Monthly Archives: May 2010

Main character questions

Everyone loves a strong main character, but does that mean he should be completely lovable? I don’t think so. Too often “heroes” are so idealized that readers end up empathizing with the more relatable villains than they do with the person doing the right things. There are so many questions when crafting a main character, …

May 28, 2010 – 2:29 AM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in writing | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Considering the audience

I know if I write a series of mystery novels (or at least one) with a religious undertone, that series will have to live up to certain audience expectations. I don’t think I’d want the novels to be too racy; that could offend the core audience the novel might appeal to. Rough language is also …

May 28, 2010 – 2:23 AM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in writing | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Uniqueness beyond inspiration

It’s all fine and well and good to have a model that inspires, but to write a good and salable mystery series, if I choose to focus on a crime-solving Messianic rabbi as the focal character of my mystery novels, I’ll have to go beyond the admirable qualities I found in the works of Harry …

May 28, 2010 – 2:17 AM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in late night writing | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Harry inspiration

While I’m trying to decide what might be the best franchise to own, either my pizza delivery mystery series, or a slightly less supernatural series on a crime-solving Messianic rabbi, I have to confess that if I go with the latter, the mystery novels of Harry Kemelman will be a definite influence. Although Kemelman’s series …

May 28, 2010 – 2:09 AM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in creativity | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Vacation nearer and nearer

As our vacation time edges closer and closer, I find myself really looking forward to it; sure, I know that road trips are no way for me to lose weight fast, but once we’re up there I’ll have more time and freedom than I’ve had in a long, long time. The best weight loss solution …

May 28, 2010 – 2:01 AM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in Rants and asides | Tagged , | Comments (0)

A little down about my weight

One thing distracting me from greater creativity is that I’ve been backsliding a bit on my weight loss goals ever since the weather warmed up. I’ve gained about five pounds back, and while that may not seem like much, that puts me in 234-235 territory, which is disheartening compared to the sub-230s I was flirting …

May 24, 2010 – 11:47 PM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in Rants and asides | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Still unsure of novel direction

I’m still not sure if I want to give the soon-to-be-retitled Thirty Minutes Or Less supernatural mystery series a third redo, or if I should just go in another direction entirely, trying on a different series to see if that sparks a creative burst. I’m only days away from my big, week-long fishing and quiet …

May 24, 2010 – 11:43 PM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in creativity | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Weighty matters

If I want to have a long career as a writer, be it as a novelist, Bible teacher or whatever, I need to do better than stall at about twenty pounds lost. Even after trimming twenty pounds, I still have another fifty to go before I’m tipping the scale at below 180 pounds. I lost …

May 16, 2010 – 2:15 AM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in Rants and asides | Tagged , | Comments (0)

A time for reflection, creativity ahead

In a couple weeks, my wife, my father and I are going on our first real vacation in a long, long time. Considering my wife and I never really had a honeymoon, it will be our first real getaway vacation as a couple. And as for Dad, it’s been over a decade since we went …

May 16, 2010 – 2:06 AM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in creativity | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

When is it time to move on to a different project

When is it time to let one project that you’re wrestling with too much rest and move on to a different one? That’s a question many writers struggle with more than home re-modelers struggle with deciding on the best walk in bathtubs for a split-level north woods cabin. When I started working on Thirty Minutes …

May 16, 2010 – 1:58 AM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in creativity | Tagged , | Comments (0)

On the other hand, I wrote a commentary in record time

Aside from my creative writing woes, the words keep flowing easily when it comes to writing sermons and commentaries. Last week, I wrote a Torah commentary on extremely short notice and had it done in just under four hours. That’s not bad for around 2,000 words. Not only that, but the Torah commentary in question …

May 12, 2010 – 11:50 PM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in writing | Tagged , | Comments (0)

New title will be biggest mystery

Once I come up with a new title for my lighthearted supernatural mystery, I intend to keep it quiet this time. Quiet in the same way a teenage cheerleader never lets on that she’s relying on fat burners to maintain her figure for her Cheerios uniform. Sorry, had a Glee-k moment there. Anyway, to avoid …

May 12, 2010 – 11:46 PM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in Rants and asides | Tagged , , | Comments (0)