The Dundurn Blog

Even before coronavirus, there was an urgent need for clear communication, for translating science into plain language, for demystifying medicine and for reducing stigma around disease and disability. This type of science writing is even more critical during this global pandemic. 

In Jacob Bronowski’s 1973 book The Ascent of Man, based on the television series, he talks about the danger of an ‘aristocracy of intellect.’ He warns that keeping scientific knowledge only amongst such an aristocracy could “destroy the civilization that we know.” He writes:

Closing Time is the seventh and final instalment in the Stonechild and Rouleau police procedural series, and the feeling is akin to sending my last child off to university. Naturally, I’m asked how it feels to finish writing about Officer Kala Stonechild, Staff Sergeant Jacques Rouleau and the rest of the gang, and I always respond, “bittersweet”.

Today I want to talk about confidence, and sometimes the lack of it.

Throw them a challenge! That simple piece of advice remains one of the best I’ve received from other mystery writers in whose skilled footsteps I follow. It’s a variation on the ‘ask-the-what-if-questions’ approach to characters and plot. More importantly, it’s an incredibly useful way to develop your protagonists and antagonists. Put them outside their comfort zones (and even better, put yourself outside your comfort zone as a writer), and you’ll watch fascinating and quite unexpected things happen as a result.