The Art of Going Deep: Part II By Chris Goff In Part I, I talked about digging DEEP to find the BIG concept, the right Point of View, and getting to know your characters. So, how do you get into your character’s head? Use your own experiences. Thomas Harris in Silence of the Lambs gave...
The Art of Going DEEP: Part 1 By Chris Goff ThrillerFest 2017 when RED SKY launched Over the years, I’ve spoken at writer’s conferences ad nauseum about plotting the novel, researching the novel, creating characters, writing realistic dialogue and boots on the ground settings. All very important...
Or so Amy Poehler tells me... By Chris Goff This has been a year of downsizing. It’s not for the faint of heart. Where it began. Five years ago we went from 4,000 square feet to 1,750 square feet. Talk about downsizing. We sorted through our life’s accumulation, getting rid of things we could bear...
By Chris Goff This has been a rough couple of weeks. On April 27, I was standing in my kitchen, atop the two-step ladder, when I stepped back to survey my handiwork of curated cabinets. Yes, stepped back. Yes, BAD MOVE! After one BIG step down and a failed attempt at some fancy footwork, I slammed...
By Chris Goff I was recently asked to participate in a new promotional venture for authors: Discover the best books from Shepard for Authors. It’s a new website and the owner’s philosophy is that “when it comes to books, human recommendations are always better than algorithms.” Hard to argue...
By Chris Goff Alas, it happens. On the tails of Lisa's travel tips, I thought I would share my insight on how to deal with vacation mishaps. We've all had them. Refuse to engage. Family issues top the list. Let's face it, as much as we love family, it can be stressful getting the whole gang...
by Chris Goff There is nothing like adventure travel to reignite hope, passion or spark creativity. And based on the latest travel data, I’m not the only one that feels that way. Looking back. Adelie penguins frolicking in Antarctica There is no denying, since Covid, the world has changed....
by Chris Goff Recently I read a Soapbox article in Publisher’s Weekly that gave me pause. Entitled Let Fiction Be Fiction, in it the author tackles the question of who gets to tell which stories. The author’s debut novel, Other People’s Children, tells the story of a couple who, after...
By Chris Goff Barbara Graham Français murdered Mabel, a 64-year-old widow, for her valuables. Barbara left empty-handed, though $15K worth of money and jewels were later found in the closet of the room where Mable was murdered. Years ago, when I was just starting out as a mystery writer, I did my...
By Chris Goff With all the talk of scary books and scary movies, I got to thinking about what really, REALLY scares us. We lose ourselves in a story or movie, and we can carry that fear with us for years. Take The Haunting. I saw that movie when I was thirteen, and to this day I cannot sleep...
