Use this page to scan recent stories from Killzoneblog, see the themes that keep appearing, and jump into complete story briefs.
by James Scott Bell Last week we talked about creativity, and getting ideas through the “What if?” game. I’ve always subscribed to the notion that the best way to get a great idea is to come up with lots of … Continue reading →
Emotion is the key to compelling, engaging, immersive fiction. Show your characters experiencing emotions, and make your readers feel something in response. Today’s Words of Wisdom pulls excerpts from three previous TKZ posts about putting emotion into your fiction. Joe … Continue reading →
by Debbie Burke Holly Soriano is an independent film producer in Billings, Montana who’s creating a course about what they don’t teach you at film school but should. For several weeks, I’ve been a beta tester for her zoom classes … Continue reading →
Since Kay is on hiatus, we’re visiting a previous post by her, from October 2022. Handwriting Versus Typing Posted on October 11, 2022 by Kay DiBianca I was listening to a podcast a few years ago that addressed the benefits … Continue reading →
Every day on planet earth is unique. It’s somebody’s birthday, or the date of another’s death, or perhaps a graduation day. Each day’s uniqueness is proven by the fact that it will never come again. Today, Reader Friday, 9/4/2026 is … Continue reading →
“In a world that encompasses so much pain and fear and cruelty, it is noble to provide a few hours of escape, moments of delight and forgetfulness.” — Dean Koontz
By PJ Parrish Okay, I’d like you to read this short scene from a book I grabbed off my shelf. See if you can figure out what’s wrong here. Jesse handed him the Jack Daniels. Louis took a drink and … Continue reading →
by James Scott Bell Writers are always there, seldom here. More often than I care to admit, my wife will say something like, “Jim? Jim, are you listening to me?” And I’ll say, “That’s an odd way to start a … Continue reading →
Three weeks ago I attended the Willamette Writers Conference, held in person in Portland, Oregon, and online via Zoom. It was my first writer’s conference since 2019, when I co-presented at WWC on getting your books into libraries and also … Continue reading →
By PJ Parrish The easy part is done. The book is finished. The rewrites are complete. We’ve even got the cover designed. Now comes the hard part… Writing the back copy. I’ve been working at this publishing thing since the … Continue reading →
by James Scott Bell Gregory Peck is one of my favorite actors. Most know him for his immortal portrayal of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. But he turned in many brilliant performances over his long career, sometimes unappreciated … Continue reading →
If I listed everything that may or may not upset a reader, it’d ruin the plot of my books. Trigger warnings might be helpful in genres geared toward children, but it’s ludicrous to think all genres should include them. If … Continue reading →
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