I was going to do a post on Christmas mysteries to continue my posts on holidays reads that help get me in the mood. Maybe I'll do that for my next post here on MakeMineMystery. But you know what, gang? It's Thanksgiving and although the year has been difficult and the economy has hit all of us hard, I've got a lot to be thankful for.
@Jan VerHoeff tweeted a few weeks back about finding one thing a day to be thankful for in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. She suggested using it as a status update. Although I have not always been faithful with posting it as my status, I have been finding that I have a great deal to be grateful for.
I've got what most of us have and take for granted: A great marriage to a wonderful man, healthy, intelligent (grown) children whom I am proud of, a home, a wonderful extended family which includes a couple of sisters who let me call and whine and then help me pick myself up again. I've got work and enough money to pay the bills this month. I've got a good church home, good friends and I've got a new book out.
Just for a minute today, go over your own list. Then rest and be thankful.
Christine Duncan is the author of the Kaye Berreano mystery series. Safe House, the second book in the series was released in September.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Finding Time to Write
In these days of ever increasing demands on our time as the holidays arrive, where do we find time to write? By the time I check email, answer the ones that need answering and check the day’s headlines, follow my favorite blogs and get some calls returned….it’s time to do some promo. Need to post on Twitter and Facebook, GoodReads and Linked In, and don’t go looking at other’s pages, if I can resist.
In between are household responsibilities and friends, volunteer work and bill-paying. And don’t forget the day job – in my case, editing. You may have a longer commute than I do – from kitchen to office – but I often work outside of “regular” 9 to 5 hours, finding myself at the computer late at night.
Right now, we must include seasonal get togethers, shopping and travel and build them into our schedules. Don’t even think about the down time of getting a cold!!
So, when does your writing Muse strike in the midst of the hectic life? Mine has been prodding at me a lot lately…and at times I can’t always indulge the urge. For me, the best time to write is at night. Everyone else is settled down and it’s “my” time. Add to the fact I’m a night owl and it makes sense. How about you – when do you write?
Libby
Libby McKinmer
Romance with an edge
www.libbymckinmer.com
libby@libbymckinmer.com
Also on Twitter, Facebook & GoodReads
In between are household responsibilities and friends, volunteer work and bill-paying. And don’t forget the day job – in my case, editing. You may have a longer commute than I do – from kitchen to office – but I often work outside of “regular” 9 to 5 hours, finding myself at the computer late at night.
Right now, we must include seasonal get togethers, shopping and travel and build them into our schedules. Don’t even think about the down time of getting a cold!!
So, when does your writing Muse strike in the midst of the hectic life? Mine has been prodding at me a lot lately…and at times I can’t always indulge the urge. For me, the best time to write is at night. Everyone else is settled down and it’s “my” time. Add to the fact I’m a night owl and it makes sense. How about you – when do you write?
Libby
Libby McKinmer
Romance with an edge
www.libbymckinmer.com
libby@libbymckinmer.com
Also on Twitter, Facebook & GoodReads
Monday, November 23, 2009
Getting To The Point... of View by Austin Camacho
Recently I've had a couple of new writers - who were asking my advice - debate with me about the use of point of view in fiction. They didn't change my mind but they did make me realize that I have to be able to defend MY point of view about my CHARACTERS' point of view.
Well, I’m pretty sure that most editors and agents still consider POV hopping a pet peeve and a sign that they’re dealing with an untrained newbie. They would say, and I agree, that it's best to pick a POV and stick to it. But I can’t deny that many bestselling authors ignore this rule on a regular basis and still sell lots of books. Should we learn from this and follow their lead into a new set of fiction-writing rules?
I say no. First, pick any big name who changes POV and check out his earlier works. I think you’ll find that at the beginning of their writing careers, people don't violate POV rules. I think you have to obey the rules to GET published. But once you’ve got a couple best-sellers under your belt, the universe grants you a bit more latitude. For example, James Patterson seems to give almost every character in a novel some POV time, and worse, they’re all in third person except his protagonist who gets to be in first person! I can’t explain how he gets away with it, I just know he does.
On the other hand, Michael Connelly’s just that good. After several Harry Bosch books he began switching to the criminal’s POV, maybe just to keep things interesting. He’s just so good at what he does that he can make it work. Another writer might look like he was just making it up as he went along. But when Connelly does it, we trust that he knows what he's doing and we’re willing to go along for the ride. I know I’m revealing my blatant hero worship here, but I’d say if you think you’re as good as Connelly, go for it. Me, I’ll stick to one POV… most of the time.There are times that even we mere mortals can get away with going from first person to third person POV or having multiple POVs. For instance, what someone is telling a long story to your protagonist? That’s a reasonable time to switch POV to that of the storyteller.
Or, what if your detective is reading someone else’s letters? You could write a chapter that was the content of the letters, and put that chapter in the voice of the letter writer.
I’m sure there are other possibilities I can’t think of right now. The important thing is that it must be very clear to a reader (an agent or an editor) that you did it on purpose with a clear plan, not just because you didn’t know any better. I think it’s always safer to play by the accepted rules – at least until you’re as big as James Patterson.
Well, I’m pretty sure that most editors and agents still consider POV hopping a pet peeve and a sign that they’re dealing with an untrained newbie. They would say, and I agree, that it's best to pick a POV and stick to it. But I can’t deny that many bestselling authors ignore this rule on a regular basis and still sell lots of books. Should we learn from this and follow their lead into a new set of fiction-writing rules?
I say no. First, pick any big name who changes POV and check out his earlier works. I think you’ll find that at the beginning of their writing careers, people don't violate POV rules. I think you have to obey the rules to GET published. But once you’ve got a couple best-sellers under your belt, the universe grants you a bit more latitude. For example, James Patterson seems to give almost every character in a novel some POV time, and worse, they’re all in third person except his protagonist who gets to be in first person! I can’t explain how he gets away with it, I just know he does.
On the other hand, Michael Connelly’s just that good. After several Harry Bosch books he began switching to the criminal’s POV, maybe just to keep things interesting. He’s just so good at what he does that he can make it work. Another writer might look like he was just making it up as he went along. But when Connelly does it, we trust that he knows what he's doing and we’re willing to go along for the ride. I know I’m revealing my blatant hero worship here, but I’d say if you think you’re as good as Connelly, go for it. Me, I’ll stick to one POV… most of the time.There are times that even we mere mortals can get away with going from first person to third person POV or having multiple POVs. For instance, what someone is telling a long story to your protagonist? That’s a reasonable time to switch POV to that of the storyteller.
Or, what if your detective is reading someone else’s letters? You could write a chapter that was the content of the letters, and put that chapter in the voice of the letter writer.
I’m sure there are other possibilities I can’t think of right now. The important thing is that it must be very clear to a reader (an agent or an editor) that you did it on purpose with a clear plan, not just because you didn’t know any better. I think it’s always safer to play by the accepted rules – at least until you’re as big as James Patterson.
Friday, November 20, 2009
The Pros of Prologues
By Chester Campbell
Earl Staggs wrote recently about the often maligned flashback and his reason for using them. I thought I'd take a whack at another of those literary forms that drives some readers, and editors, to distraction: the Prologue. I like them. When, as they say, properly used.
I wrote Prologues in my first two Greg McKenzie mysteries. The fact that I haven't used one since shouldn't be taken as a slight. They just didn't fit or weren't needed in subsequent books. But in those first two, I thought they improved the story.
I write the McKenzie books in first person, from the protangonist's point of view. In the first book of the series, I used a third person Prologue to introduce elements that would improve the reader's understanding of things that would take place during the rest of the story. I wrote it in a dramatic style aimed at grabbing the reader's attention and holding it into the main plot.
In the second book, I used a third person Prologue to introduce the main plot point, which led to the murder. It also served to introduce all of the principal characters and suspects except for my two protagonists. They appeared in Chapter 1.
For my money, the kind of Prologues that gave the introductory chapter a bad name are those that launch the book with a scene from the end of the story and then build toward it. Or those that start from the unidentified murderer's POV. There are some others that have created justifiable ire, but in general I don't understand all the condemnation of Prologues. For some haters, it would apparently be okay if you just named it Chapter 1 instead of Prologue.
I've read comments from people who say they skip over Prologues. Pardon me, but if you're going to read a book, read everything the author put in it. That's like skipping over the dialogue.
I don't imagine my little diatribe has changed the mind of any Prologue dissenters, but them's my sentiments. What do you think?
Including two with Prologues, Chester Campbell has written four Greg McKenzie mysteries featuring a retired Air Force OSI agent and his wife. His newest book introduces PI Sid Chance in The Surest Poison.
Earl Staggs wrote recently about the often maligned flashback and his reason for using them. I thought I'd take a whack at another of those literary forms that drives some readers, and editors, to distraction: the Prologue. I like them. When, as they say, properly used.
I wrote Prologues in my first two Greg McKenzie mysteries. The fact that I haven't used one since shouldn't be taken as a slight. They just didn't fit or weren't needed in subsequent books. But in those first two, I thought they improved the story.
I write the McKenzie books in first person, from the protangonist's point of view. In the first book of the series, I used a third person Prologue to introduce elements that would improve the reader's understanding of things that would take place during the rest of the story. I wrote it in a dramatic style aimed at grabbing the reader's attention and holding it into the main plot.
In the second book, I used a third person Prologue to introduce the main plot point, which led to the murder. It also served to introduce all of the principal characters and suspects except for my two protagonists. They appeared in Chapter 1.
For my money, the kind of Prologues that gave the introductory chapter a bad name are those that launch the book with a scene from the end of the story and then build toward it. Or those that start from the unidentified murderer's POV. There are some others that have created justifiable ire, but in general I don't understand all the condemnation of Prologues. For some haters, it would apparently be okay if you just named it Chapter 1 instead of Prologue.
I've read comments from people who say they skip over Prologues. Pardon me, but if you're going to read a book, read everything the author put in it. That's like skipping over the dialogue.
I don't imagine my little diatribe has changed the mind of any Prologue dissenters, but them's my sentiments. What do you think?
Including two with Prologues, Chester Campbell has written four Greg McKenzie mysteries featuring a retired Air Force OSI agent and his wife. His newest book introduces PI Sid Chance in The Surest Poison.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Some espionage for writers by Vivian Zabel
I took part in the Muse Online Writers Conference in October, and D.S. Kane had a workshop on how to write about espionage realistically. The information I gained from that workshop will be helpful in some of the upcoming work, and I hope you'll find some of what I share will aid you, too.
Kane listed ten intelligence agencies in the United States: CIA, NSA,FBI, DIA, NCIS, ATF, DEA, NRO, ONI, U.S. Marshals. He said he knows of sixteen, even though he didn't list that many. One that he didn't know about, and that I do because of my research for my WIP, is the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI), the Air Force equivalent to NCIS.
Of course other nations have their intelligence agencies, too, such as AFI (intelligence branch of the Israeli Air Force), The Mossad (Israel's "secret" service), and MI-6 (Great Britain).
The more one knows about the intelligence agencies used in writing fiction, the more believable the writing is. Research is vital. I would suggest to begin with D.S. Kane before going to some of the following works:
John Perkins, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
John LeCarre, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Thomas Gordon, Gideon's Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad
Peter Wright, Spy Catcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer
Thank you, D.S. Kane, not only for an interesting workshop, but also for information to help writers be better writers.
Oh, yes, to register for the 2010 Muse Online Writers Conference, click on the title. Registering now means you'll receive all the notices and won't forget until after the deadline.
Vivian Zabel
Kane listed ten intelligence agencies in the United States: CIA, NSA,FBI, DIA, NCIS, ATF, DEA, NRO, ONI, U.S. Marshals. He said he knows of sixteen, even though he didn't list that many. One that he didn't know about, and that I do because of my research for my WIP, is the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI), the Air Force equivalent to NCIS.
Of course other nations have their intelligence agencies, too, such as AFI (intelligence branch of the Israeli Air Force), The Mossad (Israel's "secret" service), and MI-6 (Great Britain).
The more one knows about the intelligence agencies used in writing fiction, the more believable the writing is. Research is vital. I would suggest to begin with D.S. Kane before going to some of the following works:
John Perkins, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
John LeCarre, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Thomas Gordon, Gideon's Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad
Peter Wright, Spy Catcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer
Thank you, D.S. Kane, not only for an interesting workshop, but also for information to help writers be better writers.
Oh, yes, to register for the 2010 Muse Online Writers Conference, click on the title. Registering now means you'll receive all the notices and won't forget until after the deadline.
Vivian Zabel
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Interview With Lono Waiwaiole
In his varied career, Lono Waiwaiole has been an editor, sports information director and professional poker player. He currently teaches english and social studies in Gaston Oregon and writes hard-boiled, noir mysteries.
Lono's debut novel, Wiley's Lament, was named a finalist for the 2003 Oregon Book Awards for fiction and an Anthony award for best first novel of 2003. It was followed by Wiley's Shuffle (2004) and Wiley's Refrain (2005). The three books feature a tough, cynical poker player named Wiley. The first two books are set in Portland, Oregon and the third is set part in Portland and part on the Big Island of Hawai'i. The Wiley books are known for being as noir as they come. The body counts are high.
In 2009 Lono stepped away from the Wiley series with Dark Paradise (Dennis McMillan Publications.) Dark Paradise is set on the Big Island. It is a modern day crime story whose roots lie deep in the imperialism and "internal colonialism" practiced by the United States on this island culture. The body counts are just as high.
This is the first of a two-part interview with Lono. You can read the second part of the interview tomorrow on The Hawaiian Eye.
Tell us about yourself. Everybody in Hawai'i is part something. What are your parts?
I'm half Hawaiian, a quarter Italian and a quarter Pennsylvania Dutch.
You've probably got the perfect Hawaiian name. Lono is the god associated with clouds, storms and earthquakes. Is that your muse?
I think Lono is also associated with fertility. I suspect my "muse" comes more from that angle, if any.
Your Wiley books are set in Portland, how did you come to set Dark Paradise in Hawai'i?
I moved from Portland to the Big Island as I was wrapping up the second Wiley book, so the third in that series is actually set in both places. Dark Paradise was written almost entirely while I lived over there, and my goal was to transfer some of what I was absorbing from that environment to my fiction.
Dark Paradise is a complicated novel with 10 point of view characters--Geronimo, Nalani, Dominic, Sonny, Buddy, Jesus, Kitano, Jay-jay, Kapua, Robbie. How were you able to get inside the heads of all those different characters?
Assuming that I actually succeeded in doing that (readers will render the ultimate verdict), I don't recall it being particularly difficult. You have to keep in mind that I was on a first-name basis with each of them. It might have been more difficult if they weren't all my children in the first place. As it happened, I knew everything they had ever thought, were thinking and would ever think.
Dark Paradise is set against the backdrop of the NBA Championship series between the Lakers and Pistons. Does that have significance in the story?
One of the things that struck me immediately about Hawai`i is the popularity of basketball. Since I am an addict myself, I always have an eye out for my next connection. The Detroit-Los Angeles series was happening when the actual event which triggered my fictional story occurred, and you couldn't go anywhere on the Big Island at the time without seeing it on a television screen or hearing people argue about it. Originally, the presence of the series was mostly atmospheric, but by the time I was done it had become the organizational structure of the story and somewhat metaphoric as well. The difference between those two teams and the way they were popularly perceived was similar to the way the less-informed view the islands.
That actual event, by the way, was "the biggest drug bust in the history of the Big Island." That actually happened, including the attempt to follow the drugs that ended up in the car being abandoned at the mall drugs intact. As usual, truth is stranger than fiction.
The reader won't find the usual chapters here. Instead, the story is divided up by the different parts of a basketball game. What's the significance in that?
See the previous question for the beginning of this answer. By the time I was revising the manuscript, my appreciation of the NBA playoffs at the time had deepened significantly as far as its application to the story is concerned. I think the characters are constrained by some arbitrary conditions they do not control, and the game parameters seemed like a way to symbolize those constraints.
Speaking of constraints, this novel is definitely noir in that everybody is trapped. Is that a good characterization of the locals in Hawai'i?
I just read a headline which stated that Hawai`i is the second-happiest state in the country. That may be true, but only because joy seems to be implanted in the Hawaiian DNA. I think this happiness is overlaid on a very distressed core which has easily discerned symptoms--exceptionally high levels of substance abuse (including food, I believe), domestic violence, child abuse, etcetera. Locals are unlike their tourist visitors--they know both sides of this picture. Within that understanding, I think they do feel trapped to some extent. It is not a world of their own making, but leaving it means leaving family and cultural ties as well.
Instead of the popular view of Hawai'i, you give us ice and gambling. Which one is closer to the truth?
That's the beauty of the situation over there as far as writing fiction is concerned--both are true (and both are exaggerated to some extent for effect). I think they are two sides of the same coin.
The most compelling characters in the book are Geronimo, an adulterous cop with a gambling problem (he's the good guy) and a teenager named Nalani who becomes an effective player because of the abuse she's suffered from her father. The big question in this reader's mind is, "Will Nalani be all right?" Even at the end, we're not sure. What do you think? Can you say without giving the ending away?
The answer to that question is the same as the answer to this one: Will the Hawaiian Islands be all right? I hope so in both cases. Certainly both have the potential to go either way.
Would you have your students read this book? Is there a lesson for them in it?
There is a lesson for my students in this book, both in its content and in the writing, but I do not encourage them to partake of it. In my school, I have to say Dark Paradise is not school appropriate. Fortunately for me, the superintendent of my school district is a fan of my books and hasn't run me out of town yet.
Was Dennis Mcmillan on board this project from the start? What kind of support did he give you?
He (Dennis) sent several of his shirts (they are collectible Aloha shirts) to the graphic designer, who came up with the cover. Oddly enough, Dennis lived on the Big Island longer than I did and knows it very well.
Dennis wanted this book from the beginning, but it started out as a project with my editor at St. Martin's. That editor moved on right after I delivered it, and St. Martin's decided to pass on it. The book was an orphan for more than a year after that while my agent tried to find somebody other than Dennis to publish it (someone more mainstream, let's say), but after I couldn't stand it any more I said send it to Dennis. To be honest, he was my first choice all along--not because of the potential money he represented, but because of the passion and the reputation for excellence.
As it turned out, he gave me the most important kind of support--he published the book, and he did so beautifully. The rest is pretty much up to me, but I'm okay with that. It was all up to me in the first place, right?
What's next? Will there be more Wileys? Any Hawaiian books? Will we see any of these characters again?
I am embroiled in a screen adaptation of Dark Paradise now. Someone in Hollywood thinks there might be a great film in the book somewhere, and my daughter and I are about to start on our third draft of a screenplay for that producer. We think it's great that they haven't already moved in another direction for screenwriters, but we are still several light years away from a movie actually getting made.
Consequently, I don't have a clear idea of what my next book will be. I have been so immersed in the characters from Dark Paradise that it seems natural to work with them again. On the other hand, Wiley is on the Big Island now, too, and it seems likely that his paths would cross with theirs in the near future. Oh, well, I don't have to sort that out until we finish messing with this screenplay--if we ever do.
Mahalo, Lono, for agreeing to the interview. I, for one, would jump at the chance to meet some of these characters again. These characters on the big screen with the Big Island scenery can't miss.
For more about Lono and Dark Paradise, hop on over to my Hawaiian Eye blog tomorrow.
Mark Troy
http://www.marktroy.net
http://hawaiian-eye.blogspot.com
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Onward and Upward
I haven't a clue (get that, mystery related) what I meant by that title.
While thinking what I should post, frankly, I couldn't come up with a thing. It's drawing near to the holidays and to be perfectly honestly I've been focusing on my Thanksgiving dinner shopping list. Last year we went to a daughter's home for the holiday, which was a good thing because I was really sick with the flu--despite having had a flu shot.
This year, because a lot of people will be around, and by people I mean relatives, I wanted to do the honors. Besides, I love having all the leftovers to keep on feeding folks.
For most of this year I've been occupied with promoting my books, first it was No Sanctuary
that came out in January and then Dispel the Mist which appeared in August. While all that was going on I wrote another Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery and a new Rocky Bluff P.D.
Another Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel is due for publication after the first of the year and it all begins again.
Analyzing myself, I have a hunch I just need to take a breather and get back to "normal living." I have no more appearances for the rest of the month so though I do plan to continue writing on my w.i.p., yet another Tempe mystery, I can pretend to be just a wife, mom, grandma and great-grandma.
In December I only have two gigs--a talk at a bookstore (one of my favorites even though it's about a 2 1/2 hour drive) and a two day event in a local art gallery.
Of course I'll still be writing blogs and making appearances on Facebook and Twitter.
Frankly, it'll be nice to slow down a bit and relax--maybe I can get some reading in, mysteries, of course, something I've neglected later.
Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com
While thinking what I should post, frankly, I couldn't come up with a thing. It's drawing near to the holidays and to be perfectly honestly I've been focusing on my Thanksgiving dinner shopping list. Last year we went to a daughter's home for the holiday, which was a good thing because I was really sick with the flu--despite having had a flu shot.
This year, because a lot of people will be around, and by people I mean relatives, I wanted to do the honors. Besides, I love having all the leftovers to keep on feeding folks.
For most of this year I've been occupied with promoting my books, first it was No Sanctuary
that came out in January and then Dispel the Mist which appeared in August. While all that was going on I wrote another Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery and a new Rocky Bluff P.D.
Another Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel is due for publication after the first of the year and it all begins again.
Analyzing myself, I have a hunch I just need to take a breather and get back to "normal living." I have no more appearances for the rest of the month so though I do plan to continue writing on my w.i.p., yet another Tempe mystery, I can pretend to be just a wife, mom, grandma and great-grandma.
In December I only have two gigs--a talk at a bookstore (one of my favorites even though it's about a 2 1/2 hour drive) and a two day event in a local art gallery.
Of course I'll still be writing blogs and making appearances on Facebook and Twitter.
Frankly, it'll be nice to slow down a bit and relax--maybe I can get some reading in, mysteries, of course, something I've neglected later.
Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com
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