Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 248

Potholes

Potholes aren't usually a problem here in Matthews, North Carolina.

That's because we've been in a drought for years--there wasn't any moisture on the roads to cause any potholes.

Now, of course, we're caught in some crazy monsoon pattern and my simple suburban drive to the store is now a treacherous route embedded with potholes that seem to reach down to China. And somehow, I never realize they're there until I'm in one.

My first drafts are just as susceptible to potholes.

Things...

Distractions

You wouldn't think those three inches of snow we got Friday would make such a mess of the roads. The brine and the melting, muddy snow was tossed up on my car from cars and trucks and sent me off to the car wash Sunday.

As I do any time I'm waiting for longer than 5 minutes, I pulled out my notebook and started writing, right there in the car wash waiting room. I even had a handy dandy note to myself at the top of the page, to remind me where I needed to pick up the story.

A couple of...

Plot Patterns and Happy Endings

I have a hard time keeping my seventh grade son in books. It's a nice problem to have.

After scouring some book blogs, I came up with four books that had been highly recommended by (admittedly) adults.

I put the books up in his room. After a few hours, he came out.

"Mom? I don't mean anything by this…but I hate all those books you got me."

I sat back in the chair and stared at him. "But they're supposed to be good!"

"They're depressing. I read the first four or five chapters of...

Weather

First of all, I wanted to mention that Cleo's interesting discussion on genre blending continued far into the comments section yesterday. She made some fascinating points about transitioning into a mainstream author if you're starting out as a genre writer. And why is some genre fiction published as mainstream fiction (for example, Janet Evanovich)? Find out in the comments: Genre Blending and Your Character's Love Life.

I have a feeling I'm not going to inspire pity in many of you when I...

Genre Blending and Your Character's Love Life

A former journalist, Alice Alfonsi is a multi-published author in several genres and a New York Times best-selling media tie-in writer. Under the pen name Cleo Coyle, she pens two nationally bestselling mystery series for Penguin in collaboration with her husband, Marc Cerasini, the first of which, On What Grounds: A Coffeehouse Mystery, is now in its fourteenth printing. Her most current project under her own name is an adaptation of the screenplay for the upcoming feature film Tron...

Just the Facts, Ma'am—by Margot Kinberg

Today I have the pleasure of having Margot Kinberg guest post on the blog. Margot is a mystery writer (her newest, B-Very Flat has just been released.) But Margot is also a mystery novel expert—and I don't use that word lightly. If you check out her blog, Confessions of a Mystery Novelist, you'll see what I mean.

One of the first steps in writing, at least for me, is figuring out the major events in the plot. Since I write murder mysteries, that means deciding who is going to be the...

Literary Snobbery—Dealing With It

Literary snobbery has been a topic on a couple of blogs lately. So today, I'm blogging at A Good Blog is Hard to Find about how writers can handle encounters with book snobs. I hope you'll pop over and visit me there.

Also, I've got all kinds of excitement coming down the pike this week here on Mystery Writing is Murder. Thursday, the wonderful Margot Kinberg will be guest blogging for me on Prewriting and Research. Margot gives us a glimpse at how research can make our novels stronger.

...

Slips of the Tongue

I was in—as usual—the grocery store on Saturday afternoon. As soon as I walked in the door, I was greeted with a big smile by a couple of men at a table. I did a mental groan—they wanted me to do something. Sure enough, it was time to update that plastic discount card the grocery store assigns us.

I was at the deli counter getting some ham and trying to put the little loyalty card on my keychain. One of the deli workers said, "So you got your card updated?"

And I said. "Mm-hmm...

Secrets

I've gotten to that point in my manuscript where it's time to include some secrets.

I love secrets in books. They work really well for mysteries—in fact, it's fun for all of the suspects to have a secret they're trying to protect.

Then the reader and sleuth are aware the suspect is throwing up some roadblocks. They're just not sure why it's happening. Are they covering up the murder they committed? Or are they just trying to conceal a personal secret from the investigators?

Secrets...

When You're Not Inspired

I'm one of those writers who doggedly writes each day, no matter what.

Frequently? I'm not inspired.

I think that's the dirty little secret of a lot of writers. We may get ideas. We may implement those ideas. But we may not be flying through books on waves of inspiration.

I do write every day. But I really have to write every day so I won't fall behind on my deadlines. Plus, if I skip even one day, going back later is even tougher. It's like a muscle that needs to be exercised...