Having A Stab At The Crime Novel
More than two thousand listeners have signed up for our Write Here, Right Now campaign which, this year, is offering free expert advice on how to write a crime novel. It's proving twice as popular as the romance theme of last year's project which maybe says something about our fascination with the subject.
Newsdrive presenter Bill Whiteford is one of those aspiring authors who has been persauded to take up the challenge. You can follow the progress of his novel during MacAulay & Co. His story centres on a retired detective who takes up a job as a security officer for the Forth & Clyde canal. Naturally, a body is discovered!
I'm always keen to acknowledge that Write Here, Write Now was inspired by the American National Novel Writing Month idea - and our production team in Edinburgh, led by David Stenhouse, has forged some good links with the guys. Trying to write an entire novel in one month may not be the easiest challenege in the world but those who take part tell us they are encouraged by the thought that hundreds of other people are doing the same thing, as well as by the daily newsletters from established authors.
Of course, writing a thousand words a day can be murder, but it's worth a stab.
