LAURENCE MACNAUGHTON

  • For many years, I carried a writing notebook with me everywhere I went. That’s what all serious writers do, I’ve always heard. But in truth, it’s a terrible idea. Here’s why. First, when you write in a notebook, your notes…

  • Hugh Howey is one of the smartest people I know. So when he crunches a moonshot-load of data on e-book sales and comes to a jaw-dropping conclusion, people sit up and take notice. Here’s why you should, too: FACT: Self-published…

  • I’m about to do something I’ve never done before. I’m publishing each part of my new thriller, The Spider Thief, separately in quick, fun-size episodes. Part One: Stolen Memory is about to hit Amazon. But just for fun, I leaked a…

  • Just a quick reminder: there’s only one week left to enter the Conspiracy of Angels paperback giveaway! I’ll be giving away a free autographed paperback at the end of this month. All you have to do to enter is click…

  • Okay, so, I was going to make all of these announcements separately, but they’re piling up so fast that I’ll just have to just roll them all into one mega-awesome combo announcement: First, from now until January 31, the Conspiracy…

  • What’s the difference between an aspiring writer and a bestselling author? Writing time. Erle Stanley Gardner, creator of Perry Mason and hailed by some as the best-selling author of the 20th century, set before himself the goal of writing 66,000…

  • I get a lot of emails from writers who think they’re suffering from writer’s block. But are they really blocked, or is there something else holding them back? The truth might surprise you. 

  • Okay, first, here’s a brand new trailer from the ever-spectacular folks over at Booktrack.com: Can’t watch the video? Click here to see it on YouTube. Now, back to the mysteries of Jazzy St. Clare: Did you know that there actually…

  • I’m so proud to announce that my fun-size urban fantasy short story, featuring sassy noir detective Jazzy St. Clare, is a winner! Thanks to everyone who has read my Jazzy stories — more than 1,000 of you so far! To celebrate,…

  • Think you don’t have time to write? Wrong. There are 24 hours in a day, so if you write for one measly hour, that’s a mere 4% of your day. (Or 6% of your waking hours, if you get a…

From the blog

  • Want to Get Published? Read This.

    I’ve talked to dozens of best-selling authors about their early years, before they were published. And the similarities between them are striking. On average, they wrote about half a dozen unpublished manuscripts before they sold a novel. (By the way, this is what I call the Myth of the First Novel. Because it’s hardly ever…

  • Compelling Character Arcs in 4 Easy Steps

    I’ll let you in on a secret: readers want your character to change. They know, deep down, that your character is unhappy with the status quo at the beginning of your book. Something is terribly wrong in your character’s life, and things can’t keep going on this way. Something’s got to give. Readers fervently hope…