Joyce Holland on Blogging and getting published

By Joyce Holland

Back when I wrote a bi-weekly column for the newspaper, I never lacked for ideas. So why is blogging so difficult for me? Everyone else churns out clever paragraphs, and accompanying photos faster than I can sort the laundry. I suspect it’s because it’s more personal. I think everyone will be happier if I stick to commentary on things public, or simply discuss writing.

So…writing. My end of the business involves reading other peoples manuscripts every day. I used to read several books a week for my own enjoyment and I loved it. As an agent, things have changed. Now it’s half enjoyment and half angst. I do not like writing rejections. I never will. Unless the writing is dreadful, I try to offer advice when I have time. I’ve closed to submissions for the summer to catch up.

Let’s talk about pure genre fiction, thrillers and mystery fiction in particular. People ask me what I’m looking for. The same as you, a great read. They also ask me how far I read into a manuscript. The answer is painful, because it’s not very far. You’ve heard this before. For today’s audience, you have to grab the reader on the first page. Easier said than done, of course, but still worth the effort to try. I have had authors tell me their story really jumps into gear in chapter three, and defend the buildup as necessary. As Nero Wolfe would say: pfft!

Genre fiction is a cold hard business. The reading public craves action and emotion, and they want it in measured bites. Maybe it comes from watching too much television. Every ten minutes there is a break, usually when you are on the edge of your seat. Writing is the same. You charge the reader up, (hopefully for more than ten minutes) then kick the chair from under him. But, and here’s the secret, you leave a tiny little ray of hope or mystery to keep them hanging in there. They have to care deeply about your characters, and/or they have to be dying to find out what’s going to happen. Sounds easy, doesn’t it. How do you keep them hanging? Ah, if only I knew.

But there is one aspect of the craft I have an opinion on. I don’t know how you feel, but I dislike characters with a flaw. It’s personal, but I want to depend on my protagonist, not worry he will flounder because of a built in weakness. Give me Dirk Pitt. You can drop a bomb in front of him and not worry he is going to take a drink and fall off the wagon. Kinsey Millhone, doesn’t have panic attacks. And James Bond doesn’t worry about STDs. (I threw that in for fun)

Superheroes don’t count. Superman–kryptonite, etc.

Anyway, my point is, what causes the reader concern shouldn’t be an inside job. No waiting for the proverbial ax to fall. Obstacles thrown in the protagonist’s path are fair game, as far as I’m concerned. For Dirk Pitt, the bomb’s the problem. For Kinsey Millhone, murder makes her mad. And for James Bond…well, we won’t go there.

You can kill your protagonist’s best friends, their business partners, make them sad, take away their house and money, have someone evil stalking them, I’ll buy any of those, but let them stand tall.

Hmm… I read too many submissions with weak characters in them this week and maybe I’ll feel differently soon, but if feels like a trend. I’ll stop while I’m ahead.

Closing thought:
To those who say, write what you know, I ask, why? Are science fiction writers aliens? Are mystery writers murderers? Are romance writers nymphomaniacs? Don’t answer that.

Happy writing
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