All writers have a different style – some are plotters, some write by the seats of their pants, some work with a combo of the above or their very own construct. It doesn’t matter how the author creates, but what the author creates – and what the writer creates is a story filled with characters we root for and against.
There is a great deal of information available about heroes – alpha or beta, romantic or hard-boiled. Is he tall, athletic and handsome, or do the ladies adore his geekiness?
Our favorite heroines are generally smart, funny, and accomplished. But then again, there are the Stephanie Plums of the world, too! She’s smart, she’s funny, she’s klutzy!
But villains – where do the villains come from? Are they archetypes, constructs from our days of hearing fairy tales and myths? Are they the product of nightmares or do we pick our boss’ least appealing characteristics and make them bigger than life? Do we build him or her from people we read or hear about in the news? In documentaries? Or are they only a product of the writer's fertile imagination?
As far back as man has created, the villain has been a crucial component of the storyteller’s craft. The villain – or villainess, as the case may be – creates a great deal of stress and angst for our lovely hero and heroine. The villain will thwart them at every turn, for a while, and then their brilliance, bravery and moxie will shine as the villain is conquered.
What was our bad guy’s fatal flaw – hubris, stupidity, inexperience? Whatever it is, it brings him down in the end.
And isn’t that what we all want – to see justice done, the villain stopped and our hero or heroine win the day?
Who is your favorite fictional villain and why?
Libby
Libby McKinmer
www.libbymckinmer.com
Romance with an edge
Find me on Facebook, Twitter & Goodreads
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
The Lumps Were Worth It
I've always had the itch to write. Over the years, I started several books, but each of them petered out after a couple of chapters. That was pre-desktop and laptop computers, and the stubby pencil routine was too tough. Yet, the itch never quit stinging. Then in the mid-90's, with a desktop computer at my disposal, I started another story. This time, I stuck with it and about 130,000 words later, I wrote THE END, then sat back and waited for the riches to roll in. NOT! One of the worst books ever written.
Undaunted, I began a sequel and plowed through to about a 100,000 word BAD book. Not as badly written as my first one, but still bad. Then, a revelation settled around my ears. I read all the time, never went anywhere without a book. Why not learn from what I read?
While my original plan was a three-book series with Bad One and Bad Two, I gave up the idea and decided to write a first person, private investigator story. For a year, I concentrated my reading on such books, absorbing as much as I could from the techniques of many successful authors. The first result of my learn-by-reading program was JAKE'S BURN, an Ace Edwards, Dallas PI, mystery. It wasn't a breakout novel, but I had learned enough to write something readable. JAKE'S was small-published and received good reviews.
Over the next years, as I continued to learn-by-reading, five more books in the Ace Edwards series were small-published. After book six, I decided to move away from Ace and his cast of characters.
Since I now live in South Florida, I invented a female PI. But I've read so many female leads who were little more than men in skirts, I knew I didn't want to write one of those. Or she was a super women who could whip a congress of gorillas while having her nails done—not for me. Or, she was some frail young thing, but always managed to win in the end—nope. With the help of some wonderful ladies in my critique group, I wrote a Beth Bowman, female PI, mystery set in South Florida. I believe Beth can be accepted as a real woman. She's soft when she needs to be and hard as nails when the situation calls for it. I call the book DEATH BY DIAMONDS. When it was finished (and edited and re-finished and edited some more and re-re-finished, etc.), I began to shop it. I queried Terri Bishchoff at Midnight Ink, who asked for the manuscript.
Time passed, and I moved on to another book. THORNS ON ROSES featuring Tom Jeffries, a S FL PI, was small-published in August by L&L Dreamspell, a couple of really nice people who love books. It's another shift in my writing—an avenger story. Tom Jeffries is a hard-edged man with the experience to back him up.
At SleuthFest during the first weekend in March 2011, I was lucky enough to meet Terri, and she told me she liked Beth's story and my writing. I was overjoyed and came home waiting for the acceptance email to arrive. Time dragged on and on and . . . Just when I was ready to give up the idea of being published by Midnight Ink, a company I have the utmost respect for, lightning struck. Terri offered me a two-book contract for Beth.
On, November 1, I signed the contract and mailed it to Midnight Ink via Overnight Express. As I sit and look back over the fifteen years or so of my writing education, I can truthfully say, the lumps were worth it. Without all of those knocks on the head, and my learn-by-reading program, and the wonderful small presses who were willing to publish me, I would not have the contract. I'm proud, yes. But I also realize how lucky I am. There are so many talented writers who are never given the opportunity I have. Now I just have to hope I live up to Terri's and Midnight Ink's confidence in me.
And, of course, when the books are published, I hope they will be loved by readers across the country and, perhaps, in foreign countries.
Randy Rawls
http://www.randyrawls.com/
Undaunted, I began a sequel and plowed through to about a 100,000 word BAD book. Not as badly written as my first one, but still bad. Then, a revelation settled around my ears. I read all the time, never went anywhere without a book. Why not learn from what I read?
While my original plan was a three-book series with Bad One and Bad Two, I gave up the idea and decided to write a first person, private investigator story. For a year, I concentrated my reading on such books, absorbing as much as I could from the techniques of many successful authors. The first result of my learn-by-reading program was JAKE'S BURN, an Ace Edwards, Dallas PI, mystery. It wasn't a breakout novel, but I had learned enough to write something readable. JAKE'S was small-published and received good reviews.
Over the next years, as I continued to learn-by-reading, five more books in the Ace Edwards series were small-published. After book six, I decided to move away from Ace and his cast of characters.
Since I now live in South Florida, I invented a female PI. But I've read so many female leads who were little more than men in skirts, I knew I didn't want to write one of those. Or she was a super women who could whip a congress of gorillas while having her nails done—not for me. Or, she was some frail young thing, but always managed to win in the end—nope. With the help of some wonderful ladies in my critique group, I wrote a Beth Bowman, female PI, mystery set in South Florida. I believe Beth can be accepted as a real woman. She's soft when she needs to be and hard as nails when the situation calls for it. I call the book DEATH BY DIAMONDS. When it was finished (and edited and re-finished and edited some more and re-re-finished, etc.), I began to shop it. I queried Terri Bishchoff at Midnight Ink, who asked for the manuscript.
Time passed, and I moved on to another book. THORNS ON ROSES featuring Tom Jeffries, a S FL PI, was small-published in August by L&L Dreamspell, a couple of really nice people who love books. It's another shift in my writing—an avenger story. Tom Jeffries is a hard-edged man with the experience to back him up.
At SleuthFest during the first weekend in March 2011, I was lucky enough to meet Terri, and she told me she liked Beth's story and my writing. I was overjoyed and came home waiting for the acceptance email to arrive. Time dragged on and on and . . . Just when I was ready to give up the idea of being published by Midnight Ink, a company I have the utmost respect for, lightning struck. Terri offered me a two-book contract for Beth.
On, November 1, I signed the contract and mailed it to Midnight Ink via Overnight Express. As I sit and look back over the fifteen years or so of my writing education, I can truthfully say, the lumps were worth it. Without all of those knocks on the head, and my learn-by-reading program, and the wonderful small presses who were willing to publish me, I would not have the contract. I'm proud, yes. But I also realize how lucky I am. There are so many talented writers who are never given the opportunity I have. Now I just have to hope I live up to Terri's and Midnight Ink's confidence in me.
And, of course, when the books are published, I hope they will be loved by readers across the country and, perhaps, in foreign countries.
Randy Rawls
http://www.randyrawls.com/
Monday, November 7, 2011
The Mystery of the Missing Blank
Today, I thought we'd try a fun exercise inspired by my losing something this morning. I'll give you my instance, and you can provide yours, real or fictional.
The Mystery of the Missing Password -
Being semi-organized, I have trouble finding items at home, sometimes even important ones. This morning I had to remember where I'd put a new password I'd made up last month. Of course, I couldn't remember the handy, safe spot where I'd put it. Fortunately for me, the site was one where I could click and say I'd forgotten and after a few security questions, I could make up a new one.
If a were writing The Mystery of the Missing Password, I'd specify the password could not be changed if forgotten. Not remembering that password would carry enormous consequences, perhaps over life and death of the main character, or worse, a country or the world.
Your Turn -
In the comment section, fill in your Mystery of the Missing Blank and provide a brief description. It could be about a novel or part of a novel which could be written, has already been written, or maybe you'd like to just provide a real life mystery not writing related.
For romantic suspense, try Killer Career. Only
99 cents on Kindle and Smashwords. Also in
print for $13.95.Coming soon see
Forever Young-Blessing or Curse,
plus the re-release of Morgan's backlist romantic
comedy, Girl of My Dreams,
and Chicago based mystery, Two Wrongs.
The Mystery of the Missing Password -
Being semi-organized, I have trouble finding items at home, sometimes even important ones. This morning I had to remember where I'd put a new password I'd made up last month. Of course, I couldn't remember the handy, safe spot where I'd put it. Fortunately for me, the site was one where I could click and say I'd forgotten and after a few security questions, I could make up a new one.
If a were writing The Mystery of the Missing Password, I'd specify the password could not be changed if forgotten. Not remembering that password would carry enormous consequences, perhaps over life and death of the main character, or worse, a country or the world.
Your Turn -
In the comment section, fill in your Mystery of the Missing Blank and provide a brief description. It could be about a novel or part of a novel which could be written, has already been written, or maybe you'd like to just provide a real life mystery not writing related.
For romantic suspense, try Killer Career. Only
99 cents on Kindle and Smashwords. Also in
print for $13.95.Coming soon see
Forever Young-Blessing or Curse,
plus the re-release of Morgan's backlist romantic
comedy, Girl of My Dreams,
and Chicago based mystery, Two Wrongs.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Including special days in your mysteries
 |
| Honoring a family's dead at Dia de los Muertos, Mesilla, NM |
What events do you know about that can add life and color to your mysteries?
 |
| Sugar skull made for Dia de los Muertos |
Friday, November 4, 2011
Mysterious Weather
Here it is the first week in November and leaves on the oak tree outside my window are still in the process of shifting from green to red. At the moment they're about half-and-half. Normally, they would have been fully red by now. This year's weather has been weird from the get-go. Snow, rain, floods, searing heat, we've had it all in spades. The message is if you want to use weather in a mystery novel, don't worry about it being unbelievable. Anything can happen.
I've used hurricanes to good effect. Also thunderstorms, snows, and torrential rains. Scorching summertime heat as well. William Kent Krueger used a derecho in his latest book, The Northwest Angle. It's a violent, widespread straight-line windstorm accompanied by showers or thunderstorms. I'd never heard of it before, but he made it very believable.
One of the most violent weather phenomena is the tornado. I don't recall ever reading about a tornado in a mystery. They should provide excellent fodder. They can turn a house into kindling and leave its contents spread all over the place. They can kill and maim. What if one of the bodies found in the shambles of a house had a bullet wound? Ah, the plot thickens.
I know what tornadoes can do. I was in one that hit East Nashville back on March 14, 1933. I still remember the day like it was last week. A seven-year-old at the time, I remember how still the air seemed that afternoon on the schoolyard. The temperature had risen to an unseasonable 80 degrees. Early that evening the old Atwater Kent radio on the living room table began to crackle with static, indicating lightning in the area. Chandu the Magician became so difficult to hear that we turned the radio off.
Hail began to batter the roof and around 7:30 p.m., the lights went out and a roaring wind came up. It sounded like a locomotive racing by in the street. Bricks began to fall down the chimney into the fireplace, and my dad herded us into the basement. It was over in minutes but the rain came down in torrents. We made our way to my aunt's house several blocks away that hadn't been damaged.
Fifteen people were killed that night. We were lucky, living in a one-story house between two-story houses, so our damage was mostly to the roofing and chimneys. A large house two blocks away was demolished, injuring a whole family. Down the street, one house had columns blown out on the porch, allowing the roof to swing down and block the front door and windows. At a friend's house, a post had blown through a wall and just missed a baby grand piano. An iron pipe sticking up above a fence in the alley behind us had been bent 90 degrees. All sorts of strange things had happened.
Do you know of any mysteries involving tornadoes?
Chester Campbell
Visit me at Mystery Mania
I've used hurricanes to good effect. Also thunderstorms, snows, and torrential rains. Scorching summertime heat as well. William Kent Krueger used a derecho in his latest book, The Northwest Angle. It's a violent, widespread straight-line windstorm accompanied by showers or thunderstorms. I'd never heard of it before, but he made it very believable.
One of the most violent weather phenomena is the tornado. I don't recall ever reading about a tornado in a mystery. They should provide excellent fodder. They can turn a house into kindling and leave its contents spread all over the place. They can kill and maim. What if one of the bodies found in the shambles of a house had a bullet wound? Ah, the plot thickens.
I know what tornadoes can do. I was in one that hit East Nashville back on March 14, 1933. I still remember the day like it was last week. A seven-year-old at the time, I remember how still the air seemed that afternoon on the schoolyard. The temperature had risen to an unseasonable 80 degrees. Early that evening the old Atwater Kent radio on the living room table began to crackle with static, indicating lightning in the area. Chandu the Magician became so difficult to hear that we turned the radio off.
Hail began to batter the roof and around 7:30 p.m., the lights went out and a roaring wind came up. It sounded like a locomotive racing by in the street. Bricks began to fall down the chimney into the fireplace, and my dad herded us into the basement. It was over in minutes but the rain came down in torrents. We made our way to my aunt's house several blocks away that hadn't been damaged.
Fifteen people were killed that night. We were lucky, living in a one-story house between two-story houses, so our damage was mostly to the roofing and chimneys. A large house two blocks away was demolished, injuring a whole family. Down the street, one house had columns blown out on the porch, allowing the roof to swing down and block the front door and windows. At a friend's house, a post had blown through a wall and just missed a baby grand piano. An iron pipe sticking up above a fence in the alley behind us had been bent 90 degrees. All sorts of strange things had happened.
Freaks of the 1933 Nashville Tornado. A. A piece of plank driven through a two-and-a-half-inch limb of a Mississippi Hackberry tree. B. A two-by-four driven through a door panel without leaving splinters. C. Weatherboarding pierced by a cornstalk.
Do you know of any mysteries involving tornadoes?
Chester Campbell
Visit me at Mystery Mania
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Creepy
It's Halloween time. Time for something creepy. I'm sure everyone has a creepy tale in their experience, so here's mine. I haven't written about this before. If it ever appears in a novel, it will be highly embellished. What follows here are the bare facts without embellishment.
When we bought the home we currently live in, our real estate agent disclosed that a tragedy had occurred there. A previous owner, prior to the owners from whom we bought, had committed suicide. The knowledge didn't deter us from buying the house. We did not believe the house was infected with bad juju. If there was such a thing, it had not affected the family from whom we were buying. How long does the juju stay? Does it skip owners? It all seemed pretty silly. So we went ahead with the purchase and didn't inquire into the circumstances.
The first indication we had of what had happened was when we hired a steam cleaning service to clean our carpets. The technician said, "I remember this house. I cleaned it after the suicide."
The victim had slit his wrists so there was a lot of blood to clean up.
The creepy part was the shadow. We'd been in the house about a year when we became aware of a shadow on the bedroom wall that never seemed to go away. It was like a smudge that wouldn't wash off. In fact, it seemed to grow and take on more definition over time. I don't know if it actually became more distinct or if our eyes simply became more attuned to it, but eventually my son asked about the heart on the wall. Sure enough, we looked at it closely and were able to distinguish a crude heart followed by a quite distinct letter "U." Both were preceded by a messy spot that we came to realize was the letter "I."
"I heart U." The victim's final message written on the wall in his own blood.
We have since redecorated that room twice and covered the wall with several coats of paint, so the message is no longer visible. If and when I use the incident in a story, you can bet that no coat of paint will keep that message hidden. It will probably reveal itself in smoke and flame like the writing on the ark of the covenant box in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Do you have any creepy stories in your house?
Mark Troy
Hawaiian Eye Blog
http://www.marktroy.net
When we bought the home we currently live in, our real estate agent disclosed that a tragedy had occurred there. A previous owner, prior to the owners from whom we bought, had committed suicide. The knowledge didn't deter us from buying the house. We did not believe the house was infected with bad juju. If there was such a thing, it had not affected the family from whom we were buying. How long does the juju stay? Does it skip owners? It all seemed pretty silly. So we went ahead with the purchase and didn't inquire into the circumstances.
The first indication we had of what had happened was when we hired a steam cleaning service to clean our carpets. The technician said, "I remember this house. I cleaned it after the suicide."
The victim had slit his wrists so there was a lot of blood to clean up.
The creepy part was the shadow. We'd been in the house about a year when we became aware of a shadow on the bedroom wall that never seemed to go away. It was like a smudge that wouldn't wash off. In fact, it seemed to grow and take on more definition over time. I don't know if it actually became more distinct or if our eyes simply became more attuned to it, but eventually my son asked about the heart on the wall. Sure enough, we looked at it closely and were able to distinguish a crude heart followed by a quite distinct letter "U." Both were preceded by a messy spot that we came to realize was the letter "I."
"I heart U." The victim's final message written on the wall in his own blood.
We have since redecorated that room twice and covered the wall with several coats of paint, so the message is no longer visible. If and when I use the incident in a story, you can bet that no coat of paint will keep that message hidden. It will probably reveal itself in smoke and flame like the writing on the ark of the covenant box in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Do you have any creepy stories in your house?
Mark Troy
Hawaiian Eye Blog
http://www.marktroy.net
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
For All My Good Intentions, I'm Having Trouble Finding Time
"Time for what?" you ask.
"My writing," is my answer. And I'm sure everyone who read my last post about what it takes to be a writer is going to say, "You're a good one to talk."
When this post appears I'll be out of town--on a cruise with hubby celebrating our anniversary. Oh, I'm sure I'll be doing some promotion like handing out my business cards--especially to anyone with a Kindle. I think I'll probably stick in a couple of my latest books too, just in case.
What's been keeping me busy lately is the promotion for Bears With Us. I've been on a month long blog tour and anyone who has done one knows that you need to promote a new blog each day and go back and visit it periodically to see who has commented and to comment back or answer any questions. In my case, I've had to go back and check on earlier ones, because whoever left comments on the most blogs will get to have their name used for a character in a book.
I've also had a couple of writing jobs that bring in money which took quite a bit of my time. And yes, I have to do them to pay for my promotion. I had two in-person events--one at a book store and of course two days with a booth at the Apple Festival. Though I love to do things where I can actually meet the readers in person, they are tiring.
I'm also doing the rewrites on a different book from the one I'm writing. I'm reading a chapter a week to my writers group and they are great critiquers and come up with some great ideas. The day I do those rewrites, I can't work on the book I'm in the middle of writing. Both have very different voices--and I have to think a bit to switch from one to the other.
I'll get it done, though, I always do.
What are the major challenges to your writing?
"My writing," is my answer. And I'm sure everyone who read my last post about what it takes to be a writer is going to say, "You're a good one to talk."
When this post appears I'll be out of town--on a cruise with hubby celebrating our anniversary. Oh, I'm sure I'll be doing some promotion like handing out my business cards--especially to anyone with a Kindle. I think I'll probably stick in a couple of my latest books too, just in case.
What's been keeping me busy lately is the promotion for Bears With Us. I've been on a month long blog tour and anyone who has done one knows that you need to promote a new blog each day and go back and visit it periodically to see who has commented and to comment back or answer any questions. In my case, I've had to go back and check on earlier ones, because whoever left comments on the most blogs will get to have their name used for a character in a book.
I've also had a couple of writing jobs that bring in money which took quite a bit of my time. And yes, I have to do them to pay for my promotion. I had two in-person events--one at a book store and of course two days with a booth at the Apple Festival. Though I love to do things where I can actually meet the readers in person, they are tiring.
I'm also doing the rewrites on a different book from the one I'm writing. I'm reading a chapter a week to my writers group and they are great critiquers and come up with some great ideas. The day I do those rewrites, I can't work on the book I'm in the middle of writing. Both have very different voices--and I have to think a bit to switch from one to the other.
I'll get it done, though, I always do.
What are the major challenges to your writing?
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