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Wednesday, June 16, 2021

The Mystery of Novel Writing

After twenty years and a hundred books, I...realize that I don't know how to write a novel, that nobody does, that there is no right way to do it. Whatever method works--for you, for me, for whoever's sitting in the chair and poking away at the typewriter [now computer] keys--is the right way to do it.

Lawrence Block, Writing the Novel, 1979 [Most mystery writers, including Mr. Block, know that there is a wrong way to write a novel. That would include not understanding the craft of plotting, character development, dialogue, and point of view. There is, however, no way to know how to write a bestselling novel.]

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