Musings Stirred Up By a January Wind

I'm sitting in an old farmhouse in rural New Jersey. When I left home last Tuesday, the streets of my town were lined with greenish-brown Christmas trees, put out for the trashman. Here, right across the road, are rows of live evergreens, part of a veritable Christmas tree ranch, its herd of spruces and pines grazing under the winter sun.

Back home, when I gaze from my window, I see a fairly constant parade of cars, pedestrians and neighbors' pets. Here, a vehicle passes by maybe five times a day. Otherwise, the only movement on the landscape is created by the January wind, swirling the big rhododendrons beside the house, quaking the shriveled, black leaves that cling to shrubs by a thread, making the tall brown grasses over in the tree pasture billow like the ocean.

Back home my nearest neighbors are on the other side of a cinder block firewall. Here, they're a quarter mile away.

Mulling over these comparisons recalls to mind two things. First, a conversation I had with the editor of Double Cross. She grew up in the city and her feeling was that a small town placed in the middle of the wilderness (which I used as a setting in the novel) automatically has sinister overtones because of its remoteness. I didn't agree.

The other memory is from last week's reading matter. I was researching old Celtic and newer Wiccan beliefs for my next Pat Montella book. Much of what I read stressed the view that humans are a part of nature and shouldn't try to master it or fight it. While reading these materials, I was reminded how much I used to love hiking and bird-watching and star-gazing and rock hunting, even simply sitting by a quiet stream listening to the water. I used to love nature and spent a little time each week enjoying it. I realized, except for working in my garden, I hadn't spent many hours outside in the last few years. So one of my New Year's resolutions is to change that and get back to nature. Which, at least, should help me write the novel.

Sitting here, I suppose I can understand why someone might think this house—a good distance from its neighbors and remote from the nearest town—might make a sinister location for a story. But I think man brings all things sinister with him. This place is lovely and peaceful, which seems to be good for my imagination.

In fact, I can almost picture tree cowboys riding in to roundup those evergreens next fall, to drive them northwest to Philly for the Yuletide season. That would be a sight to see.

Yep, I definitely need to get out more this year.

Peace,

(and thanks to Robin Hathaway for sharing her solitude)

Elena

Here lies NICE

(and other epitaphs from the Graveyard of Overused Words)

Last week I taught writing workshops to 4th graders. One classroom had a terrific bulletin board display titled "The Graveyard of Overused Words." The board was covered with cut-out tombstones with epitaphs like

 

Here lies NICE, cold as ice.

Around the sides of the stones were synonyms that could be used instead. Samples of other epitaphs:

REALLY is buried here, along with his brother VERY.

This is the grave of COOL, who died a fool.

The teacher told me that her students were allowed to use these words only once per writing assignment. This got me thinking of words I tended to overuse and epitaphs I'd add.

Here lies IT.
We don't need you. Git.

Do you have a favorite (or anti-favorite) overused word? Add an epitaph for your word under comments below.

Peace, (Serenity, Tranquility),
Elena

You're Probably Wondering Why I Called You All Here

In the last few weeks, whenever a friend asked how my writing was going, my stock answer was "I hate denouements."

A denouement is the part of a mystery novel where the clues come together, the puzzle is solved, everything's explained and the loose ends are tied up.

As I approach the denouement, I'm always reenergized. I've mentioned before that writing a novel can be likened to swimming across the ocean. Once I've planted the last clue, it's like looking up and finally seeing the opposite shore. I can pick a landing spot and head for it. Problem is, I'm tempted to sprint, forgetting about all the writing equivalents of shoals and riptides.

Explanations in and of themselves are pretty boring. If you've ever had a college lecture course, you know what I mean. Doing a simple quick explanation will only tempt the reader to skip ahead to the ending, then it won't be satisfying for them.

Few writers have the skills of Agatha Christie, who could pull off the type of denouement where all suspects are gathered together and the detective goes through the motives and opportunity of each one. Christie always saved several twists for these scenes, to keep the denouement interesting. Not that she didn't play fair. She probably told you the vital clues in chapter one and promptly misled you so much, you forgot them.

Most writers I know combine the denouement with the final suspenseful confrontation. The villain spills his guts while trying to kill the hero. Or the villain is smart enough not to spill his guts, but gets caught in the act. Or the hero makes the last connection in time to save an innocent life.

Regardless of how the denouement unfolds, it must keep the reader turning pages while providing a fair and satisfying solution. The best ones are dragged out just enough to make the reader beg for more.

I've read tons of writing advice about spending serious time on first chapters, getting them right, so you irresistibly draw the reader into your books. I think denouements are even more difficult to write, and it's so hard to go slow on those last few chapters. Hence my grumpy mood right now.

Still, by taking time to do the denouement well, you draw the reader into your next novel.

'Scuze me, I'm nearing the breakwater.

Peace,
Elena

Great Story, Bad Book

All writers need editing. I've said that before, but every year, it seems, I read more and more books that are poorly edited, if edited at all. I just finished one—a really good story, so I saw it through to the end, but the lack of copyediting and of things like mixed-up character names drove me nuts. On top of that, the galleys had apparently never been proofed because I saw formatting errors like hard returns in the middle of paragraphs. That publishing house so obviously didn't care about the quality of their product that I may never buy another of their books.

Editing can make or break you as a writer. Yet editors are traditionally so invisible that, in these days of self-publishing-made-easy, we forget editors exist for good reasons. Readers and most unpublished writers (and some published ones) have no idea what a good editor does or should do for a book. Here's what I've learned from the good editors I've had the pleasure to know:

1. Good editors don't let you settle. They point out your manuscript's weaknesses, coincidences, lame plot devices, loopholes, bad structure, and questionable research. They can zero in on those parts of the novel you slapped together (at the last minute, on too little sleep, to make your deadline) like flies zero in on garbage.

2. A good editor will ask you to change anything that makes you sound as if you don't have a command of your native language and a decent vocabulary. They'll say things like, "You used the word 'though' 187 times. Change a few of them." They won't let you use 200,000 words when 70,000 will do.

3. Good editors will tell you when your characters are out of character or wooden or just plain stupid. Editors should have a sixth sense that knows the page at which your average intelligent reader will get fed up with the hero and hurl the book across the room.

And here's what I've learned about good editing from bad editors:

1. A good editor will never, ever make changes in a manuscript without the writer's permission. I had one editor take colloquialisms out, until I was left with no narrative voice. I only found this out when I was sent the first proofs. I just heard of another writer who had this sort of thing happen at another house.

2. A good editor knows punctuation, spelling and standard text formatting. You'd think I wouldn't have to say that, but it's truer now than ever.

3. A good editor makes the writer fix his or her own wording, plot problems, etc. Mild suggestions are acceptable, but the editor has no business doing the writing. Too many editors seem to want to mark their territory this way. And too many novice writers would rather leave the rewrites to someone else. What you get is a book by committee.

This is why, when I decided to do an original series on Kindle, I sought out a good independent editor for the books. And I use several proofreaders for every story and novel I write, even before an editor picks it up.

Too many writers simply want to be published. A good piece of writing should be published well, with some level of integrity. Authors ought to care about that integrity more than anyone else. After all, check out whose name goes on the cover.

Peace,
Elena

Retreat, Regroup

As I'm writing this, I'm sitting on a screened porch, enjoying my last hours at my second annual writing retreat.  I think I mentioned last year that the location is so remote, my host has to lead me to it, a half hour in from the main road.  No Internet access here, and this week, thanks to Verizon's efficiency (yes, that's sarcasm) not even a land line.  A cellphone signal can be had if you've got a decent carrier and don't mind walking down the driveway a bit.  With the phone out, last night's gorgeous full moon and the murder of crows that hung around all week, it's been rather like living inside a Hitchcock movie.  Perfect mood for mystery writing.

The week was filled with lovely walks down farm roads, good food, and wildlife sightings (songbirds, bunnies, deer, a huge family of wild turkeys (mom, dad, 6 adolescents and 8 babies), and my first close-up look at a bald eagle).  Evenings were spent listening to old radio plays.

But, of course, the purpose of the retreat was writing.  While it's nice to have a quiet place for uninterrupted work, I find the real benefit of a retreat is for the thinking writing demands.  At home, with all the distractions, it's hard to find time to step back from your project to ruminate on why a scene isn't working, or whether the book is flowing properly, or should the story take a whole new direction?  Walking seems to get the creative juices flowing.  Country air clears the mind.  Ice cream at the end of the day rewards the soul.

That's the kind of mental rejuvenation these retreats offer.  Honestly, I could use one 4 or 5 times a year.

Now back to reality.  But I'll arrive home with loads of fresh Jersey produce and fresh ideas for my writing.  And a great memory of a bald eagle sighting.

Peace,
Elena

Miss Maggie on First

This week's weirdness is that I've been playing Wii baseball.

I've loved baseball since age 6 when I started watching Phillies games on TV with my dad. Every nice day after school, I'd go out to the back yard and throw a tennis ball against the porch step, trying to get it to hit just right, so it would bounce back to me and I could practice catching. I improved my skills enough that the boys in the back alley always chose me for their teams before choosing their brothers. Came as a hard blow to discover I couldn't aspire to be a baseball player because they didn't take girls. Since our town had no local women's softball team, my baseball career ended.

A couple weeks ago, I began reliving my childhood by playing Wii baseball (part of a scheme to get my derriere off my desk chair and get some exercise).  When you play alone on Wii, the system gives you a team of different avatars (animated people).  You bat for all of them.  Each time I play, the system gives me a different set of people, so it's hard to think of them as a team.  I did notice, however, that it always put my brother's avatar on my team as catcher.  So I decided to create another avatar.  And why create a character from scratch when I've got a bunch of series characters to choose from?  So Miss Maggie, my 91 year-old sidekick character, became my first baseman.

The process of making an avatar is interesting.  You can choose body types, face shape, hair and eye color, you name it.  Of course, it gives you limited choices, so Miss Maggie had to settle for gray hair instead of her usual white.  But I was able to give her a shirt that's greenish-yellow, her favorite color.  The avatar doesn't really look at all as I picture Miss Maggie.  Still, when I play baseball, there's now always a familiar face on first base, her reading glasses hanging from her nose, her wrinkled face frowning in concentration as she makes a catch.

You'd think, since I'm holding the controller, that the Miss Maggie avatar would act and play exactly like my own, but she doesn't.  Don't ask me why.  Maybe Wii adjusts for height (Miss Maggie's shorter than me), and probably my own subconscious adjusts for attitude.  I do know that Miss Maggie is an amazing Wii jet skier.  I can't even stay on the course.

The whole experience has begun to show me what I know and don't know about characters who have been living in my brain for 10 years.  I'm in the process of creating a Beth Ann Lee avatar (to cover second base).  Yet I'm not ready to do one of her father.  I realized I don't even know what Hugh's favorite color is.  Which means Pat doesn't know what his favorite color is.  That gives me fodder for an argument in book five (insert evil laugh).  As for Pat, I think I know her well enough to figure it'll take some coaxing to get her to play Wii Sports at all.  She'd rather be in the kitchen.

I've named my Wii baseball team the Fightin' Compression Sox.

Go C-Sox!
Elena

Writers Helping Writers

When I began hanging out with mystery writers, the one thing that absolutely floored me was how nice they are. Not kidding. A real bunch of sweeties.

There I was, the complete naive newbie, yet writers like Gillian Roberts, Charles Todd, Polly Whitney, Lisa Scottoline, Elizabeth Peters, and too many others to name here--who didn't know much more about me than that I wanted to write--took the time to point me in the right direction.

They all taught me the most valuable lesson: that writers help each other. I remember Polly Whitney saying, when I'd thank her for advice, "Just make sure you pass it on someday."

This is why I began this blog last year, to pass it on.

I'm a member of Sisters in Crime, an organization of mystery writers, readers, booksellers and others in the business. They've elevated the idea of writers helping writers to a national scale. In my local Delaware Valley chapter, our authors lead workshops for novice writers. We organize book signings and tours and library panels to show off our published authors. Once in a while, we'll put together an anthology of short stories to teach our new writers about the editing process, publishing and promotion.

And frankly, it also helps to hang out with other writers simply to get out of the house, away from your writing and rejections once in a while. A writer's life can be lonely and sometimes discouraging.

If you're a writer, whether published or not, get out and network. Go to conferences, join a local writers' group, or a Sisters in Crime chapter. If you're in the Philadelphia area, check out Delaware Valley Sisters in Crime (or just email me from my website and I'll send you info about them).

Talk shop once in a while. It's good for you. And if you learn anything, pass it on.

Peace,
Elena