Jennifer David Hesse's Blog, page 6

Playing Nancy Drew

By Jennifer David Hesse One Christmas many years ago, when I was a young woman living in New York, my husband and I made a trip back to the Midwest to visit our families. This particular year my mom had bought a game—I don’t remember if the game was a gift for one of my younger sisters, or if it was a house game for everyone to play. But I do remember gathering around my parents’ computer to check it out—one person in control of the mouse and everyone else backseat driving. My brothers might...

The Game's Afoot: Mysterious Mysterium

By Jennifer David Hesse Ah, mysteries. They add such interest to life. And such fun. As a mystery writer and long-time mystery reader, I’ve given quite a bit of thought to the appeal of this genre. As I’ve written before, I think we’re drawn to mysteries because of our fascination with the unknown. It all starts with the great mysteries of the Universe and our desire to have some level of control in a chaotic, often mystifying world. We want to figure out the truth, solve the problem, s...

Ghost in the Graveyard: A five-cent mystery

By Jennifer David Hesse As I’ve mentioned, it’s Mystery Week over at Goodreads. (And it's Mystery MONTH, here on my blog!) To participate in the fun, I decided to try my hand at a “five-sentence mystery.”

Such tiny stories—aka flash fiction—are an interesting beast. With so few words, much of the action must take place off screen, so to speak. As a reader, you have to peer between the lines and employ quite a bit of your own imagination. As a writer, you have to be choosy about your word...

Coming Attractions: Mystery! Romance! More Mystery!

While strolling through the park one day
In the merry merry month of May
I was taken by surprise
By a pair of roguish eyes
In a moment my poor heart was stole away…

At first, this old song almost sounds like it could be the beginning of a mystery story, doesn't it? Of course, it’s really an ode to love, but mystery and romance do make great bedfellows. *wink* Romantic suspense is a fun genre, but personally I think ALL genres are better with a little romance. (Especially cozi...

Beautiful Country

As I mentioned last week, I recently went on a little “into the woods” get-away with my family. This has become a tradition of ours-- every spring when my daughter has a week off from school, we head out of town for some fresh air and R&R. We go someplace different each year, but it’s always someplace south of Chicago (following the warmth of the sun!), and usually within a few-hours’ drive of my parents’ house where we stop along the way.

This year we went to the Hoosier National Forest...

Cosmic Thoughts: You, Me, and the Trees

Have you seen Cosmos , the documentary series hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson? It aired in 2014, but I recently discovered it on Netflix. So far, I’ve watched only the first two episodes, but I was so impressed I watched each one twice. As I told my daughter, the show is like The Magic School Bus for adults. It’s educational and fact-based, but oh-so-fascinating. In episode one, we learn that we humans are made of star stuff--literally. Stars gave us the carbon in our muscles, the calcium in o...

Always mindful...

Flowers for the party guests “Always mindful, every second.” That was my mantra when I was a brand new mother fourteen years ago this week. As I carried my tiny infant up and down the stairs of our rented house in New York, I was exceedingly cautious. I would mind every step and hold my baby with extreme care. I didn’t allow myself clumsiness or careless speed. I had precious cargo! Talk about responsibility.

I was thinking about this recently—about how accidents tend to happen when people are...

Going back & Giving back...to college

Booth Library - EIU Not to show my age TOO much, but it’s been a couple of decades since I went to college. And, truth be told, I haven’t given my alma mater a whole lot of thought over the years. I’ve never attended any college reunions or participated in any alumni events. I never felt compelled to subscribe to the alumni magazine, donate money, or show any school spirit in all these years following graduation. I've never really given anything to the school.

Isn't that kind of terrible?

It’s...

Pantser or Plotter? Finding a happy medium

One of the most common questions writers get is: “Are you a pantser or a plotter”?  I have no idea how or when the term “pantser” came into fashion, but I understand what it means. It comes from the phrase “flying by the seat of your pants.” If you’re a pantser, you just sit down and start writing without a clear idea of where your story will end up. You go with the flow. You wing it. A plotter, on the other hand, takes a more deliberate, organized approach. A plotter outlines the story ahea...

Springing forward: New hope, new experiences, and a new writing conference

A snowy scene in our backyard Here we are nearing the first day of spring, but I’m not feeling very spring-like. Jumping ahead on the clock left me feeling slightly off-kilter, throwing off my sleep schedule and messing with my internal sense of time. (Why do we need to “save” the daylight, anyway? I’m pretty sure it would have been okay without our intervention.)

THEN we had to go and get hit by the biggest snowfall of the season. The sky just opened right up, for two nights and two days, and...