Building and Maintaing Supense for your Mystery

 I was the moderator for this panel--here is what was shared:

First of course, every novel must have conflict.

1. Let the reader know what's at stake.

2.  The main character has to work against the clock.

3. Uncertainty.

4. Awkward challenges--moral dilemmas.

5. Suspenseful happenings.

6. Chapter endings--leaving things hanging.

7. Create a promise, hidden identity, a puzzle

8. Use flashbacks.

9. Characters with complicated histories.

10. Create a hero the reader will believe in and care about--and is vulnerable. 

11. Create a great villain, smart, motivated and a worthy opponent for the hero.

12. Dramatic irony.

13. A countdown

Of course there was much more--but these should help.

Marilyn

What Does A Murderer Look Like?

by Janis Patterson

Answer - just like anyone else.

Back in the early days of mysteries it was a trope to have the villain be either ugly, deformed or physically handicapped, as if their outward appearance were some sort of resonance to their inner deformity. (And let’s face it, deliberate murder is a deformity of the soul. I’m not talking about in self defense or defense of another, either. You know what I mean.)

Anyway, besides being cruel and extremely politically incorrect, it was also a dead giveaway to anyone who read more than one or two stories.

I believe that under the right (wrong?) circumstances and pressures, anyone can take another’s life, but we’re talking about those who do it deliberately and with malice aforethought. How do we spot them?

Answer - sometimes we don’t.

Life would be so much easier for everyone if one’s outward appearance revealed their inner proclivities, but it doesn’t work that way. Think of Ted Bundy, who by outward appearances was the kind of young man every mother prayed her daughter would bring home - good looking, well-mannered, well-educated, apparently with a shining future awaiting him.

Nothing could have been further from the truth. Beneath his almost leading-man exterior lurked a monster who loved to kidnap, rape, torture and kill young women. A low estimate of his kill tally is around 30, while most say it is probably much more.

Another deceptive monster is the sexual sadist and murderer Dennis Rader (aka the ‘Bind Torture Kill’ / BTK killer). He looked just like a kindly suburban father/grandfather type - balding, glasses, an open, plain face and lived an almost stereotypical modest suburban life with his family. But - he had definite weird and kinky sexual tastes, though he kept them well hidden, and he was thought of as normal, polite and well-mannered. He also liked sadism and killing and is reputed to have killed at least 10 people.

Remember the fictional (thank Heavens!) little girl so expertly played by Patti McCormack in the 1950s film THE BAD SEED? She was absolutely average looking, but evil to the core, killing everyone who displeased her. I remember I was about the same age as she when I first saw the film and was absolutely horrified. A little girl the same age as I, a cold-blooded murderess? That little girl could be sitting next to me in class. She might be in my Girl Scout troop! The revelation of the ubiquity of human evil shook me to the core.

The two killers who murdered the Clutter family and shot to fame because of Truman Capote’s IN COLD BLOOD certainly looked (to the popular imagination) like killers, but to say that is an indication of prejudice, just as it is to say that Bundy had to be a hero because he was handsome.

Almost every day in the news we see pictures of ordinary people who have either committed great crimes or performed good and heroic deeds. Some are handsome and some are plain and some are downright ugly, but their looks in no way equates their actions. To paraphrase MLK, people should be judged not for their appearance, but for their character.

So - the endgame of this overly-long little homily is that when you create your characters, do not automatically match their physiognomy to their actions. On the other hand, don’t go too far the other way and make every handsome person a villain. Our job is to create believable characters, not perpetuate stereotypes. There are handsome heroes - and villains. There are ugly villains - and heroes. And most people are a mixture of both. Make your characters real.

PREPARING FOR THE FIRST WRITERS CONFERENCE IN A LONG TIME

One of the former panels, obviously about law enforcement of some kind.

This was a fun mock mystery  radio program--made us all laugh. 

 As I've said before, the Public Safety Writers Association's writers' conference is my favorite. And after not being able to have one because of the pandemic--this month we're getting together once again.

Not surprisingly, we don't have as many attendees as usual. Though this is always a smaller conference, usually around 50, this time it's under 40. Some folks are still wary about the corona virus, others aren't ready to fly again. 

The attendees are most made up of people in law enforcement and other public safety fields who are writing or wanting to write, and a scattering of mystery writers who want to rub elbows and learn from the experts. 

I've been with this group since they reorganized several years ago and worked as the program chair. I turned that job over to a retired police detective who is a multi-published and award winning author--Michael A. Black. He's doing a fantastic job.

I have several reasons for being excited about going, I've made many friends with these folks and I'll be happy to see them again. Also some close mystery writers friends will be there and I haven't seen them for a long time either. A fun reunion is ahead.

I expect to learn a lot too. One of the main speakers is former LAPD homicide investigator, Mike Brandt who will talk about effective interviewing as a writer. Rannah Grey is going to tell about how her true crime book make it into a prime-time TV documentary. Terry L. Kerns, former FBI agent, and at present is the Opiate Coordinator with the Nevada Attorney General's Office-- topic is Examining the Opioid Epidemic. Friends Larry and Lorna Collins are going to present how to write the prefect pitch letter to agents and editors.

And of course there are the panels--from various members of law enforcement, Keeping Things Real in Your Writing; The Art of Mining Yourself and Experiences into Writing Fiction; Steps in Conducting and Investigation; What's your Jurisdiction; Writing Action Scenes

On the Writing and Publishing Side: Fiction Type-casting; Dealing with Censorship; Non-fiction Do's and Don'ts; Stepping into Publications; Animals, Aliens, and Other Things That Go Bump in the Night; Building and Maintaining Suspense in Your Fiction; Polishing Your Manuscript.

Like to get in on this one? It's not too late, https://policewriter.com/ It's in Vegas, could sign up the first evening of the conference--Thursday at 3 p.m.

Believe me, I can hardly wait/ It's been far too long.

Marilyn

Why Write About a Female Law Enforcement Officer?

 

What the reader wanted to know was why I chose to write about a female law enforcement officer when those in my family are all male.

When I was growing up, my uncle was a Los Angeles police officer--motorcycle cop, and later a detective. My son-in-law was both a police officer and a sheriff's deputy. Right now, my grandson is a police officer and my grandson-in- law is a deputy.

To be fair, my son-in-law, who was killed in the line of duty, was the one who started me writing about men in law enforcement and their families. He contributed a lot to my Rocky Bluff P.D. mystery series, especially the first one: Final Respects.  At the time we lived in a beach community with some similarities to the fictional Rocky Bluff. In  the books that follow, female officers appear. 

I didn't start writing about my DeputyTempe Crabtree series until after I moved to Springville and went on a ride-along with a female cop, met a female deputy sheriff, and an Indian woman who grew up on the nearby reservation. The three of these great gals combined became my Tempe.

Though the majority of the Deputy Tempe Crabtree books are in the mountain setting of Bear Creek (much is borrowed from the area where I'm living now) in several Tempe goes other places to solve crimes. The latest in the series, The Trash Harem, is set in the city of Temecula.

The fact that when I began writing about males in law enforcement, I heard a lot of interesting tales from my son-in-law. When we first moved into our neighborhood in the beach community, we had several police officers as neighbors. I became friends with them and their wives--and I heard  a lot from them too. 

Frankly, I didn't think much about writing from the point-of-view of male characters. Whoever is the best one to tell the story is the one I write about.

Marilyn who also writes as F. M. Meredith

The Danger of Shiny

by Janis Patterson

Let’s be honest - there’s no such thing as a life without distraction. However you do things, however you plan for a good long stretch of uninterrupted time to write, something happens.

You go on a quiet vacation to a remote spot where you think it will be free from distractions and interruptions. Maybe it is, but suddenly your own mind becomes the interruption, putting something new and enticingly shiny in front of you such as plotting another book, sending you down the rabbit hole of intense research, or just daydreaming and de-pressurizing from your everyday life.

If you still have to work at a regular job, it gets harder. Even during your theoretical down time, there are still chores to do, family to be with, and you can bet your employer will call with an emergency just about the time you sit down in front of your computer.

We’ve just gotta face the fact that life gets in the way, sometimes deliberately and gleefully.

My life used to be simple - get up in the morning, feed the dog, make The Husband’s lunch and - once he was on his way - get to work. I could mix household chores in between my writing spurts and since we are supposed to get up and move around every so often during the day, that was perfect.

Then The Husband retired. I do love him and in many ways it’s great having him home all the time. Other ways... as the old joke goes, I married him for better or for worse, but not for lunch!

He is learning to be respectful of my working time; he has even fixed a couple of lunches for us and, after seeing how hard I work at my writing (it is a full-time job, after all!) he takes me out to eat more often. He has even started learning how to do my advertising.

If that were the only distraction! No, there’s always something... The laundry. The dinner. The dishes. Vacuuming. Something breaks and the repairman must be summoned and dealt with. Shopping. Cooking. A million little things. The Husband will learn to deal with such, but not totally and not right now. I’ve had decades to learn the various protocols and minutiae of running our home efficiently; it will take him a while to get into the swing of it.

There are other distractions, too. The siren lure of a new story whispering in your ear while you’re struggling with the uncooperative middle of the one that has to be finished now. The ever-enticing rabbit hole of research; you start up by searching for a relatively mundane fact, such as does a Glock 9mm have a manual safety or not, and two hours later you’re happily submerged in the history of smelting. Or the invention of buttercream icing. Or why calico was so named. Research is a labyrinthine seduction where you never know where you’ll end up. 

So is there an answer? I hope there isn’t. All writing and no play (or life) makes Jane not only a dull writer but a dull (and tired!) person. Perhaps the best answer is both balance and discipline - the balance of life and work, and the discipline to know how much and how far to indulge both in writing and in non-writing. It doesn’t sound easy, because it isn’t. But it has to be done. It really has to be done. I hope someday I master it.

#19 in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree Mystery Series

 

When I wrote the last book in the series, End of the Trail, I, along with many of my readers, thought it was the last one. The title was certainly perfect for the end of the long series.

But, guess what, ideas started popping into my head after I made a trip to visit my daughter and her husband. It was a great trip, and I went to see family--besides my daughter and son-in-law, two married grands and their families.

It was extra special because one of my great-grands was home from college to recover from bronchitis, and another grand who moved to Pittsburgh and started her own business was there with her new husband. 

As the days evolved, and I watched how my daughter and her husband enjoyed living in a 55-and- older gated community and how their days transpired, the ideas began flowing. 

This is a short tale, but I think a fun one. I know I had a great time writing it.

It's available from Amazon on Kindle or in paperback.

Marilyn

To purchase:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B096KZDPH8?pf_rd_r=N7DBZKK2MBSG684X7TEA&pf_rd_p=5ae2c7f8-e0c6-4f35-9071-dc3240e894a8&pd_rd_r=c07bc177-fab2-46f8-b86b-64e113b95079&pd_rd_w=C7E2u&pd_rd_wg=SAth5&ref_=pd_gw_unk

Slowly Coming Back

 

My first book signing in two years happened!

Was  it a great success? I wouldn't say that, except for family only two people showed up. One was someone I don't know very well, but she's all about reading series from beginning to end. And though she reads on a Kindle, she bought two books for a friend.

The other non-relative was a good friend who I hadn't seen since the pandemic began. She'd purchased my latest two book from Amazon and brought them for me to sign. And she also bought a book for a friend.

My granddaughter purchased 5 books in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series for something she's doing for her 5 grand-kids--who are really little and won't be reading them any time soon. 

How many books I sold really has nothing to do with the best part of the two hour signing. Both of the women came at different times and so I had a chance to really visit with each of them--truly worth the effort I put into putting on the event. (And I had plenty of help doing that.)

And guess what? I'm ready to do another book signing, where I have no idea, but I'm ready. It is so heartwarming to meet readers and talk about books. 

I've also signed up for the PSWA writing conference--first one in two years. /https://policewriter.com

This is my favorite writers' conference, great for mystery writers. Plus, it's small with only one track so you don't miss anything, and you'll meet a lot of interesting people.

Marilyn Meredith, who also writes as F. M. Meredith

https://fictionforyou.com