Characterization by Christine Duncan

When I was learning how to write credible characters, I took a short course in characterization from another writer. Her approach was simply to have us answer a list of questions about each character. The beginning of the list dealt with physical attributes (age, height, weight, hair color, etc.) then became more detailed. Later questions dealt with ethnic background, accent (South Philly Italian did not appear on her list of examples but it sure came to my mind.)and what kind of food the character liked. By the end of this list, you were answering things like what would your character do if he/she won the lottery, or how would your character react to losing a child to cancer.
Since that time, I've seen this approach, with minor variations, all over the web. I guess for some of us, it must work.
But it didn't for me. In off the cuff examples like that, I wanted to make my character--well heroic. The brave mother dealing with her child's disease for example (all in capital letters of course, as is fitting for an archtype.) Or I wanted the character to give away everything she had to the poor and needy.
That isn't a realistic character--at least not in the real world. In the world we really live in, as the Mom deals with the child getting chemo and crying because he doesn't want to, the Mom snaps and tells the child he HAS to have it because it's good for him. Then she goes off somewhere and cries because, she believes that good moms don't snap at their poor, sick children.
That's real. I don't know very many saints.
So the list part didn't work for me. I did take away one good thing from the exercise. There is a file on my computer labeled cast, where I list each character's full name and physical characteristics. This comes in handy for those times when I'm having a character gaze into a significant other's eyes and can't remember if I actually know what color they are. I have a separate copy of this file in each book's master file.
As for what my characters would do in a given situation--they tend to surprise me. I don't always know beforehand. In a way, I'm getting to know them along with the reader. But I don't know any other way to do it.

Christine Duncan is the author of the Kaye Berreano mystery series. Safe House, the second book of the series is available now from Trebleheart books.

Alternatives to Major Publishers by Vivian Zabel

First, I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. A Christmas story written by me to share with you can be found on Brain Cells & Bubble Wrap.



I usually write about tips that tie directly to writing or reading mysteries. This time I want to talk about getting a book published, no matter what the genre.

Many authors dream, as well as work very hard, to get a book published. The problem is there are many more hopeful writers than available slots in the few major publishing firms. The number of major firms has shrunk over the years as one merges with another. Finally major publishers prefer going with authors whose names already trigger the attention of the public. What then should a writer do who wants to be published and have a book to market? Various alternatives exist to trying to go through a major publishing company: small-press companies; DIY, do it yourself; or independent publishers. The first step in marketing a book is for it to be published.

According to various sources on the Internet, only six to eight major large publishing corporations now exist, if their subsidiaries are not counted separately. However, Publishers Weekly estimates that more than 7,000 new publishers form each year, giving writers options for seeing their books in print.

Small-press companies don’t have the funding to pay large, or sometimes any, advances, but according to Judith Rosen in September 2006 The Writer, they can deliver big books. A small-press can be an alternative to the frustrations of a major company or can be a stepping stone to a large corporate house.

Independent presses don’t accept everything from fiction to non-fiction, from science fiction to science, from mystery to romance. They usually specialize in rather narrow areas. But one publisher or more covers every genre and area of publishing. One place to find small presses is through the membership of The Small Press Center for Independent Publishing. Another is page 52 of The Writer, September 2006.

Robert S. Nahas, in his book How to Get a Book Published states that a decade ago, self-publishing (or DIY) was viewed as a joke, and many people considered self-published authors were not really published authors. He goes on to write, “... but today there is a much different climate ... As more and more self-published authors have begun to reap impressive, and sometimes staggering, sales over the past seven or eight years, the world has begun to take notice of the amazing successes.” Note that he is not speaking of “Vanity Publishing,” but of works that have been professionally prepared with thorough editing and formatting.

Another type of publishing is electronic publishing, whether as DIY or through an electronic publishing company. Although books on line didn’t become the replacement for hard copy books as predicted in the past, they are starting to become more popular as time passes.

As with any business venture, a writer needs to research any company he or she considers working with. All should be careful of scams, but anyone willing to write and prepare a well-written manuscript has more opportunities than ever to take the first step toward marketing a book by being able to have it published.

Sources:

1. Robert S. Nahas, How to Get a Book Published, pages 33 - 54.

2. Robin Nobles, Publishing companies on the Internet, http://www.robinsnest.com

3. Judith Rosen, “Small-press success,” The Writer, September 2006

4. “Publishing,” Wikipedia wikipedia.org

5. “Publisher,” Wikipedia wikipedia.org


Vivian Zabel
Brain Cells & Bubble Wrap

Self-Doubt and the Phases of Writing a Novel

I'm currently working on a WIP that excites me very much. I wrote the first fifty pages in two weeks (and no, it wasn't NaNo time) and thought incessantly about the plot, the characters, and fun ways to kill off certain of those characters. Then, as always seems to happen, I ran into a quagmire of doubt, sluggish prose, and dialogue with less crackle than a bowl of Cheerios that had been soaked in milk for a few hours. My beloved project suddenly weighed me down and instead of anticipating my writing sessions, I dreaded them.

This, of course, led to several weeks of doubting myself as a writer. I was just a big old fake. I talked to several other writers (thank goodness for writer's groups!) and found out I was not alone. I then remembered a brilliant post I'd read a few months back by Libba Bray, comparing the stages of writing a novel to a relationship. I post it here for your enjoyment.

Within Ms. Bray's post is a link to another blog by Justine Larbestier about Bad Writing Days.
I also include this link for your amusement.

Both posts pretty much sum up the fact that the majority of writers go through the same phases of infatuation, love, disappointment, resentment, make-up sex, and the inevitable break-up with each project they undertake. And we all have bad writing days. Remembering this always makes me feel much better when I start pounding my head against the wall when things aren't going well.

Of Hopping Vampires, Witches, and a New Series

I'd like to welcome Hailey Lind aka Juliet Blackwell aka Julie, President of NorCal Sisters in Crime as our guest today! This intro should have gone up with the post, but my computer started making ghastly noises yesterday, so I backed everything up and hastily shut it off. As a result, no intro this morning when the post went up! I'm happy to say the noises were caused by cat hair in the MacBook's fan - the Genius at the Apple Store shot compressed air through it and POOF! Out came a big old wad of fur. I am shocked, I tells ya! Anyway, please welcome the lovely and talented Julie/Hailey/Juliet!

I was at a book reading the other day listening to two author friends, Eric Stone and Tim Maleeny. Eric was talking about his series set in China and Hong Kong, based upon true stories that he gathered while there as a journalist. Fascinating stuff. But then, as an aside, he happened to mention that Chinese vampires hold their arms out stiffly in front of them, and hop.

Wait.

What? They hold their arms out like mummies, and hop? That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever heard! I know that there’s a Mexican type of vampire that is sort of a cross between werewolf and vampire, the terrifying chupacabras. The Chinese version sounds like a cross between a ghoul and a vampire. I can just see a new blockbuster movie trilogy: The Ethnic Vampire Wars.

But it’s really the hopping I find most enthralling. Plus, upon further inquiry one learns that the Chinese vampire fighter’s arsenal does not include stakes. Instead, you can zap the fearsome creature by writing a symbol on a piece of yellow paper and sticking it to his forehead. And, if you throw uncooked rice at it, or –why stop there?-- set a whole bag by the door, your average Chinese vampire feels compelled to pause in its ghastly pursuit of blood, and count each and every grain of rice.

This got me thinking about how folkloric traditions vary from culture to culture, even when they start out with a lot in common (this is the way my mind works -- I used to be an anthropologist). When I set about writing my new Witchcraft mysteries (Secondhand Spirits, the first in the series, will be released from Obsidian July 7), I was determined to take the Witchcraft seriously, and for the idea of witches to make sense historically and culturally.

What do I mean by that? When I set out to write a Witchcraft book, I decided, first and foremost, not to allow anyone to think that I was revisiting “Bewitched”. I’ll confess it was one of my favorite shows when I was a child…but it truly butchered the real history and cultural traditions of witches, whether European or otherwise.

My protagonist, Lily Ivory, comes from a small town in Texas. She inherits a witchcraft tradition based on her adoptive grandmother, who is a curandera, a Mexican “curer”. Curanderas do exist in much of Latin America, and they often are a village’s only source of health care. But people being what they are, a powerful curandera might also be feared and despised, and re-labeled a bruja, or witch. They are often believed to have a Nagual, a type of nocturnal familiar that sneaks around town while they are asleep, keeping an eye on people, for good or for ill.

I may not be a practicing witch myself, but I respect the tradition(s). I revere the weight of history; the strength of folklore as a manifestation of communal angst and desire; and the awe-inspiring power of nature. And when it comes right down to it, I’m open to the idea that there is much more unknown than known in our world.

There are witch traditions all over the world –just as there are vampire traditions. The majority of us in the U.S. are most familiar with the European concept of witchcraft, but in other countries there is a strong and continuing tradition associating witches with healing and medicine, as in the traditional “witch doctor.” I hope Secondhand Spirits delivers an entertaining cast of characters (including a shape-shifting miniature Vietnamese pot-bellied pig), an engrossing mystery, and plenty of compelling urban fantasy; but most importantly, I hope it respects the ancient, universal, and fascinating tradition of witchcraft in its myriad forms.

Now, if I could just come up with a way to include hopping vampires in the storyline, I’d be all set. Or would that be too over the top?

Juliet Blackwell, aka Hailey Lind, is the pseudonym for a mystery author who, together with her sister, wrote the Art Lover's Mystery Series—including the Agatha-nominated Feint of Art and the IMBA bestsellers Shooting Gallery and Brush with Death. The fourth in the series, Arsenic and Old Paint, will be released in fall, 2010. Juliet's new paranormal Witchcraft Mystery series begins with Secondhand Spirits (July, 2009), about a witch with a vintage clothing store in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco. Cast-off Coven will be the second in the series. If These Walls Could Talk, to be released in 2010, is the first in the Sophie Tanner Historic Home Renovation series about a failed anthropologist running her father's high-end construction company.

A former anthropologist and social worker, Juliet has worked in Mexico, Spain, Cuba, Italy, the Philippines, and France. She currently resides in a happily haunted house in Oakland, California, where she is a muralist, portrait painter, and recipient of the overly zealous attentions of her neighbor's black cat, who seems to imagine himself her new familiar. Juliet/Hailey is two-term president of Northern California Sisters in Crime. Visit her at her website.

Stop Shouting Already! by Marvin D Wilson

Just a short post today, and an invitation to comment and discuss.

This has to do with all fiction, not just specifically the mystery book, but I do see it a lot in novice mystery novelists that I read ... the overuse of exclamation points. As if yelling your story to me will add to the intensity, the mystery, the suspense, the overall gripping nature of your tale. You know, passages like-

"Oh my god! It's a vampire!" Joan screamed. She had to hurry - it was fast gaining on her! "Help!" she hollered to no one, and thought, There's nobody to come to my aid ... I'm doomed!

Puh-leease. You are not getting me worked up and excited with your story that sounds like a constantly barking dog. It's kind of like the parent who yells at his or her kids all the time. After a while, the children become numb to the decibel level and just ignore the shouts. Takes a hammer over the head to get their attention. On the other hand, a parent who always speaks in an even tone and exhibits steady self control only has to raise their voice a little bit to get the kids' undivided attention. Woa - they perk up and think, better pay attention. Mom hardly ever raises her voice like that.

And so it is with any good writing, and particularly with mystery/thriller/suspense novels. Restraint, self control, and a guided steady slow build to the intensity is far better, and an indication of masterful writing, than is constantly resorting to over writing through the easy use of loud punctuations.

What say you all?

When Bad Plots Attack

I am watching ZOMBIE NATION (yes, yes, I know I have a fixation with zombie movies and books), it's a half hour into the film, and there have been so many idiotic plot points and incongruous settings, a few shambling zombies can only add some realism to the goings on here.

In a nutshell, a cop is arresting women on idiotic pretenses, such as jaywalking, applying lipstick while driving (which is stupid, but not necessarily arrest-worthy), and for no apparent reason at all; kidnaps them; takes them to a warehouse; looks into their mouths with a doctor's light, injects them with something, then stuffs them in a duffel bag and buries them. We won't even go into the lame reasons behind his behavior, shown in an abuse of the time honored gimmick of flashbacks. It's just too stupid.
...

Okay, his mom used to work at an insane asylum, where she'd chain the inmates and make them spank one another while he watched. Happy?! I'm not either.

His partner, an honest yet stupid rookie, suspects there is something amiss after he sees his partner lugging said duffel bag into the trunk of their squad car...oh...about a dozen times? Only then does he finally talk to his police captain. The result is a round of fisticuffs between the good yet wussy cop and his psycho partner, suddenly surrounded by a passel of men and women who bear no resemblance to the cops we saw in the previous scene. They're not even wearing uniforms, fer crissake! After the fight (bad cop wins by knocking good wuss into a pile of conveniently placed cardboard boxes - this police station has something for everyone ), the police chief promptly tells one of his officers to find a fall guy before 'the public' hears about this cop in a uniform kidnapping women. The police station, btw, is in a warehouse with a roll up door, a huge pipe running past the police chief's desk into cavernous darkness behind him, and, for some incomprehensible reason, there is a huge gong hanging up behind him as well.

I mean, really, people. I understand low budget films and the need to make due with what you have. But making due is different than ignoring things that make the scenes so obviously wrong and fake that you've lost credibility after ten minutes. It's not that difficult to angle the camera to hide the pipe. You don't SHOW the rolltop door in your supposed police station. If that's the only set your budget will afford, you disguise the fact instead of lovingly filming a scene set with the rolltop door as a backdrop. And...a gong? I shakes my head.

Ah well. 45 minutes into the film and still no zombies. I feel cheated.

No...wait, the zombies have appeared. Why? Well, one of the cop's victims is a young gal from Slovakia who conveniently went to see some voodoo priestesses before being kidnapped (we know this because a: we saw it and b: her brother tells reporters this fact when asked if he's worried about her disappearance) and after her death, they wiggle their fingers over a white snake and bring the dead girls back to undead life as zombies. You know they're zombies 'cause they stagger a bit, have black make-up around their eyes and...well, that's about it. Oh, and they do eat the flesh of the living. But for women stuffed into the ground for several weeks/months, they're in remarkably good shape other than that nasty case of raccoon eye. I've seen shabbier clothes at my local Goodwill. And I'd love to know what brand of lipstick these zombie babes are using 'cause it has some awesome lasting power. We will assume they're gonna eat the cop at some point. I wish they'd eat the writer and director.

What does this have to with writing, you might ask? Yes, I'm talking about a movie in this specific instance. But I firmly believe the mistakes, stupidity and just plain sloppy plotting that are making me want to drive spikes into my eyes...no, into the screenwriter's eyes... and bang someone's head against a wall can translate just as easily into writing, whether it be mystery, horror or, in this, case, unintentional comedy.

What about you? Have you ever read a book or scene a movie where you felt slapped in the face by stupidity and lost all good will towards the author or filmmakers? Share your horror stories! I need company about now...