The Art of Distraction: Using Red Herrings OnDemand Webinar
The Art of Distraction: Using Red Herrings
Writers use red herrings the way magicians use sleight of hand,to distract their readers from seeing what's really there. In The Art of Distraction, award-winning author Jane K. Cleland explains how to use red herrings to build page-turning suspense.
Jane writes the multiple award-winning Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery series (St. Martin's Minotaur), which is often reviewed as an Antiques Roadshow for mystery fans. “Josie" stories have also appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine.
Jane has published four nonfiction books. Jane chairs the Black Orchid Novella Award, is a past chapter president of the Mystery Writers of America, New York Chapter, and served on the national board. Additionally, Jane is the host of the Writer's Room, a series of interviews with authors and industry professionals that appears on cable television and online (BronxNet).
Jane has both an MFA (in professional and creative writing) and an MBA (in marketing and management). She's a member of the full-time faculty of Lehman College, part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system, where she is also the Director of the Program for Professional Communications. She also mentors MFA students in the Western Connecticut State University MFA in Creative and Professional Writing Program and facilitates writing workshops, including Aspiring Writer's Weekend and Memoir Writing, both sponsored by MIT/Endicott House.
In this 25-minute video tutorial, you'll discover:
- How to use red herrings to control reader perception
- The difference between structural and visual red herrings
- Three tried-and-true techniques to add red herrings to your writing
No matter the genre, red herrings add engaging complexity to plots and characterization.
