Author Archives: Jason McDonald

I am finally a real human. Not a mysterious skull with a mask on it!

The last chapter of the #wip for my suspense thriller novel Pandemic-19 was released. I had promised to reveal myself at the end of the project. A promise is a promise. It is now just me in the flesh and blood. So what was this grand thing all about in the first place?

Time for another journey diving into the mind of a prolific writer. As someone who has been writing for a long time (I’ll leave out the number for now) I know a thing or three about what it takes to develop something for writing and presentation. One of the big questions that comes up centersContinue reading “Research 101: Go to Class or Skip It?”

Dialog is important to a story. How you go about writing it and the words you use are key elements. Do you start everything with “He said,” or end it with “she said”? Expand yourself. Let the characters define the emotions a reader “sees” by the words they use. Be emotive by the words you add to show how the character feels as they are saying it!

Plots. What are they good for? Take a ride into how to develop a plot and not be just like everyone else. To challenge your readers and deliver originality to be a great writer and not a sheep following the pack.

Secondary character development. Ideas on what to do, or not to do, to find the right way to present your second string.

What makes a great character for a book? That can be answered in many ways. As a reader, you do not need to like the person at all. You simply need to be drawn to some aspect of them that resonates.

One of the frequent questions put forth from our great readers of Pandemic-19 is this: Why a story about a virus? There have been countless books about viruses. How is this different? It is a legitimate thought and one that can be answered, albeit for our story, tiptoeing around a bit so as not toContinue reading “Pandemic-19/COVID-19”