Dawn Brookes author – Page 2

Sunday 6th March

Post author:Dawn Brookes
Post published:March 6, 2022
Post category:Business Creative Writing Lady Marjorie series

Work in Progress I'm going through the editing process of Murder in the Highlands before taking the work forward. This helps me to refocus my attention and sets the stage for the final third. I'm almost two-thirds of the way through so it makes sense to do this now, making sure that what I've written so far is making sense. At this stage in almost every book I've written, I hit a brick wall and get a little bit bogged down by my internal critic. Once I come out of editing mode, I'll be able to silence the critic and switch back into creative mode! Looking forward to that. To be honest, I've been distracted by world events of late... who wouldn't be? Other Stuff As it was Sunday, I tried to take some rest and get other more mundane things done around the house. I went to virtual church as I have been doing since the pandemic started. Funnily enough, I've been able to go to a church in London which I went to when I lived in the capital forty years ago. All Souls Church in Langham Place has been putting on virtual services throughout lockdown and is continuing to do so. I've enjoyed returning to somewhere that seems familiar in spite of the number of years that have elapsed since I last went there physically. Literature Festival In 2018, I founded a literature festival which I now chair. I spent the morning creating and adding the final few graphics for events to the website and put the day pass tickets on sale. Tomorrow, I'll need to read through some guest blog posts for the site. I love doing the festival but while it was cancelled for two years during the pandemic, I'd forgotten just how time consuming it…

New Year, New Decade

Post author:Dawn Brookes
Post published:January 1, 2020
Post category:Cozy mysteries Rachel Prince Self Publishing

With every New Year comes new optimism for what lies ahead, but first, I thought I’d look back at 2019.

Crime Writers’ Daily Writing Habits

Post author:Dawn Brookes
Post published:October 6, 2019
Post category:Creative Writing

Crime Writers’ Writing Habits I thought it would be fun to select a few crime writers and discuss their writing – or not – habits! Much emphasis is placed on ritual and routine when it comes to art, but as these few examples show, every writer is different. Ian Fleming (1908-1964) Ian Fleming described himself as a writer rather than an author and writing in an article on the topic or writing he suggested that writing 2,000 words per day, five days a week for six weeks enabled him to produce his first draft for his Bond novels. The novels he produced were around 60,000 words which is acceptable in series writing even to this day. Agatha Christie (1890-1976) Agatha Christie didn’t have a special room to write in and carried notebooks around and jotted down plots, labelling her notebooks. She wrote longhand and then typed it up later. In later life she dictated her books. She never had a daily routine of writing and would nip off to write when the opportunity presented itself it. Strangely, it appears that Agatha Christie was the only one of these four to admit to having difficulties writing with the process causing her much stress at times. And yet it is Christie’s works that are among the world’s top bestsellers with her estate claiming she is third only to Shakespeare and The Bible. Her books are still enjoyed today with Miss Marple and Poirot being crime mystery staples. I remember seeing The Mousetrap on stage in London, the longest running play in London still enjoyed by so many readers today. Dorothy L Sayers (1893-1957) Dorothy L Sayers wrote at night as she worked full time for a London advertising agency. I couldn’t find anything written about her habits but would assume that as one of…