Researching Cozy Mysteries

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Encouragement, research, tips 6 Comments

by JPC Allen Yes, you read the title right. But what research? We’re not writing historical fiction or scifi. We just need to set a cozy mystery in a cute small town with tons of ugly secrets. Create a likable amateur detective with a quirky sidekick. Throw in an unlikable victim, shifty suspects, and an even more unlikable villain, and …

God-Directed Fiction, Part 2 (Maakah)

ACFWACFW, Advice, Authors and writing, research, tips, writing 6 Comments

by Mesu Andrews In yesterday’s post, I shared some of my research process to layer biblical Truth with historical facts. But what do I do when history seems to contradict Scripture? I fall on my knees and pray that the Lord will provide a creative fictional answer! In every book I’ve written so far, I’ve experienced at least one fact/Truth …

Research Blahs

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by Darlene L. Turner Research—a chore or fun? Doesn’t matter the genre. Every writer has to do some sort of investigation in order to get facts straight and make their stories authentic. Some writers love research while others get the blahs when it comes to this aspect of the process. Why? The number one reason is probably because it takes …

My Research Introduced Me to New Long-Lost Friends

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By Kathryn Haueisen I wrote Mayflower Chronicles: The Tale of Two Cultures as historical fiction so I could create conversations. However, I still wanted it make it as historically accurate as possible. I especially wanted to be faithful to the details of this famous 1620 voyage from the Natives’ perspective. Researching that perspective proved to be much harder than I …