Tired of Writing a Mystery Series?

by Jean Henry Mead

Some serial mystery authors have grown tired of writing about the same characters. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle grew bored with Sherlock Holmes and killed him off although he later resurrected the infamous sleuth. Agatha Christie also grew to hate her arrogant little detective Hercule Poirot and wanted to end his career as well as his life. My own Logan and Cafferty mystery/suspense series became tiresome after I had finished novel six, Murder at the Mansion. However, after starting a standalone suspense novel, I began dreaming about my senior sleuths, Dana Logan and sidekick Sarah Cafferty. In my dreams, both women seemed to plead with me to continue the series.

I have to admit that, after six months of not tuning into their conversations and adventures, I missed them. They had become old friends. In fact, they were patterned after my best friend and I while we were still both young, single and adventurous. My sixtyish amateur sleuths have gotten themselves into some unusual predicaments but have managed somehow to survive.

I eventually decided to write a serious seventh novel but my sleuths refused to fit completely into serious mode. Dana’s friend  Sarah has an innate sense of humor that can’t be tamped down, and Dana usually goes along with her antics, no matter how much I try to discourage them. However, the novels’ subjects are serious:  drugs, terrorism, adultery, anarchy, romance, theft, gray wolves, RV park intrigue, a tornado, flood, and, of course, murder. But Sarah always seems to make light of or exaggerate the problems which present themselves.

Emotions are the most important elements in novel plots, so I’m grateful to have a quirky character like Sarah to make the novels come alive. No cardboard characters for me.

My current work in progress, Logan and Cafferty #7, is titled Mystery of the Black Cross and features Sarah’s laser-burned face and the murders of two women in the cosmetic surgeon’s office. I researched the novel by suffering through a similar burn myself. I then came across an anarchist’s group dating back to the twelfth century. The research has been fascinating. I tied the two subjects together by having the killer paint a black cross on the house the two women share. A deadly warning or a prank? I’m afraid you’ll have to wait to find out.  : )

Are Critique Groups Worth the Bother?

by Jackie King

The short answer is, "Yes." Finding a Critique group that is a perfect fit is more complicated.

Locating the right critique group can be a bit like dating. I can be time-consuming, frightening and emotionally painful. You may have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince. But if you’re persistent, the results can be a wonderful enrichment to your life. Only you can decide if it’s worth the investment of your time.

A good critique group is a valuable tool to any writer, but if you’re a beginning writer finding the right one can be a harder challenge. This process may take courage and determination. Many of the best groups are by invitation only. Some of these groups include multi-published authors who may seem intimidating to a tyro. But as writer Jodi Thomas often says with a laugh, “I was a 15-year-overnight success.” That’s true of more published authors than not.

To get started, begin hanging out where the writers of your genre are: their author pages on Facebook, writer groups, and writer conferences. Most writers are wonderfully friendly and helpful people. The money I spent attending writer’s conferences has put me in contact with many authors.

Remember, you can always start a group of your own. Take a writing class at your local community college and invite the students you meet. Look for an online group. I just Googled “Critique groups for Tulsa writers,” and found several opportunities. Two were local writer’s groups and one was an online writing group. This is the way you start.

Years earlier I was invited to join a group that has changed a great deal over the years, and because the participants were kind hearted, I’ve stayed. There are now only two founding members remaining in this group, but this group has morphed into the gem of all critique groups. I trust these writers to tell me the truth and to tell it gently enough that I won’t want to go home and throw my computer out the window.

If you’re starting you own group, set up guidelines to begin with and stick with them. One of the rules in our group is that we must always be kind as well as honest. Some groups have a rule that you must either bring something to read for critique or a writing information handout for each member.

These things are learned by trial and error. Don’t be discouraged if meetings for your first group begin to fizzle after a few months. Keep encouraging each other, and above all else, keep writing.

What Is Jonathon Caine Thinking?

by 

Ben Small

In one fell swoop, Jonathon Caine is fired from his hedge fund, has his assets frozen and faces probable criminal indictment for securities fraud. Then, piling on, his trophy wife leaves him and throws him out of his penthouse apartment. With nowhere else to turn, Jonathon is forced to move to his hospitalized father’s house, where he attempts to sort out his life and analyze the mistakes he’s made.

To clear his head, Jonathon decides to attend his twenty-fifth high school reunion. There, much to his surprise, Jonathon makes a connection with the prom queen he’d always found untouchable. She’s married to their high school quarterback, an abusive, drunken brute. 

Despite the black cloud of ruin hanging over Jonathon’s head, it’s his burgeoning relationship with Jackie Williams that puts his very life at risk.

Adam Mitzner is a master of suspense. Page after page, Jonathon’s ruination grows, tension building with each new development. As a reader, I was mesmerized, lost in a string of possibilities none of which a solution to Jonathon’s plight. As a lawyer, I was shocked I never saw the end twist coming. Frankly, if you enjoyed GONE GIRL, you will love THE GIRL FROM HOME. For the first time in years, I read this book in one sitting. Just could not put it down.

Make Every Word Count

by Jean Henry Mead

One of my early writing instructors stressed the need to make every word count. He said each word needs to pull its own weight and every unnecessary word should be culled from the plot. Good advice that I've followed over the years, although, coupled with my journalism training, I'm sometimes too brief, leaving out desirable descriptions.

I've found that writers need to engage readers, not simply enlighten and entertain them. Creating strong word images that readers can relate to is preferable to forcing them to fill in the blanks. For example, a military Hummer conveys a much stronger image than having a protagonist ride to the rescue in a Volkswagen bug. Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone was a notable exception.

Strong verbs are necessary to give one’s plot a dynamic, energetic tone. Words such as hurried, leaped and flew as opposed to passive words like walked fast, made his way or became airborne. And as we’ve all been told, stay away from the verb to be in all its forms because it’s the weakest of words. But I confess that I still use all forms of to be in dialogue. Some rules are made to be broken, often at your own risk.

Adverbs that end in –ly also weaken a writer's prose. Use them sparingly. On the other hand, strong specific verbs give writing vitality. I’m reminded of my interview with A.B. Guthrie, Jr. who said, “The adjective is the enemy of the noun and the adverb is the enemy of damn near everything else. Writers use too many descriptive words." As for adjectives, author Lois J. Peterson once said, “One well-chosen adjective can be more effective than two or more, which used together might weaken the idea or image.” I agree.

Do we really need adverbs? Not unless it's impossible to come up with strong verbs. Eliminate the adverbs in a second draft and replace them with muscular verbs. As for adjectives, the rundown house can be rewritten as a hovel or shack. That's why every writer should have access to a thesaurus, including an electronic one.

Word choices affect the plot’s pace. If every symphony movement maintained the same pace, the audience would fall asleep before the finale. So writers need to think of themselves as conductors, controlling the pace with word choices, syntax and variety. Long sentences and paragraphs slow the pace and seem introspective while short, choppy sentences are much more dramatic and conducive to action scenes. So, in order to keep someone reading, sentences and paragraphs should vary in length.

Sentence rhythm is important, so reading one's work aloud before committing it to a final draft can prevent clumsy sentence structure. Some word choices bring a sentence to an abrupt halt and should be rewritten or replaced, along with all unnecessary words. The musical analogy is a good one (not my own) because sentence flow is so important.

Feeding the Inner Child Can Be Dangerous

by Jackie King

In Julia Cameron’s book AN ARTIST’S WAY, she speaks of feeding your inner child. My problem is, I’m so busy taking care of my old-girl self, that there’s little time left for outings with some kid that lurks in my psyche. However, yesterday I had to return a purchase to the mall, and after struggling through the wildly blowing Tulsa wind into the sweetly scented department store, I decided that both me and my inner-child deserved a treat. (I’m super good at rationalization.) I picked up a shirt when this inner-brat spoke up, “Why don’t you get something different? I’m sick of beige.”

 Am I developing a split personality?

Somewhat unnerved, I put back the top and wandered on through the store. Maybe Inner-Child would prefer a nice navy blue? I strolled from sportswear into blouses and stepped within arm’s length of a dressy print top in shades of orange, yellow and brown. The effect was a bit like viewing an abstract painting and I made the mistake of pausing a minute.

That one, Brat said.

My civilized (beleaguered?) self, smiled and spoke in a (silent) faux-calm voice said, “Okay, we’ll try it on, but will make us look fat.” I looped the blouse over my arm and moved on. Four racks over I spotted a splashy flowered print. I reacted with one word:

“Yuck.”

“Try on that one, too,” Brat said.

 And I thought my child rearing days were over!

Grown-up-lady rolled her eyes. If anything would make us look ridiculous (an important fear to me, but Brat didn’t seem to care) this garment would. But the jacket was unlined, cotton and sported three-quarter sleeves. Very comfortable for summer, and we mature ladies love our comfort. What the heck, might as well try that one on too.

The two of us, brat and woman-of-a-certain age, (not sure who was leading whom), found a dressing room and tried on both items. SHOCKEROO: My older self decided to buy both! Grown up self loved the blouse; Brat insisted on the blazing blazer.

Feeling more than a little daring, I headed toward hats. I was getting into this. If child and grownup joined forces, what might happen next?

You guessed it! I now have a dozen! Perhaps my Inner Child morphed into an Inner Wild-Child?

Spring is springing

by Carola

Spring is my favourite season, and here in western Oregon we get 5 months--February through June. Here's some of what's blooming in my garden at present:

The North of England is not generally so lucky, so when Daisy Dalrymple, my 1920s sleuth, heads to Cheshire to write about historic Occles Hall (based on Little Moreton Hall), she doesn't expect to see beautiful flower gardens. But the Winter Garden is sheltered by high brick walls and Spring arrives early there. Unfortunately, what Daisy finds is a buried body...

The Winter Garden Mystery has just been reissued by St Martin's Minotaur with a wonderful new cover, to match the later books in the series.

 That's not all that is coming out in March--Another month, another audiobook! Having finally got around to it, Blackstone is producing the Daisy Dalrymple audios at a great rate! The latest is the 10th in the series, To Davy Jones Below:

Daisy, newly wed to DCI Alec Fletcher of Scotland Yard, embarks for America. Their hoped-for honeymoon is disrupted by people falling overboard to starboard, port, and astern. Not to mention fog, and a gale that has Alec confined to his bunk with seasickness while Daisy carries on the investigation single-handed. Alec emerges just in time for a shipwreck and yet another mysterious death!

 Previous covers--which do you like best?

Original US hardcover

UK paperback

German first edition

German 2nd edition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Polish

US paperback

Tips on Naming Characters

by Jackie King

Finding that just-right name for the people in your story gives you a head-start in finding and keeping a publisher and an audience.

Names for characters come to me in two ways: instantaneous and easy, or slow and tedious. Sometimes when the idea for a book appears in my mind, the name of the main character walks in the door with it. Other times it takes me weeks or months to come up with the right moniker.

I’m currently working on a novel and the villain’s name isn’t quite right. I’ve already changed it once, and this choice is better. Still, I keep probing my brain for one that completely suits. The working name for the character is a sort of “dofer” to use while I keep writing the book.

Getting that just right name is crucial. Character names must come from the right historical period. If you name a female character Madison or Hailey, and the story is set in 1889, your lover-of-historical-fiction might throw your book across the room before they finish chapter one.

Where to start when you’re stuck?

What year was your character born? Make sure the character’s name fits the year he/she was born. If nothing strikes your fancy, you can always use a classical name in eras. Elizabeth, Victoria, Jacob, or Matthew would fit 1889 or 2016.

Biblical names also work for most any year of birth. Sarah, Mary, Luke or Mark, have been popular birth names in most periods. Currently unusual biblical names are being used, especially when you use a nickname. Zachariah is currently popular and is often shortened to Zach or Zack.

Google It

Figure out the year your character would have been born. Go to Google, my favorite search engine and key in: “Baby names popular in 1979” and up pops 100 names for babies born in that year. Both boys and girls are listed in the order of popularity.

Use this list to find the name that best suits the person you have created. Speak the names out loud. Imagine the character’s parents struggling over the choice or arguing about the name. Sometimes this can even be worked into the plot of the story.

What to avoid?

Avoid names that are too long and names that begin with the same letter, such as Jacob, John, Jackie, Jessica, Jeff, and Jennifer, all in the same tale.

Names that end with the letter “S,” will muddle the use of possessive nouns, as I learned when I named a character Mavis. This isn’t something that would cause an editor to reject the book, but it does complicate the writer’s life (and the reader’s) in an unnecessary way. Mavis’ car seems more complicated than Sandra’s car.

Don’t use cute spellings. Even if you know someone who spells her name Marylyn, it’s still better to use “Marilyn.” Oddly spelled names can detract the reader from the story. The point is to keep folks reading, not cause them to stop and ponder something that has nothing to do with the character or plot.

Final advice on naming characters.

That infamous rule of writing, “There are no rules,” always stands. If you have a good enough reason to name a character something weird—do it with my blessing.