M. Saylor Billings's Blog, page 7

Coming up for air

Hello World!  I've been working on The Disaster Relief Club, Book 2 of the O Line Mysteries, and have finally found a break in the schedule to come out of seclusion.  I do a check on the headlines, "Is Prince Charles related to Vlad the Impaler?"  ooo I don't know, is he? "Kelly Clarkson reveals why people think she's a lesbian." Enquiring minds want to know Kelly, please tell us!  Good to see nothings changed in the headlines.  Looks like a kid protesting with the 99 percent in the Oakland Occupy got the beans whacked out of him.  It was just a matter of time for before something most unfortunate happened with the protests.  I really hope that kid comes out the other side sound and healthy.  Oh and look the world shrugs as another torturing dictator meets his end.
Time marches on. 
The lawn needs mowed, there's mold in the shower, no food in the fridge, bills need paying, washing to be done, wardrobes changed over to from summer to fall and winter, garden needs tending, house needs a good once over.  Flu shots to be injected.  Holy macaroni it's only two months until Christmas!
On second thought maybe I should rewrite the last two chapters…

The O Line Mysteries Blog: Fiction vs. Reality

The O Line Mysteries Blog: Fiction vs. Reality: Right now I'm writing a mystery series and frankly I'm less concerned with who done it as I am how events throughout the story change the p...

Fiction vs. Reality

Right now I'm writing a mystery series and frankly I'm less concerned with who done it as I am how events throughout the story change the people. It's the whole chain reaction from one event that weaves and escalates into the lives of the characters.  Let me explain.  I feel that too often when I'm reading a cozy  mystery that the actual murder doesn't really change the characters in the story.  They're tripping over bodies left and right, yet it doesn't seem to have the emotional impact that it would in reality.  Now there are many mystery books that do change their lead characters emotional weight and motivations, don't get me wrong, there are some great works out there.  And that's what I want to get that right in the O Line book series (which is a huge difference from the Podcast 1st season series).  I don't think the O Line should treat murder and mayhem like -who stole the cookies from Granny's place and oh aren't these ginger cookies delicious?  That is where the O-Line book series  deviates from the cozy mystery mold a lot.  It's a delicate balance between an entertaining puzzle and too much reality.
As a reader, mysteries are a literary puzzle or a logic game. The crime (murder) is only a devise, an event, that gets the ball rolling.  (I think we authors choose murder a lot because it is seen as an "ultimate" crime one with a cause and effect.)  While reading, it's playtime as well as exercising our "little grey cells".  I love to be told a good murder mystery with plot twists and fun characters who evolve in the story.  I love it even more if it's solved by a amateur sleuth.  But in reality, there really are only a few reasons why an actual murder is committed.  There has to be a "reason" of course and many will argue that it is done by one who is simply crazy - temporary or otherwise.  And maybe those arguments are correct, it is a big deal to plan and execute an actual murder.  There is an emotional line that is crossed and one in which can never be undone. A change in the emotional make-up of a murderer must occur.  We all live in a manner in which is logical to each individual, so that logic too must change.    Then there is a ripple effect on the loved ones of the victim.  Their "living logic", emotional make-up, actions and reactions are changed as well.  Do they have the moxie and wits to solve the murder after the emotional impact and shock of having a loved ones life inexplicably snuffed out?  I don't know.  What an interesting person they would be.
Agatha Christie once wrote in Toward's Zero (and I'm taking a huge paraphrasing liberty here): that sometimes the murder is the end of the story.  I couldn't agree more.  But there are a lot of mysteries in our world, like exactly how can a politician get paid off and not get caught or what kind of person breaks into an animal shelter and steals the food (the latter's answer would surprise you, sometimes reality really is stranger than fiction).  
As a writer, finding out what exactly Mr. Plum was doing with a candlestick in the library is just as satisfying as who did Mr. Plum in the library with a candlestick.

The O Line Mysteries Blog: I know Moscow Rules!

The O Line Mysteries Blog: I know Moscow Rules!: Where do I begin with this? Okay here goes – If you've listened to the second season of The O Line Mystery Podcast or even j...

I know Moscow Rules!

Where do I begin with this? Okay here goes –
If you've listened to the second season of The O Line Mystery Podcast or even just read the prologue in Saint Charles Place then I'm not giving anything away here.  Just how I came up with the plot lines however are a mix of the remembrance of the enjoyment I got from books like Harriet, the spy, Encyclopedia Brown, The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, etc. which then morphed (or perhaps matured) into the second season plotlines.  Which reflected my spy novel phases.  The second season was much more John le Carre,  Alfred Hitchcock (The man who knew too much, North by Northwest), etc.  But the plotlines themselves really are just a wild imagination souped up with caffeine and chocolate at 3 am as I struggled to finish scripts for self-imposed deadlines while still editing the last weeks podcast.   The closest I've come to international "incidents" is as a bystander.  (Or truth be told you may call me a run-like-my-ass-is-on-fire-er.) 
Okay, there's that. Then there's this --
I have on the O Line Mysteries website what is called Site Analytics.  Basically it just tells me how many people have downloaded a show, where the "hit" came from, and it has cool things that shows where in the world people were listening (Hallo Germany, The Netherlands, France, Ireland, UK! Wass up!), etc.  I'm sure it could tell me the color of the computer monitors too but I don't give a rat's axx about such things.  But here's what was strange.  I started noticing a lot of .gov addresses in the analytics.  Every week before I'd load up the next show I looked at the site analytics from the week before.  And there was a certain growing concentration of where on the maps the "hits" came from.  So, at the time I thought nothing of it.  I kinda thought maybe they were redirects and some of the downloads were coming from people in the military who – I didn't know – liked mysteries or just wanted to be told a fun story while patrolling or something.  Maybe the .gov and others were using their computers to download podcasts. Whatever, I didn't think much about it.
THEN I started reading "Top Secret America" by Priest and Arkin. Holy Crap. NOW I know why I was getting so many hits from these addresses and the "certain area's" in the second season.  I don't want to give anything or take anything away from their book but I will say this – just in case they're still tracking the podcasts:  The O Line is fiction.  I made it all up. And I have two cats.  One is huge and the little one is crazy, CRAZY! – there's no telling what he'll do.  He's like a ninja kitty – he'll take your eye out and show it to you. 
I don't know what to make of it.  It's late and maybe my imagination is running away with it all.  Maybe I shouldn't read books like this.  I was going to blog about the second book that I'm now outlining the scenes.  But how can I – now that I know I'm being watched.  or at least they were listening.  gulp.

The O Line Mysteries Blog: Using everyday life in writing.

The O Line Mysteries Blog: Using everyday life in writing.: I am one of those people that complete strangers will come up and tell intimate details of their life too. It happens randomly, every time ...

Using everyday life in writing.

I am one of those people that complete strangers will come up and tell intimate details of their life too.  It happens randomly, every time I venture out of my home, and on vacations.  I am the person you hand your 500 dollar camera to and ask me to take your picture in front of the Eiffel Tower.  I am the person holding up the check out line because the checker has chosen to tell me about the cataract growing in her left eye - her latest health class homework assignment about her 50 or so cousins - his girlfriends dad that he is tight with. I am the person who holds up the airport security lines so they can rummage through my belongings with their filthy gloves.  (Happens every time I fly. Every time.)  I am the person you sat next to on the plane and decided to tell about you and your husbands plans to live a self sustaining life to - which apparently involved remodeling a 1967 stream liner. (Or whatever the hell it is.)  Men have sat next to me on airplanes and read porno magazines before disappearing to the bathroom for 5 minutes - yes I did time that.  In libraries people will insist on talking to me - out loud - about their grocery list and where they think they might find a cassava fruit.  (I don't even know what that is.)  At the oil change place a man will tell me about his first girlfriend, his muscle car he had when he was 18 and how he wrecked it, what I "oughta' do is", that "one" they don't like (I know, even I was lost on that one too), etc.

For a long time this annoyed me terribly.  I really just needed to get where I was going, remember everything on the errands list (which I inevitably leave at home), enjoy a vacation day without being stopped 6 times in one day to take their pictures, or get my oil changed in the promised 20 minutes.  No I didn't want to give you money, give or take advice, I can't give you medical or legal advice, I don't have any real good directions to get somewhere, I don't care what is on your mind and you feel the need to confide in me.  Really I don't.  And I still don't - but every since I started writing full time I've decided to use these experiences.  There is something wonderfully random about them.  People have their own agendas which somehow include these scraps of dialogue that tend to fall away from their conscious.  Do they go home and recount their day and think, "I told this random woman about my child's dysfunction." or "I asked this random person about my impending doom."  I'll bet they don't.  But there I am with this wonderful scrap.  What do I do with it?  I write it down.

Writing is a solitary job.  But because I am this person, I don't have a lot of "writers block"  because these experiences keep me in a constant state of "what if" mode.  In a pinch I've even been known to sit on public transit for a time and just wait.  I'll make up an errand and go into the bank - Boom, I'm being told about how a three year old child decided to drop the f-bomb at christmas dinner.

When I told my partner I was going to start blogging about writing she said, "Are you going to call it, "Random stuff people say to me?"  And of course I still hold out for someone to stop me and say, "Here's a thousand dollars.  You'll need it to start the marketing of your books, which you should do on these sites, and pay for the public relations.  And then once your finished with this series you should write the following..."

Free e-copy of Saint Charles Place

Yes, I figured out how to "gift" copies of Saint Charles Place on kindle. So, for anyone willing to write a review on either kindle or amazon I can gift you a copy through kindle.  It's easy.

1st you have to put the book in your wishlist.
2nd email me your amazon name/account info.

Then I gift you a copy from my account. That's it. But it's not really a gift is it?  I mean I'm asking you to log back in afterward and write a quick "how do ya' do" in the review.  Actually I'm giving you a copy to review.

Who started saying "gifting" anyway?  It's a bit annoying.
"I'm gifting my used socks to the Salvation Army."  "I'm gifting toys for tots." We used to say donating.
"I'm gifting you a copy of my book."  Well no, I'm giving out copies for review - that used to be called marketing and/or public relations.
"He gifted a remodeling job."  That was free labor, once.
"Gifting, Language evolution" - pfft.

Anyway, thanks in advance.
Saylor

Blogging ideas

FAQ's

A lot of my blog posts are simply me answering questions I'm asked.  So in the interest of time here are some quick answers to the most common questions I'm asked.
Will there be a third season of O Line podcast?        I never say never so I will just say, we'll see.  We shall see...(cue spooky music!)
Is there really an Ohlone Island?      No, the name Ohlone (pron. Ah-lawn-ee) is the name of an Indian tribe that is native to the island I live on in the San Francisco Bay.  The real island is called Alameda.   I simply chose that name in their honor.
I'm from Alameda, do you use real people you meet on the island in the stories?      No.  I base nothing from my life in the stories.  That would be weird for me.  The only thing that is slightly similar is we do own two big yellow mischievous cats.
Do you base the stories on real life events from the island?      No.  I make it all up.  I get some ideas from 
Where do you get your ideas?     Everywhere and nowhere.  When I did the podcast I tried not to read anything for a while and instead would ride the public transit around and watch people.   The series is based on the podcast so I pretty much have all the story lines I needed to come up with the books story lines.
So, how do you make money with a podcast?     You don't.  Unless you have a sponsor or sell a lot of advertising in your show.  I just made the decision one day not to go down that path of collecting user data and/or selling time.
Are the books available for free downloads anywhere?     No.  A girl's gotta eat at some point.
As other question's come up in reference to the book series, I will continue to answer questions here.

From Script to Novel

I wrote about 52 half-hour audio scripts.  After the first 4 they got easy. 
After the first 28 it got hard. 
After the first 35 it got easy again. 
And the last 4, #49-52 were torture.
The thing I love about doing audio is the texture sound brings to a script.   I write:  DAY-ANNIE and LORNA walking downtown.  Then my scene setting is done.  The rest gets added through sound:  Cars pass by, people talking, footsteps are added after the voices read the script.  I get the pleasure of knowing where a scene is supposed to end and let the characters take me there through dialogue.   Once I got to know the lead characters that is when everything got easy.  It only got hard again when I tried to force a script or motivation that wasn't natural for their nature.  What wasn't easy doing the scripts was feeling very limited.  How do you convey a "look"?  How do you convey smell (you have to say corny things like "Gee, it sure stinks in here.  Mmm, those brownies sure smell good.)?  It's the opposite of show don't tell.  You have to tell everything.  However, I wish I could give a gift I was given to all scriptwriters when I first started doing the shows.  After about the fourth show I found someone to read Lorna's character for me.  I sat in the sound booth and just listened to the work being read and it was fantastic.  They made the writing better, if that makes sense.  It was a gift that freed me to write better.

Now turning the scripts into novels has been easy in the planning stages and more difficult in the execution – because there is no one there to make the writing better, except for the editor.  I wasn't starting from scratch.  I "lived" with these character's for a year and a half during the podcast and I know them well.  But there in lies the rub.  How to make them sound fresh?  Well, I had to start fresh.  Look into there past, make them more multi-dimensional, and put them on a path that was different than the podcast.  A lot of novelists talk about the freedom and control you have with writing a novel.  I was not ready for that much freedom and control.  But you learn quick with these things.  You write yourself into a corner after 3 days of writing and have to throw out the work.  But you don't make that mistake again…or you do.  I think the first draft of the first book of the series was a mere 100 pages.  Which is fine if that tells the story but after reading it I thought, uh oh I may be in some trouble here.  I didn't paint the settings with words, I didn't describe very much.  I used the words – he said, she said, and she thought. A lot.  I left out complete scenes and didn't trust the reader enough.  The Lorna character came off like a neurotic pit bull.  The bones of the story was there but it was a rooouuuggghhhh draft.  
I didn't want the novels to simply be a written account of the podcast so I took a little here and a little there from the various plots and then made an overall story arc for the series.  One of the books to be release is a short story series from the first season of the podcast.  Those are going to be more like written accounts of the shows whose plots are not used in the book series.  I don't want to give away anything but after plotting out the series story line it does look like there could be a spin off or even a sequel.  We'll see.