all my might

About my life, my hopes, my dreams, and then begin to write

I make a note of all my flaws, my missteps, and my sins

And number them from one to ten and sort them into bins:

A catalogue of wishes, goals, and changes to achieve,

To lose some weight, to write more books, and royalties receive!

But not all thoughts are for myself, I also have a heart

So I resolve to do some good, pitch in, and play my part,

To be a better person and to help human-i-tee,

Or maybe just be satisfied to keep my san-i-tee

For all in all you must admit that things are not so good

At home, abroad, in Baltimore, and in your neighborhood

With guns and hate and politics and fears we cannot quell

It often seems we’re on a highway heading straight to hell 

But then I reason as I sit here in my pensive pose

Some things I can control and fix, so why not start with those?

My wrath, my sloth, and moods most foul are faults I could improve

Why not correct them right away? Cast out, erase, remove?

While in the past I must admit that my resolve was frail

This time my pledge is resolute; I don’t intend to fail

I vow to change, to grow, to thrive, and forge myself anew

And through hard work and sweat and blood I’ll make my dreams come true

But just in case my will is weak and my plans gang ag-ley

I’ll save this verse for twelve months more until next New Year’s Day

Then with high hopes and best intents I’ll shout for all to hear

The very same prom-is-es that I made and broke this year

*    *    *    *    *

This coming summer, I’ll be working on a first draft of my next novel, tentatively titled NIGHTS ON BROADWAY. (That will surely change.) It’s an unsettling story of hedonism, seduction, and shifting identities in 1977, as the disco craze rages and Son of Sam terrorizes New York City.

668

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A Clean Slate

A new year is upon us! How do you plan for your writing calendar?

by Dietrich

The new year offers that fresh start—or, if you’re writing crime fiction, you could think of it as a fresh canvas waiting for the blood spatter. My writing plan doesn’t follow the calendar. There are no deadlines or pub dates I need to hit right now. I’m just transitioning from one story to the next, letting ideas flow, at that point where I don’t have to push too hard or feel like I’m red-lining toward a burnout.

While I aim to finish a novel every year, it’s not the end of the world if I don’t make it. The one I just completed took roughly sixteen months from start to finish. And the first draft of the new one’s only taken about a month, so it’s a difficult thing to schedule.

Right now I’m at the point of digging through a lot of research while making character notes to keep myself from getting all tangled up in a mess later on. The second draft will be for digging deeper, cleaning up and looking for weak spots. It’s also the time to toss out anything that isn’t working and add any subplots that popped up since I started on the first draft. Once I’ve completed the second draft, I’ll step away for a week or so to regain some perspective. Then the final draft will be for revising, editing and adding the final polish. 

That’s the plan for this one. The next one may demand a different approach. The one rule that stays constant is it’s never how much I get done, but how good I feel about it once I finally stop typing. I never want writing to feel like a chore, so I like to try different approaches.

I’m also looking forward to take part in some writing events this year, and I’ve got my eye on some festivals and conferences, but nothing’s carved in stone as of yet.

I’m also looking forward to the release of my new novel, Rust and Bone, which will be released by ECW Press on March 31st. Here’s the synopsis and a link:

In winter of 1945, a German village deep inside Ukraine burns under Russian assault. Young Jakob Fritsch, torn from his family, is forced onto a cattle car bound for a work camp where death looms. When a Stuka’s bomb derails the train, Jakob escapes the smoking wreckage alongside two untrustworthy survivors. They forge through snow-laden wilderness, hunted by soldiers and partisans.

A tragic turn forces Jakob to go on alone. Starving and freezing, he braves the perilous countryside of Poland en route to Berlin — the only place he can go — which is being torn apart from all sides. 

Far away in the shattered outskirts of Berlin, Frida Beckmann lives amid relentless bombing raids and encroaching Soviet forces. With her father in a prison camp and her mother broken by grief, Frida shoulders the weight of her family’s survival. Tested by hardship, betrayal and loss, she is pushed well beyond her years.

Jakob and Frida navigate their war-torn paths, struggling to survive in a time stripped of mercy — seeking refuge when all the world’s gone mad.