Riley Adams's Blog, page 70
October 18, 2018
Entertainment as Inspiration: Music
by Elizabeth Spann Craig, @elizabethscraig
For years I’ve disputed the fact that music has any sort of influence on my writing at all. I think this is because, when I write, I can only listen to lyric-free songs (New Age, Jazz, Classical) or else it creates a disruption. Plus, I’m not usually directly inspired by music in terms of the music informing a work (with the possible exception of my Rage to Refuge book). For artists who have been and their musical recommendations, see Roz Morris’s excellent blog, The Undercover Soundtrack.
I don’t think I really realized how much music helps me. As with television and film, seeing/hearing other artist’s creativity helps motivate me and fills my creative well. I also think that writing with music in the background (even with all the specifications that I put on the music) helps me write at a faster clip.
I ran into a problem more than a year ago, however, where I felt as if everything I was listening to was stale. I think it was more that I was stale. I needed to broaden the repertoire of what I was listening to. I was in a rut.
Fortunately, there are plenty of options now. Growing up, the only music I listened to was whatever was on a record or (later) a CD we had, or whatever was playing on the radio.
Now there are lots of streaming options.
As an Amazon Prime customer, I use their music option every day. They have playlists, stations, and individual songs and artists to listen to. They have lots of tunes for me to write to, and I’ve discovered new songs and artists by listening to stations and playlists featuring music I’m unfamiliar with. I’m using the service that comes free with Prime.
My kids (21 and 17) recommended Spotify to me. Again, I’ve opted for the free service and just deal with the ads. I was a little lost there at first, but then found a few cool public playlists…one of them the New York Times playlist. It has a variety of different kinds of music and I’ve made lots of interesting discoveries there. The Rolling Stones playlist of the 500 best songs is also excellent.
Pandora is another option. This was the first streaming service that I used, years ago. I don’t listen to it quite as much anymore with the other options available, but it’s still worth a try. Again, I’m a fan of free. :)
Finding Recommendations:
I subscribe (one of apparently 55,000+) to writer and artist Austin Kleon’s free weekly newsletter. His focus is the creative life. As he puts it: “Every week I send out a list of 10 things I think are worth sharing — new art, writing, and interesting links straight to your inbox.” Some of his ’10 things’ are music playlists or spotlights on musicians. I’ve added several of his Spotify recommendations to my music library there.
But most of what I discover I do so through listening to stations and playlists by musicians I’m unfamiliar with. This is the serendipitous approach, but has worked well for me so far. Although in many ways I think music transcends age, some of the stuff I’d have enjoyed in the past totally eludes me now. But I find even more music that suits my tastes by being bold with experimenting.
I’m definitely still fine-tuning this process and I’d love to hear from others how they discover music and keep out of ruts. How do you do it?
Entertainment as Inspiration: Music:
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October 14, 2018
Entertainment as Inspiration: TV and Films
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I’ve written before about being intentional about free time. By doing a little planning ahead, I feel a lot more relaxed and recharged. Instead of looking for something good to read or good to watch (and sometimes failing or running out of the precious free time in the process), I’ve carefully built up a list of things I want to read and watch.
That worked so well that I’ve made another discovery in the process. By being intentional about what I read, watch, and listen to, I’ve been able to broaden what I’m consuming and help inform my writing in the process.
I’ve made a conscious effort to expand what I’m consuming into new genres, international films, translations, and different types of music to write or read to. In return, I’ve had a real rush of creativity and new ideas (or even new ways to approach older series).
With that being said, I thought I’d run a short series on finding and tracking media. Today I’m covering what I use for film and television. Friday, I’ll cover music. Monday, I’ll cover books.
Sources:
For many years I told people that I didn’t really watch television. This was true–because I wasn’t a fan of sitcoms or reality television or whatever else happened to be running on TV at the time. But curating and watching good shows and films on demand is so much better–you know you’re getting something good (and you can determine later whether it’s to your taste or not). It also amuses me to call it ‘television.’ I don’t think we even have a true TV in our house anymore…only monitors.
I’ve developed something of a system for discovery. Again, the idea is to pick something that’s well-reviewed, but perhaps not something that I’d ordinarily watch (and definitely not something that I have watched).
Worth mentioning is the fact that we’re basically unplugged from cable at our house (we have a very basic program). Instead, we watch on demand: using Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, PBS (we’re donors and can use their ‘passport‘), and Sling (yes, this is still cheaper than satellite and cable here, ha!) You can also find many movies and shows through your local library. I’m a fan of Ann Cleeves as a reader and when browsing my library’s offerings in her series, I found the television series based on her books. I could watch the shows free through the library via Hoopla.
Lists of well-rated content to stream:
Digital Trends updates their list of top Netflix picks monthly.
Collider does the same.
For a wider range, look for highly-rated foreign films and shows (sometimes I’ll pull up older articles on the topic and just add the shows that aren’t currently available for streaming on my watchlist for later).
Helpful articles for foreign films are:
Jane Friedman in her Electric Speed newsletter (I subscribe to this free, semi-monthly email…her archives are here) recently recommended using the New York Times ‘Watching.’ I created an account there. By looking up and marking (by clicking a heart) my favorite shows and films, the site came up with recommendations (and told me where to stream them). By clicking the bookmark icon, I developed a watchlist.
Also, the more good content that you watch on Netflix or Amazon Prime or Hulu, the more good content that their algorithm pulls up for you as recommendations. I’ve gotten some great, tailored recs from all of the streaming services.
Tracking what we watch:
Maybe this isn’t as important to everyone else, but my memory is terrible. When I can’t remember what I’ve watched (or listened to or read), it keeps me from finding more things that I’d like. Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t think the streaming services do a great job of helping me track. And having a bunch of stuff on my watchlist that I’ve already watched (unless it’s a series in progress), isn’t helpful, either.
So far, the most helpful thing I’ve found is the above-mentioned NYT Watching.
Do you watch much television or films? How do you find what you want to watch? Do you track it?
TV and Film as Inspiration: Finding What's Good:
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October 13, 2018
Twitterific Writing Links
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 48,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.
Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here.
New Stuff
Free: The online Indie Novelist Summit October 17-21. Experts include Joanna Penn, James Scott Bell, and Janice Hardy.
Business / Miscellaneous
Max Boot’s ‘Corrosion of Conservatism’: A ‘Big Book’ for WW Norton at Frankfurt: @Porter_Anderson @MaxBoot
Tips for Avoiding Awkward Author Photos: @IndieReader
Readers Don’t Care Who Publishes Your Book: @writeabook
Frankfurt: Self-Censorship and Morality in Publishing Today: @rogertagholm @FabricePiault @arpitayodapress
Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous
Wattpad Announces 600 New 2018 Watty Awards in 10 Languages: @Porter_Anderson
Inger-Maria Mahlke Wins the 2018 German Book Prize: @HannahSJohnson @pubperspectives
How to Create an Unforgettable Author Visit: @erikaliodice @WriterUnboxed
US National Book Awards Finalists: This Year Including Translations: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Conferences and Events / NaNoWriMo
Top Resources for NaNoWriMo Preparation: @the_writing_pal
To Nano or Not To Nano: @JennyHansenCA
Creativity and Inspiration / First Novels
Tips for Writing Your First Book: @TCKPublishing
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration
5 Reasons to Use Pictures as Writing Prompts: @sarahstypos
Cross-Pollinating Our Work: @cleemckenzie @TheIWSG
The Mysteries of Creativity and Meditation: @barbaraoneal @WriterUnboxed
Writing Prompts: 60 Ideas You Can Use Today: @Carlton_Mukasa
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
7 Books We Wish We Could Read Again for the First Time: @Keith_Rice1 @SignatureReads
Urban Fantasy Noir: 7 Urban Fantasy Crime Novels With Dark Sensibilities: @Richard_Kadrey @CrimeReads
10 Favorite Moments from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings: @EmmanuelNataf @ReedsyHQ
Six Literary Visions of the Future: @cloudy_vision @tordotcom
Prepping for NaNo? 15 Books for the Writing Life: @HachetteUS @KateHarveston @jessicaesquire
9 Best Novels About Films: @TobiasCarroll @SignatureReads
10 Little-Known Children’s Books by Famous Writers: @knownemily @lithub
The Real Reason The Sorting Hat Placed Albus Potter in Slytherin House: @use_theforce_em @tordotcom
Creativity and Inspiration / Motivation
Writing Shouldn’t Be Its Own Reward: @RosanneBane
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
Too Much To Do? How To Re-Focus Your Writing Priorities: @thecreativepenn
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block
How To Beat Writer’s Block in 30 Minutes: @NatRusso
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
From Chester Himes to Judy Blume, 10 Writers and Their Cats: @alistasi @lithub
How Can We Write in Today’s Troubling World? @p2p_editor
If You Want to be a Writer, You Need to be Fearless: Here’s Why: @CVDalcher @SignatureReads
Confessions from a Weary Writer: @jmunroemartin @WriterUnboxed
3 Ways to Tell if a Manuscript Is Worth Going Back to: @Janice_Hardy
When Abandoning Your Novel Makes Sense: @bclaypolewhite @WomenWriters
Genres / Memoir
Making the Case for the Surreal Memoir: @TobiasCarroll @lithub
Why should you write a Memoir? Memoir writers weigh in: @CalebPirtle
Why You Should Write Your Memoir — Even If You Don’t Plan to Publish It: @writingthrulife
Genres / Mystery
Crime Writing: The One-Plus Rule: Fight Fair, Or Fight To Win? @LeeLofland
A hundred years on from Agatha Christie’s first novel, crime fiction is going cozy again: by Sarah Hughes @GuardianBooks
Writing the Cozy Mystery: Series Tropes and Rituals:
Tense Home v. School Relationships as Elements in Crime Fiction: @mkinberg
Gap Years as Elements in Crime Fiction: @mkinberg
Crime Fiction: Using Domestic Scenes to Contrast With Tension: @mkinberg
Genres / Poetry
10 Reasons Storytellers Should Dabble in Poetry: @WritingForward
Marketing Poetry and How to Find More Readers: @Bookgal
Genres / Science Fiction
Drug Development for Writers: @DanKoboldt
Genres / Screenwriting
9 Ways To Write Strong Screenplay Hooks: by Dan Hoffmann @CreativeScreen
Genres / Short Stories
How to format your short story manuscript for the best chance of publication: @NathanielTower
Promo / Blogging
How and Why to Cite Stock Photos When Blogging: @writingsolo
Promo / Book Reviews
Tips for Quoting From Reviews: by Big Al @IndiesUnlimited
Promo / Connecting with Readers
3 Steps to Finding Target Readers (Video): @SmartAuthors @IndieAuthorALLI
Promo / Metadata
How to Submit Your Author News to Newsletters: by Ann Meier
Promo / Miscellaneous
How to Keep Your Book Promotion Going Strong for Years: @AnjaliMDuva @sharonbially
Promo / Platforms
3 Proven Ways To Boost Your Author Profile: @DaveChesson
Promo / Social Media Tips
Is Building a Social Media Platform Worth the Effort? @EdieMelson
How 1 Writer Uses Social Media As An Author: @jules_writes
6 Common Social Media Marketing Mistakes to Avoid: @davidjohn_wyatt @kikolani
How to effectively use Facebook Groups as an Author (Video): @LPOBryan @IndieAuthorALLI
Publishing / Miscellaneous
Why Does the US Change British Titles? @TerenaBell @GuardianBooks
Interview with Kobo’s Pieter Swinkels: ““We fail as an industry to create readers for our content.”: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
The 12 Best and Worst Things That Can Happen After Your Freelance Article Is Accepted: @Susanshapironet @WritersDigest
How (Not) To Start a Publishing Company: by Richard Charkin @pubperspectives
“Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (on) the strength of literature and women”: by Roger Tagholm @pubperspectives
“Publishing Experts (on) Revenue Models…and the Need to Better Understand Consumers”: @Porter_Anderson @MarkPiesing
Writing for Magazines: The How-To Article and Querying it: by Deborah Lyn Stanley
Hugo Setzer, Bodour Al Qasimi, Confirmed at Frankfurt for IPA Leadership: @Porter_Anderson @HugoSetzer @Bodour
How to Make an Audiobook: A Guide to Self Publishing Audiobooks: @TCKPublishing
Publishing / News / International Publishing
Penguin Random House Opening Southeast Asia Operation Based in Singapore: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
At Frankfurt’s ‘The Markets’ Conference: Pablo Laurino of Argentina’s https://t.co/1xgCklUkaP: @Porter_Anderson @laurinop @pubperspectives
Tuesday Rights Buzz from the Frankfurt’s Literary Agents Center: @oliviasnaije @pubperspectives
Women Should Be Seen AND Heard: Women Writers from Asia Pacific: @oliviasnaije @pubperspectives
Macmillan CEO John Sargent answers questions from journalists on ‘Fire and Fury,’ Rowohlt, More: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying
Tips for the Query Process: @atrueblood5
Publishing / Process / Book Design
How to Sell Books by Optimizing Your Book Cover Design: by Joslyn Chase @write_practice
Writing Craft / Beginnings
Ins and Outs: Opening and Closing Images: @SPressfield
5 Ways to Give Your Character a Memorable Entrance: @dougeboch
Writing Craft / Characters / Antagonists
How to Write an Antagonist That Everyone Loves — And Why You Should: @melissafreyauth
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
Writing Extraordinary Characters: @Lindasclare
Characters and Craft: Learning To Leave Yourself Behind: @AnneLParrish @WomenWriters
Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Locksmith: @beccapuglisi
5 Ways to Use the Enneagram to Write Better Characters: @KMWeiland
Writing Craft / Characters / Supporting Characters
Why Comic Relief Characters Often Don’t Make Good Main Characters: @VictoriaGHowell
Writing Craft / Common Mistakes
Why a Well-Written Novel Can Still Stink: @Janice_Hardy
Does Your Story Have a Solid Foundation? @SueColetta1
Writing Craft / Dialogue
The Ins and Outs of Internal Dialogue: @LoriAnnFreeland
Writing Craft / Literary Devices
Three Ways of Revising (or Avoiding) Preachy Themes in Your Story: @SaraL_Writer @DIYMFA
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
10 Exercises to Become a Better Writer: @ReedsyHQ
A Warm-Up Exercise for Writers: @jamesagard
Put Some Snap in Your Style: @jamesscottbell
Writing Exercises for Stretching Your Style: by T.L. Bodine
Writing Craft / POV
Plot, PoV and Agenda. Or: Is This Your Story to Tell? @sona_c
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Naming
Tips for Choosing Names: @PhilAthans
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
Manchester by the Sea: Using Story Grid: by Leslie Watts @StoryGrid
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research
Writer @kaath09 on the Research Rabbit Hole:
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Story Concept
Five Reasons Not to Write a Persecution Flip Story: by Dave Lerner @mythcreants
Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar
Don’t Forget the Basics: Punctuation: @AndreaMerrell
Writing Craft / Revision
How to Identify and Cut Your Story’s Filler: @kristen_kieffer
Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques
Writing Groups Might Be Terrible, But You Probably Need One: @AnneHawley @rsmonterusso
How to Handle a Difficult Critique: by Linda Wilson
Writing Craft / Series
8 Things Learned Writing a Sequel: by A. E. Lowan @mythicscribes
Writing Craft / Settings and Description
How to Choose Setting with a Purpose: @LiveWriteThrive
Writing Craft / Synopses
3 Story Uses for a Synopsis: @KerryGans
How to Write a Novel Synopsis: @Kid_Lit
Writing Craft / Tension
Creating Tension Between the Lines: @jamesscottbell @killzoneauthors
Writing Craft / Word Crafting
500+ Ways to Describe Body Build and Physique: @KathySteinemann
Writing Craft / World-Building
Build a World, Hook a Reader: @msheatherwebb @WriterUnboxed
Writing Tools / Apps
3 Ways to Search in Scrivener 3: @Gwen_Hernandez
Getting Your Word Counts to Match in Scrivener: @aprildavila
Organizing Scrivener to Plot Your Novel (Video): @AllanLMann @IndieAuthorALLI
Writing Tools / Thesauri
How to use the Thesaurus Properly: @SeptCFawkes
The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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October 11, 2018
Research and (Plot) Development
by Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, @kaath09
Hello, my name is Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, and I’m a recovering research-aholic.
I know that research addiction is common among writers of speculative fiction (genres that begin with ”what if…?”). This doesn’t mean there aren’t writers who hate research with a passion, but whether you loathe research or love it, it is necessary to writing fiction. It stands to reason that the ideal is to strike a healthy balance between diving so deeply into the ocean of knowledge that you drown, or barely dipping a toe into the pool.
Perhaps the first thing I learned about research (besides that it tastes like chocolate) is that it’s not restricted to finding facts about reality that you need to know before or during the writing of your book.
I write a number of genres: science fiction, fantasy, magical realism, alternate history, steampunk and, most recently, mystery-detective fiction. This is not to say that my journey toward publishing my first detective novel (THE ANTIQUITIES HUNTER) began recently. Preparing to write this article, I dug up my earliest notes on my Japanese-American P.I., Gina Miyoko. They date from the late 90s. Long enough ago that while I know Gina was conceived in a dream—as is a lot of my fiction—I don’t remember the dream itself.
What my old handwritten notes tell me is that the first point of research was not about how police departments are structured or what resources a P.I. might have at her disposal, but about my detective herself. I had many pages of notes that included such big ticket items as what things and people she loved, what trauma she had endured, what her educational background was, and how she got her nickname “Tinkerbell.” It also included a lot of minutiae: What was her favorite candy, color, rock band? What gun did she own and why?
Did I go a bit overboard? Maybe. I hadn’t yet learned that too much upfront research can lead to prose paralysis, and that many of the things that make a character who they are must be discovered in the course of writing about them. I wrote a lot about Gina before I began to write Gina.
This raises a frequently asked question: ”When should I stop doing research and start writing?”
The question supposes that the two are separate activities and that one ends where the other begins. I have not found this to be so, for the simple reason that when I sit down to start a book, I don’t know what I don’t know. For me, the transition from research to writing happens organically. At some point in my feasting on information, I literally get an almost electric rush that makes me want to start writing scenes. It may be the opening paragraph of a story or a dialogue from somewhere further in. Or it may be observations about a character only some of which will end up in the book. I write until I feel as if I need more information, then stop and do research until that feeling happens again.
As I hinted at above, I’ve found that my research falls into two broad categories:
Exterior research, in which I collect facts from the real world in a variety of forms.
Interior research, in which I dig around in my own experience and imagination.
I love archaeology and have subscribed to Smithsonian, Archaeology, and even KMT (an Egyptology zine). The plot spine of THE ANTIQUITIES HUNTER is about the trade in blackmarket artifacts stolen from under-protected historical sites in the U.S. and Mexico. The generating spark of that was exterior research. Specifically, an article from Smithsonian magazine on a female undercover National Park Service agent. It not only gave me the framework for what would become Gina’s first major case, but also contributed heavily to the character of her best friend, Rose, who is—you guessed it—an NPS agent.
Because I wanted Rose to be personally invested in her work, she became Hopi. That sent me off down another research road. I needed to know about Hopi culture as Rose would have experienced it growing up, and as Gina would experience it as an intimately connected outsider.
I also had to know about the sort of artifacts Rose might be called upon to protect, which led to another avenue of research related to First Nations artifacts and actual cases involving their theft.
When the story extended into the Mexican state of Chiapas and an semi-invented ruin, more research followed—both regarding modern-day Mexico and ancient history.
In doing this research I used a host of resources, including:
The internet (no, do not stop at Wikipedia) – I especially seek out images, so I can see what I’m writing about from every available angle. Being able to describe a place vividly helps your reader immerse herself in your world.
Archeology magazines with stories of real finds and legal cases involving antiquities.
Videos about archaeological digs.
Books on archaeological methods and tools.
Visits to museums and locales.
Obviously, these areas of research necessary were specialized to my plot. In general, I found a detective or mystery novel required me to research such things as:
Locations, topography and weather
Weapons and ballistics – If you can, handle and fire the weapons you choose. My oldest daughter was about the same size as my diminutive detective, so we took target practice so I could see if the gun I wanted Gina to use would work for a woman her size.
Communication technology – Smartphones can make writing mystery fiction harder if your plot revolves around characters being cut off from civilization.
Law enforcement practices and hierarchies in your target locale – not all police departments are created equal.
Martial arts – because every form has its own moves.
Poisons and medical knowledge – Arsenic may be old-hat, but drug interactions are sometimes fatal.
When do you do this research? When you need it to fill in your story or feed your imagination.
Which leads me to internal research. I knew I didn’t want Gina to be just one more tragically broken and lonely female detective. I wanted her to have experienced hardship, yes, but also to have a functional, if quirky, support system. In writing her parents, Edmund and Nadia, I did a lot of ”research” in my own childhood, hence Ed views his wife as ”the smart one” because of her academic background; she believes he has the real smarts because he’s intuitive and balanced.
Nadia’s character, alone, led to researching magic in the Russian Orthodox Church, Orthodox churches in the North Bay, and oberegi (the good luck charms Nadia is forever sticking into her daughter’s pockets).
That research, in turn, led to me pulling ”books” from the shelves in my imagination to make Nadia, Ed and Gina richer, deeper characters, which led to new plot developments, which led to….
Well, you get the picture. One act of research inevitably leads to another as each piece you add to your story puzzle from the real world causes your plot to thicken and your characters to grow lives of their own.
Writer of speculative fiction as the result of a horrible childhood incident involving Klaatu and a robot named Gort, Maya is the New York Times bestselling author of science fiction, fantasy and now mystery.
Her latest novel is THE ANTIQUITIES HUNTER – a Gina Miyoko Mystery from Pegasus Crime. When she’s not writing, she’s performing and recording original and parody music with her husband, Jeff. Her short fiction appearances include Analog, Amazing Stories, Interzone, and Baen’s Universe; she’s a Nebula, Crawford, Sidewise, and British Science Fiction award finalist. She blogs about writing and other things at www.mayabohnhoff.com and www.bookviewcafe.com.
Writer @kaath09 on the Research Rabbit Hole:
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October 7, 2018
Writing the Cozy Mystery: Series Tropes and Rituals
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I’ve touched on this topic before, although before I was sort of working it through in my mind. What I’m calling ‘series tropes,’ which is what writer Camille LaGuire termed ‘rituals,’ are those little recurring bits that turn up book after book in a series (this post is specific to cozies, but I know other genres use these elements, too).
Examples:
In M.C. Beaton’s Hamish MacBeth series, it’s Hamish’s hapless love affairs, laziness, and crazy pets. For Hercule Poirot, it’s his vanity and OCD behavior. With Miss Marple, we expect her to compare everything and everyone to situations and people in St. Mary Mead, her village.
In my books, the tropes include Myrtle’s insomnia and post-midnight treks, Miles’s hypochondria, Puddin’s ‘thrown’ back, silly book club books, the way Myrtle’s soap opera helps her figure out the killer, and Myrtle’s horrible cooking.
How to Use Them:
Humor: You can use them straight out for humorous effect that resonates with regular readers. You can also twist the tropes and provide variations on the themes to make them even funnier (while putting the characters in situations that make them uncomfortable).
Sense of continuity: I think it provides a certain full-circle feeling for regular series readers. They expect certain things are going to happen. It fulfills reader expectations. It’s almost like seeing a familiar landmark.
As a method to check in with recurring characters: This is important for those of us who have regulars in our series. Readers like to ‘catch up’ with characters who are like old friends and our tropes can provide opportunities for them to do so.
Tracking them:
This is the easy part. List all of your recurring storylines into a master list by series. I have a staggering 18 in the Myrtle series alone. I keep them in a Word doc that I review before each book.
Why should we include these rituals? Mostly because readers enjoy them. I struggled with it as a writer, thinking that maybe I was relying on these tropes as crutches. But when I left them out, readers wrote me. Now I go off my list, think of fun, new ways to use or twist them, and don’t worry about including them. They’re clearly beneficial to my books.
For my other articles on writing cozy mysteries, see this link.
Do you have any recurring tropes in your series? Do you keep track of them?
Series Tropes and Rituals in the Cozy Mystery:
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October 6, 2018
Twitterific Writing Links
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 48,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.
Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here.
New Stuff
Free Guide for Pre-Nano: Are you thinking about participating in NaNoWriMo this year? Are you getting ready for your next novel? If so, then you might want to visit Fiction University. Janice Hardy is giving away her Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure ebook for free until October 15 just for subscribing to the site (and if you want to learn more about writing, you’ll want to anyway). Check out the details here.
Free Webinar: If you missed How to Survive and Succeed as a Writer (without Breaking Your Heart or Losing Your Mind), there’s a live encore class on Tuesday October 9, 12pm ET. (Part of the DIY MFA program from Gabriela Pereira).
Master Class Opportunity: The DIY MFA Master Class (a 10-week program) is now enrolling students. Each weekly module includes video lessons, audio recordings, slides, and worksheets, so you can absorb the material in the way that’s best for you. More about the program here (note that I’m an affiliate for the class) or consider the free class first (here) to see if this would be something up your alley.
Business / Miscellaneous
Affiliate Programs for Books: @KathySteinemann
Alternative Ways to Make Money as a Writer: @LynseyMay @scottishbktrust
Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous
Industry Notes: Man Booker’s Shortlisted Authors, London Book Fair’s Literacy Charity: @Porter_Anderson
At Frankfurt’s ‘The Markets’ Conference: Brazil’s Gustavo Lembert: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Accessibility: ‘Frankfurt For All’ and France’s ‘Literary Season For All’: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
IWSG Anthology Contest 2018 (free to enter): @TheIWSG
At Frankfurt’s ‘The Markets’ Conference: China’s Jiang Yanping: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Creativity and Inspiration / First Novels
5 Important Parts of a Story: @WritersCoach
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
9 Books on the Complexities of Mother-Daughter Relationships: @vanessa_hua @ElectricLit
What do you read when you’re writing? It’s complicated: @Roz_Morris
7 Novels That Capture the Pain and Chaos of Alcoholism: @laura_june @lithub
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
Overcome Distractions and Write: @WriteNowCoach
When Writing Habits Fall Apart: @katekrake
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block
When You Can’t Think What to Write About: @ClaireFayers
Creativity and Inspiration / Success
3 Ways to Make Your Book Memorable: by Jeffrey Eaton @murderbecomes
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
How to Start a Local Writing Group: @shaylaleeraquel
Why Writers Need Confidence—5 Ways to Boost Yours: @colleen_m_story
4 Ways Travel Can Enrich Your Writing: @thecreativepenn
On Taking a Writing Retreat for Solitude When Your Biological Clock is Ticking: @emjsmith
How to Finish Writing Your Book By Abandoning It Well: @JeffGoins
10 Animals Who Have Broken Into the Library: @erinkbart @ElectricLit
How Wilkie Collins found sensation in ordinary life: @samjordison @GuardianBooks
Beating Burnout – A Writers Guide: @TheMerryWriter
5 Writers, 7 Questions, No Wrong Answers: @TeddyWayne1999 @lithub
A Librarian’s Life: “Buddy, the Library Isn’t a 7-Eleven”: @Kristen_Arnett @lithub
3 Steps to Bring Clarity to Help You Finish Your Book: @lornafaith
100 Reasons Libraries are Better than Amazon and Starbucks: @DrunkestLibrary @5minlib
“Why I Have to Write, Even While Working Full-Time”: @KarisRogerson @LitReactor
The Weirdest Libraries Around the World: by Brianne Alphonso @ElectricLit
Writing and the Creative Life: The Mundane and the Marvelous: @GoIntoTheStory
Why You Should Pull Out the Manuscript Under Your Bed: @KelseyBrowning @RomanceUniv
The Hack’s Guide to Buying a Writing Desk: @BillFerris @WriterUnboxed
What to Do When Journaling Makes You Feel Worse: @writingthrulife
5 Ways to Restart a Bad Day: @BrynDonovan
Genres / Fantasy
Keeping the Magical World Secret from the Mundane World in a Fantasy: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants
Genres / Horror
H.P. Lovecraft And The Shadow Over Horror: @R_Emrys @NPR
Modern horror films are finding their scares in dead phone batteries: @TashaRobinson @verge
Genres / Miscellaneous
Why Genre Mashups Are Not Just for Music: @Magic_Violinist
Genres / Mystery
Should You Age the Characters in Your Mystery Series? @mkinberg
Murder Motives for the Crime Writer: @DPLyleMD
5 Must-Use Tips on Writing a Thriller: @KarenCV
Genres / Non-Fiction
What Authors Need To Know About True Crime: @FredBobJohn @standoutbooks
Five Things You Must Do if You’re Writing Non-Fiction: @Bookgal
How and Why to Use Subheads in Your Nonfiction Writing: @theladyck @NinaAmir
Genres / Romance
Keeping the Bedroom Door Closed: @RayneHall @RomanceUniv
Genres / Screenwriting
Writing a spec episode: Act Four Scenes: @BittrScrptReadr
Writing a spec episode: Act Five Scenes: @BittrScrptReadr
Genres / Short Stories
A Basic Guide to Flash Fiction: @daciaauthor @RMFWriters
Promo / Blogging
Tips for Allowing Guest Posts on Your Blog: @ZoeMMcCarthy
7 Ways To Get More Readers To Your Blog: @HughRoberts05
Promo / Book Descriptions and Copywriting
How to Write Attention-Grabbing Promo Copy for Books: @MJRose @BookBub
Promo / Book Reviews
How to Change a Book Title Without Losing Reviews: @helenahalme @IndieAuthorALLI
Promo / Miscellaneous
1 Writer’s Quiet Rebellion Against 3 Pieces of Conventional Marketing Wisdom: @Roz_Morris
An Agent on Non-Fiction Platforms: @RachelleGardner
Create a List to Sell All Your Books: @SueBEdwards @womenonwriting
Promo / Platforms
Branding For Authors: @KristineRusch @thecreativepenn
Promo / Social Media Tips
5 Simple Ways to Crush Your Networking on Goodreads: @Bookgal
5 Common Twitter Mistakes of Indie Authors: @DebbieYoungBN
Publishing / Miscellaneous
The DIY Guide To Turn Your Book Into An Audiobook: @DaveChesson
Industry Notes: Charkin Opens Mensch Publishing; LBF Opens Award Submissions: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Publishing / News / International Publishing
Gvantsa Jobava on Guest of Honor Georgia at Frankfurt: @Porter_Anderson @GvantsaJobava
Publishing Issues for the IPA’s Meetings: Diversity, Emerging Markets, Literacy: @Porter_Anderson@Bodour
European Publishing Welcomes ECOFIN’s Decision on Taxation for Ebooks: @Porter_Anderson @StephenLotinga @pubperspectives
A New ‘Barometer’ Checks Sales Conditions in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain: @Porter_Anderson @wischenbart
Wattpad To Beta-Test a Payment Plan for Its Writers: Canada, UK, Philippines, Mexico: @Porter_Anderson @wattpad
Publishing in Southeast Asia: ASEAN Forum Highlights: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Writing Craft / Beginnings
Writing Story Openings: @Lindasclare
Do You Really Need To Start At The Beginning? by Robert Wood @standoutbooks
20 Things Learned After Reading 150,000 Words in Opening Pages: @katiemccoach
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
Character Motivation: How to Write Believable Characters: @ReedsyHQ
Writing Craft / Common Mistakes
Think Small: 32-quick-fixes-for-writing-microblocks-and-mini-glitches: @RuthHarrisBooks @annerallen
Writing Craft / Conflict
Writing an Action Sequence: @StoryGrid
Writing Craft / Dialogue
3 Ways to Make Your Dialogue More Interesting: by Bucket Siler
Dialogue Issues? Read It Out Loud: @BE_Sanderson
8 Rules for Better Dialogue: @CherylProWriter
Writing Craft / Flashback and Back Story
Is Your Backstory A Threat To Your Book? @Writers_Write
Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film
Five Stories That Don’t Understand Power & Privilege: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants
“Choosing to Read or Watch According to the … Adjacency it Might Have to Your Own Work”: @Porter_Anderson @WriterUnboxed
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
When you should stop reading, start writing: @pubcoach
Crafting a “Body Language Voice”: @SeptCFawkes
Create Power Paragraphs For Stronger Storytelling: @Writers_Write
Do You Have a Story with a Twist, or a Twist That Thinks it’s a Story? @Janice_Hardy
3 Ingredients You Need To Make Readers Feel: @LisaHallWilson
Weaving A Narrative: by Aaron Miles @FantasyFaction
How To Focus on Your Story’s DNA: @JennyHansenCA
Why Writers Should Let Go and Enjoy the Story: @mike54martin
Getting the Big Picture Across in Your Scenes: @LiveWriteThrive
Writing Craft / Plot Holes
How to Find and Fix Your Story’s Plot Holes: @kristen_kieffer
What to Do When You Write Yourself Into a Corner: @SeptCFawkes
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Outlining
Crafting Outlines That Work for You: @Janice_Hardy
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
Stories Are About Change: @SPressfield
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research
How Much Research Is Really Enough? @writeabook
Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar
Verb Tenses — 2 Tips for Errors: @JJ_Burry
How to punctuate dialogue in a novel: @LouiseHarnby
Writing Craft / Revision
An Example of Editing a Scene: @DavidCorbett_CA
The Every-Novel-Is-Wildly-Different Guide to Revision: @jcbaggott @WriterUnboxed
Writing Craft / Series
Planning For the Next Book In Your Series: @chemistken
Writing Craft / Settings and Description
Writing a Setting Your Reader Can Call Home: from Let’s Write Some Novels
Writing Craft / Word Crafting
22 Common Nouns & What You Can Use Instead: @Writers_Write
The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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October 4, 2018
Let Go and Enjoy the Story
by Mike Martin, @mike54martin
All fiction requires the reader to suspend belief in order to follow the story. You have to pretend that you are in a different location with people that you don’t know in order to experience the full effect. Those who can’t do that often claim that they don’t like fiction books or stories, but I think it may be that they just don’t know how to let themselves go and be captured by the story or the characters. I also think they are missing out on a great deal of fun!!
What most people don’t realize is that writers have to do the same thing. Suspend our belief in the ordinary and escape to another reality, inside our heads. In my Sgt. Windflower Mystery series I use the very real town of Grand Bank, Newfoundland, as a backdrop for my stories. It settles the stories in a solid foundation of place that many people who have read the series now think they know. I hope so. But the setting is truly just the beginning. Because, with the exception of a few historical facts and bread crumbs, the rest is all imagination.
The main character, Sgt. Windflower, came out of the fog one night in Grand Bank and started telling me his story. All I did was write it down. Once I did that, all these other characters came along and I started writing their stories too. My main job today is to try and keep them all happy and allow each of them the appropriate time to tell their part.
If that’s not enough to stretch your imagination, there’s more. Two of Windflower’s family, his aunt and uncle, turn out to be dream weavers. They can interpret dreams, their own and others. Windflower learns how to do that too, and soon he is awake while he is dreaming and understanding the messages that come to him. I know it sounds crazy, but it really happens, at least to Windflower. He uses it to access the spirit world, the other side.
At first, Windflower appears skeptical about this whole spirit and dreaming thing. Until he starts to realize that there might actually be messages and information about himself that he can learn. That’s when he decides to ask his relatives to teach him how to do it. After a while he comes to see that reality might be more than just what we can see in front of him. Once he accesses this power, his life becomes richer, and of course, the story gets better.
The other thing that is happening in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series is that the spirit world starts to become more visible. In the latest book, Darkest Before the Dawn, there’s a ghost. Or maybe there’s a ghost? That’s up to Windflower to discover, or for readers to decide. You don’t get to see the ghost. That would be too easy. But if you look carefully you just might see the signs.
This all gets me back to the first point. You have to suspend your belief in order to enjoy the story. That is true in all fiction, and more particularly in mystery fiction. So, don’t rule out Windflower’s dream weaving abilities or the possibility that an old ghost is wandering around the old B & B that he and Sheila have bought. If you do, you might miss half the fun.
Darkest Before the Dawn is available in print and e-book versions worldwide through Amazon and in Canada through Chapters/Indigo and other fine bookstores. And from Ottawa Press and Publishing.
Giveaway
Enter a comment for a chance to win a signed copy of Darkest Before the Dawn, sent to you anywhere in the world!!
Find Mike:
Mike Martin was born in Newfoundland on the East Coast of Canada and now lives and works in Ottawa, Ontario. He is a long-time freelance writer and his articles and essays have appeared in newspapers, magazines and online across Canada as well as in the United States and New Zealand.
Writers Must Suspend Their Disbelief, Too (by @mike54martin ):
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September 30, 2018
Making Your Book Memorable
By Jeffrey Eaton, author of the “Murder Becomes” series, @murderbecomes
Each year, more than one million books get released by publishing houses and self-published authors. You read that right – more than one million books. Every year.
How do we make our books stand out in a crowd that immense? Well, it’s not easy, and even the most relentless marketers get no guarantee their efforts will result in their titles rising above the ever-increasing din.
There are, however, a few techniques we can employ that will at least increase the odds people will notice our novels and then remember them when they’re looking for something to cozy up with on a cold winter’s night.
Here are three things we’ve done with the “Murder Becomes” series to build renown for the books over the past four years:
Develop a theme that’s memorable
I have a slightly embarrassing confession. I stole my idea for the “Murder Becomes” series from the dear and recently departed Sue Grafton. When I stumbled upon her Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Murder Series in a bookstore several years ago, I thought, “What a clever idea. How can I make such a simple concept my own?”
I have been a free-lance journalist most of my life, conducting interviews in cities all over the world. So, for me, the natural answer was to set my mysteries in international locales that start with the letter ‘M’ (to alliterate, of course, with ‘murder). Fortunately, the number of intriguing options is endless, and soon “Murder Becomes Manhattan” was born, shortly followed by “Murder Becomes Miami” and (as of October 1, 2018) “Murder Becomes Mayfair.”
Now, I have readers pleading with me to set a future book in one of their favorite ‘M’ locations – Milan, Moscow, Montreal, Marrakech and Maui, to name just a few. The theme has stuck in their minds and gotten them eager to learn at the end of one book where the next murder will take place. And, believe it or not, the woman who volunteered to host my first book launch at her spacious home in Dallas has the initials, “MM” (a complete coincidence).
WHAT SORT OF MEMORABLE THEME CAN YOU CREATE FOR YOUR BOOKS?
Create memorable characters
The protagonist in the “Murder Becomes” series is Dalton Lee, a world-renowned architect who was born in Hong Kong but raised in San Diego. Dalton’s bicultural background helps him stand out, right from the get-go.
But he has other characteristics that make him hard to forget. He is a purist when it comes to how a grilled cheese sandwich is cooked. He rides an Italian scooter from the 1950s called a Maicoletta. And, he is frequently engaged in conversation by inanimate objects – sculptures, paintings, and even mannequins in a department store window.
The result? Readers are constantly sending me grilled cheese recipes to ‘pass along’ to Dalton. Or, they send photos of themselves posed alongside an Italian scooter. I even had a reader send me a photo of a car they were passing that had the phrase “Where is Dalton?” written in soap on the back window. Dalton’s peculiarities have bred a bit of fandom among my readers, who associate with his quirkiness in ways that drive them to purchase the next book in the series.
WHAT MEMORABLE TRAITS CAN YOU INFUSE IN YOUR CHARACTERS?
Consider taking the digital versions of your books to a whole new level
I love a hardcover book as much or more than anyone. But I also understand the world is changing. The more we adapt to and profit from the change, the better.
That philosophy has led us to do something innovative with the digital versions of the “Murder Becomes” series. We’ve embedded hyperlinks throughout the story to give readers some visual and aural elements to make the reading experience more memorable.
When a street musician plays a tune that causes one of Dalton’s teammates to have a meltdown on a Manhattan street, you click on ‘song’ and HEAR the tune in a YouTube video. When Dalton has a clandestine meeting in a creepy cemetery in Miami, you click on ‘cemetery’ and SEE a photograph of that cemetery.
And with architecture playing a critical role in each book, we give readers links to visuals of the skyscrapers in Manhattan, the Art Deco hotels on Miami Beach and the Georgian townhouses that populate the London neighborhood of Mayfair.
HOW CAN LINKS MAKE THE READING EXPERIENCE OF YOUR BOOKS MORE MEMORABLE?
It’s not easy these days to capture the attention of readers inundated with one new title after another.
Find a way to employ the techniques described above, however, and you will be well on your way to helping more readers than ever before to find your books, savor them, and recommend them to their friends.
Learn more about “Murder Becomes Manhattan,” “Murder Becomes Miami,” and “Murder Becomes Mayfair,” at murderbecomes.com.
Eaton was graduated from Southern Methodist University in Dallas with a degree in journalism. He instantly put it to use, becoming editor of the university’s alumni magazine at age 23 and editor of the employee publications produced by an international oil company at age 25.
He formed his own freelance writing business at age 27 and by the age of 30, had been to 45 countries on five continents. Among his most memorable assignments were interviews with a prime minister, a world-renowned heart surgeon, and the CEO of one of South America’s state-owned oil companies.
Now Eaton has returned to his first passion – writing novels. The “Murder Becomes” series unites his love for intrigue with his passion for travel with his excitement for crafting word puzzles, several of which have been published in some of the world’s premier newspapers and magazines. He hopes you enjoy reading these tales as much as he delights in creating them! More about Jeffrey here.
3 Ways to Make Your Book Memorable (by Jeffrey Eaton @murderbecomes ):
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September 29, 2018
Twitterific Writing Links
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 48,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.
Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here.
New Stuff
If you’ve ever dreamed of seeing your name in print but don’t know how to get there, register for this free video series, Stop Dreaming, Start Doing: https://bit.ly/2OJGJBi . It’s produced by Gabriela Pereira, creator of the DIY MFA blog and program for writers. As a note, I’m an affiliate for Gabriela’s workshop.
Business / Miscellaneous
2018 Reader Survey Report: Popular Genres and the Popularity of Print: @MKTodAuthor
Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous
6 things every author can do to captivate an event audience: @BetsyGFasbinder @sandrabeckwith
10 Essentials to Pack for a Three-Week Writing Retreat: @ZoeMMcCarthy
National Book Foundation Announces ‘5 Under 35’ Honorees: @Porter_Anderson @nationalbook
IlluSalon’s Global Illustration Award: At Frankfurt Pavilion October 10: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Creativity and Inspiration / Goal setting
How To Reduce Shame When You Don’t Meet Your Writing Goals: @pubcoach
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
Diving into Graphic Novels without Drowning: @rfishewan @DIYMFA
“Seven Books I’ll Never Read”: @AdamOPrice @parisreview
Reading Fearlessly in Troubling Times: by Chaitali Sen @ElectricLit
8 Classics of Suspense and Isolation: @ericrickstad @CrimeReads
The Wind in the Willows Isn’t Really a Children’s Book: by Peter Hunt @lithub
Five Books About Unconventional Pirates: @seesarawrite @tordotcom
5 Books About Women Who Make A Fuss: @eklages @tordotcom
Six Works of SFF Short Fiction that Defy Convention: by Thea James @tordotcom
Creativity and Inspiration / Motivation
Finding the Tribe that Fuels Your Writing: @NancyJAuthor @WriterUnboxed
Embracing the Discipline to Write Your Book: @JeffGoins
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
Why I Only Write for 15 Minutes A Day: @the_writing_pal
Writing on a Schedule: @Lindasclare
Write More in a 15 Minute Session:
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / When to write
How a Morning Ritual Changed My Life: @Britt_the_wit @MichaelHyatt
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block
7 Ways to Beat Writer’s Block: @writing_tips
5 Ways to Defeat Writer’s Block: @dougeboch
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writing Quickly
Writer Worries: Why Am I Such a Slow Writer? @BrynDonovan
Creativity and Inspiration / Success
How Reader Profiles Can Help You Sell More Books: @Bookgal
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
8 Questions to Help You Simplify Your Writing Life: @colleen_m_story
The Books We’re Drowning In: A Bookseller’s Lament: @MargaretKWrites @BookRiot
How a Structured Evening Ritual Can Help You Stay Sharp and Rested: @Manish_Analyst @MichaelHyatt
How Much Time Do You Spend Writing And How Much Time Marketing? @thecreativepenn
Funny gifts for witty writers: @TheWriterMag
The Artist’s Journey in the Real World: @SPressfield
5 Reasons a Writer Should Move to Tucson: @__eshani @lithub
When Your Imposter Syndrome is Out of Control: @RedfordJan @lithub
Notes on Nearing Ninety: Learning to Write Less: by Donald Hall @parisreview
Why Writing Can Be The Best Way To Deal With Adversity: @writingcookbook @thecreativepenn
The best advice that many writers fail to take: @DanBlank
Writing and the Creative Life: “The Power of Structured Procrastination”: @GoIntoTheStory
Fit to Write: 9 Tips for Becoming a Healthier, More Productive Author: @BuildYourBrandA
Inside the Weddings of 10 Famous Writers: @knownemily
Email to a Young Writer: How to Keep On Writing: @PaulaSMunier @CareerAuthors
Write Like You Diet: @CherylProWriter
Two Words that are Deadly to Your Writing Career: @colleen_m_story
Genres / Horror
Like ‘Goosebumps?’ Here’s Another 30 Years’ Worth Of Horror For Kids: @grady_hendrix @NPR
Genres / Memoir
Editorial suggestions for a memoir: @sarahrcallender @WriterUnboxed
Genres / Miscellaneous
Handling Violence, Swearing, and Sex in Christian Fiction: @_HannahHeath
Genres / Mystery
Hunches as an Element in Crime Fiction: @mkinberg
Courtroom ‘Bombshells’ as Elements in Crime Fiction: @mkinberg
Using Contrasting Characters to Add Tension and Contrast to a Mystery: @mkinberg
Writing the Cozy Mystery: The Right Motive:
Genres / Screenwriting
Writing a spec episode: Story and Theme Development: @BittrScrptReadr
Writing a Spec Episode: Act One Scenes: @BittrScrptReadr
Writing a spec episode: Act Two scenes: @BittrScrptReadr
Writing a spec episode: Act Three scenes: @BittrScrptReadr
Promo / Book Descriptions and Copywriting
How to Write an Amazing About Me Page: @EditingWizard
5 Traits Great Copywriters Have in Common: @nera_joy @WritetoDone
How to Write an Effective Author Bio: @DebbieYoungBN @IndieAuthorALLI
Promo / Book Reviews
Your Book Isn’t for Everyone: by Julie Glover
Promo / Connecting with Readers
Discoverability for Writers: @nlowell @RMFWriters
Promo / Miscellaneous
Deleted Book Reviews and Waning KENP Income: Try a Simple Fix: @KathySteinemann
How to Create Merchandise for Books: by Melissa Chan @JFbookman
Promo / Platforms
An Author Logo Can Make Your Brand Memorable: @DaveChesson @BookWorksNYC
An Agent Answers Questions About Author Platform: @RachelleGardner
Publishing / Miscellaneous
‘Publishers have the responsibility and opportunity to use technology to extend their reach (and) explore new media’: @Porter_Anderson @galitariel
Association of American Publishers to Focus on Advocacy, Copyright: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Discrimination in the Writing World: @davidfarland
A Very Short History of the New Oxford English Dictionary: by Richard Charkin @pubperspectives
The Freedom To Publish and Challenges in the Way: @Porter_Anderson @KristennEinars1
What is the Best Service for Print on Demand Books? @ReedsyHQ
Publishing / News / International Publishing
IPA and United Nations Unveil New ‘SDG Book Club’ Promoting the Sustainable Development Goals: @Porter_Anderson @antonioguterres @michielams
“We need to relate to an international world. Our literature still primarily focuses on white middle-class men and women.” @Porter_Anderson @ Gyldendal
Eksmo CEO Evgeny Kapyev’s Optimism for Russia’s Book Market: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Interview: The Bookseller’s 2018 UK Rising Star @SophieHJonathan: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Industry Notes: Marrakesh Treaty; Bologna Carle Award; Kids’ Black Detectives in the UK: @Porter_Anderson
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing
Tips for Building a Strong Author-Agent Relationship: @lauraeweymouth @laurenspieller @NatalieIAguirre
Publishing / Process / Book Design
When You’re Asked to Design a Cover After Others Have Tried: @colleenie_r @lithub
Book Design Pet Peeves: @JFbookman
Writing Craft / Beginnings
Nail That First Line: @PBRWriter @RomanceUniv
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
12 Common Character Archetypes Every Writer Should Already Know: @ReedsyHQ
What are Good Character Traits? 7 Helpful Attributes: @nownovel
Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Tattoo Artist: @beccapuglisi
Writing Craft / Diversity
9 Picture Books with Diverse Characters Any Kid Can Relate To: @CynthiaVarady
How to Write Cross-Culturally with Authenticity: @vanessa_hua @SignatureReads
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
One Simple Trick to Write Everything Better: @LMacNaughton
Tightening Your Focus: @davidfarland
Why Structure Matters When You Are Writing a Novel: @louise_candlish
What is the ideal reader? @Peter_Rey_
Four Challenges of Nonlinear Narratives: by Chris Winkle @mythcreants
Writing Craft / POV
5 Tips for Choosing the POV Character for a Scene: @LauraDiSilverio
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Naming
Title Your Novel for Maximum Visibility: @ZaraAltair @ProWritingAid
A Trad-Published Author on Choosing Book Titles: @AmySueNathan
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
Game Theory in Story: @StoryGrid
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Story Concept
Where to start when developing a story? @GoIntoTheStory
Nailing Your One-Sentence Story Concept: @LiveWriteThrive
Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar
7 Flawed Sentences Redeemed by Commas: @writing_tips
Writing Craft / Revision
Writing Rules, Guidelines, and Just Plain Bad Advice: @LyndaDietz4 @TheIWSG
How to Improve Your Self-Editing in One Simple Step: @kristen_kieffer
Taming a Terrible First Draft: An 11 Step Editing Process: @katekrake
Writing Craft / Synopses
Tackling the Dreaded Synopsis: @jkolin27
How to Write a Synopsis: from Let’s Write Some Novels
Writing Craft / Tropes
10 Superhero Tropes and How My Hero Academia Blows Them Out of the Water: @VictoriaGHowell
Know Your Tropes: from Let’s Write Some Novels
Writing Craft / Voice
10 Tips for Strengthening Your Unique Writing Voice: @writingthrulife
Finding My Voice—So Easy. So Hard. @VaughnRoycroft @WriterUnboxed
Writing Craft / Word Crafting
Stealth Words: A Writer’s Overlooked Weapon: @marciamoston @EdieMelson
Writing Tools / Books
Finding the Plot: 4 Plot-Focused Writing Books: @LynseyMay @scottishbktrust
Writing Tools / Miscellaneous
Novel in a Month Notebook (Printable): @EvaDeverell
Writing Tools / Resources
A Free Video Series to Hone Skills, Build Productivity, and Learn Ins and Outs of Publishing (registration required): @DIYMFA
The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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September 27, 2018
Writing the Cozy Mystery: The Right Motive
by Elizabeth Spann Craig, @elizabethscraig
I can only imagine the number of murder motives that I’ve come across in the last 35 years that I’ve read and watched mysteries.
While writing cozy mysteries, I think finding a motive can be a bit tricky. Although there’s some breadth out there in terms of how writers approach cozies, a large number of cozy readers seem to appreciate a very traditional approach…nothing too gritty. They want an escape in which the reader helps the sleuth find the killer.
This means that a recent mystery I watched where the motive involved revenge for past child abuse wouldn’t really be a great pick for the audience. Drug addiction can be tough too, although doable if treated carefully.
In my books, I tend to play it very safe. The motives are still what I consider real life motives, but they’re more toned down.
Frequently, they’re the common annoyances that just get out of control: the obnoxious neighbor, for instance.
Deaths of blackmailers are fun because first we have to discover the fact that the blackmailer was a blackmailer and then we have to find out what he knew about various suspects.
The usual trio of jealousy, greed, and revenge are also good for cozies.
The killers can be really awful or they can be good people who were pushed a little too far.
I’ve written victims who seem like delightful people, which worked out well (the sleuth later uncovers that some suspects didn’t consider the suspect that delightful). I’ve written victims who were particularly nasty people, too, who stirred up a lot of resentment against them. This used to worry me because I was concerned if the victim was too horrid, no one would care who killed her. But now I’ve come to the conclusion that this is more of an accepted part of a cozy mystery. It’s part of the process and the point is still to solve the case and bring the murderer to justice. Taking a life is serious and, even in a humorous cozy, the crime is taken seriously. The secondary characters, the supporting cast, more than makes up for the deficiencies of character in the victim and keep the books from getting too dark.
The point is that the motive is personal. These are not the types of mysteries where there are political motivations or hitmen or international intrigue or drive-by shootings. The killer is well-known to the victim and the other suspects (all of whom are usually not too upset by the victim’s death) and there is a closed group of people who might be the murderer.
There are now many cozies that don’t necessarily follow these guidelines. Some cozies have become a bit edgier. As a writer, you don’t have to do anything. The story, its world, its crimes and people are totally up to you. My thoughts are that it’s just easier to find an audience if you deliver what readers of a specific subgenre expect to find.
For further reading, see mystery writer Camille LaGuire’s post on motives (some are cozy motives, some aren’t).
Any other thoughts on what makes a good cozy mystery motive (from readers or writers)?
Finding the Right Motive for a Cozy Mystery:
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