By Janice Hardy
Your favorite book is
more than a great read—it’s a masterclass in writing craft.
I have a beat-up copy of Dave Duncan’s The Gilded Chain on my shelf that’s filled with notes in the
margins and highlighted passages in different colors. It was my writing
textbook when I was figuring out how to write and analyzing what made the books
I loved work.
I loved Duncan’s prose. (Still do.) It’s smooth, clear, never draws attention to itself, but always pulls me right into the story. I studied how he structured sentences, how he handled action, how he managed dialogue without slowing the pace. I wasn’t trying to mimic him—I was trying to understand why his writing kept me turning pages long past midnight.