A Master Class in Mystery Writing

By Kay Kendall

Are you a fan of Laura Lippman’s detective stories or Megan Abbott’s crime novels? Do you ever wonder how they manage to draw you into a web of intrigue, book after book—holding you spellbound, keeping you reading way past your bedtime? Lucky me, I got to learn some of their secrets last Saturday in New Orleans.

That’s where Laura Lippman and Megan Abbott were joined by other award-

Back l-r: Bill Loefhelm, Laura Lippman,
Megan Abbott,  Alison Gaylin.
Front: organizer Greg Herren.
Not pictured: Alison Gaylin
and moderator Susan Larson.

winning authors Alison Gaylin, Bill Loefhelm, and Erica Spindler in presenting a seminar designed to teach the essential skills needed to write a novel. In a program sponsored by Mystery Writers of America, these five bestselling novelists instructed us participants how to move from the idea stage all the way through to final editing. And clearly, they know their stuff. The awards and accolades among them include the Anthony Award, Agatha Award, Daphne du Maurier Award, Edgar Award, Nero Wolfe Award, Shamus Award, Strand Magazine’s Novel of the Year, and the International Thriller Writers Award for Best Novel. Here are just a few of many points made by these talented authors. <For more background on each author, see http://mysterywriters.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Teacher-Bios-Website.pdf> 

Megan Abbott began by suggesting ways to expand on your book idea, confiding that her inspiration often comes from news items. She doesn’t always begin at the beginning of a book, instead starting by writing about what has inspired her—a murder, a rumored sexual encounter. She ran us through exercises that got our creativity flowing.

Laura Lippman talked about the importance of proper plotting and shared her method for diagraming plots. She said that if you get stuck in writing your book, it usually means that you’ve taken a wrong turn in your plotting, and you must fix it before you can continue. When she sees something wrong in her diagrams, then she knows where the problem lies. “There are no formulas,” she said. “The only thing that carries over is that I have finished writing a book before, so I figure I can do it again.”

Erica Spindler discussed the use of setting and details to ramp up tension. She quoted Stephen King, who said, “I write about the thing under the bed.” She said, “I write about the wolf in sheep’s clothing, in other words the friendly neighbor who turns out to be Ted Bundy.” Details added to a story must do one of two things—either effect one or more characters, or, move the plot forward. So, identify and chop extraneous details.  

Bill Loefhelm examined the critical area of character development. “The trick to writing a successful series,” he said, “is to create characters that people want to return to. That is the most effective tool for storytelling.” One way of doing this is to take a tried-and-true one—think Sherlock, Batman, Superman—and make the tired character new, fresh, twisted. Dialogue is an important way to show character, but he cautioned not to overdo accents or slang. A little goes a long way.

Alison Gaylin switched from discussing writing a book to rewriting it. After your first draft is completed, she said to go back and do these things. Drop clichés and tropes. Get rid of info dumps—dribble out crucial backstory details throughout the whole book instead.

The seminar concluded with a discussion among the instructors, moderated by Susan Larson, two-time chair of the jury for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and book review editor for The New Orleans Times-Picayune for 22 years. The focus was on the idea of a muse as inspiration for writing. What stuck with me came from Bill Loefhelm, who didn’t buy into the muse concept. However, if there was one, he said she would be like Rosie the Riveter, with her sleeves rolled up, ready to work with him when he came to her, when he was willing to work hard on his writing.

Greg Herren organized this wonderful day of learning. He is outgoing president of the Southwest Chapter of Mystery Writers of America and an award-winning New Orleans author of two mystery series, among his other writing activities. This program is called MWA-U, Mystery Writers of America University. Find it online here -- https://mysterywriters.org/mwa-university/about-mwa-university/

~~~~~~~ 

Kay Kendall’s historical mysteries capture the spirit and turbulence of the 1960s. DESOLATION ROW (2013) and RAINY DAY WOMEN (2015) are in her Austin Starr Mystery series. Austin is a 22-year-old Texas bride who ends up on the frontlines of societal change, learns to cope, and turns amateur sleuth. Kay’s degrees in Russian history and language help ground her tales in the Cold War, and her titles show she's a Bob Dylan buff too. Kay lives in Texas with her Canadian husband, three house rabbits, and spaniel Wills. In her former life as a PR executive, Kay’s projects won international awards.

 

A Sense of Place

by Sparkle Abbey

One of the comments we see frequently in reference to the beautifully written and award-winning Louise Penny series is: “I want to live in Three Pines!” Or words to that effect.

And isn’t that exactly what we authors hope for when we create a fictional world? We hope readers love our worlds so much they want to take up residence! It’s true with all books but seems especially true with a series where the community created is revisited with each book.

Also this sense of place is a big part of who the characters are. Just like where we’re all from tells so much about us. How they feel about where they're from is important. And whether they've always lived there and continue to do so; or perhaps they couldn’t get away from their roots fast enough.

Some strong examples of series with a sense of place are:

• Stephanie Plum and her irreverent Jersey burb surroundings,
• Jessica Fletcher and her cozy Cabot Cove community,
• Tess Monaghan’s rough and tumble Baltimore,
• And, of course, the aforementioned, Three Pines with Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec and the cast of complicated characters who invite us into their village.

We chose Laguna Beach, California for the setting of our Pampered Pets mystery series for several reasons.

Our two amateur sleuths aren’t originally from California, they’re from Texas. Those Lone Star roots are a big part of Caro and Mel even though they both have pretty distinct reasons for leaving the great state of Texas. 

Laguna Beach is not only the perfect place for a pet-themed mystery with its pet-friendly merchants and off-the-chart number of pet owners (more registered dogs than there are kids), it’s also the perfect place for Caro and Mel.

The community is a seaside resort in southern Orange County located midway between Los Angeles and San Diego. It has spectacular cliffs, glistening beaches, and breathtaking views of the Pacific, but it also has a uniquely artsy and almost European feel. The quaint boutiques, coffee bars, and sidewalk cafes provide a sense of place that brings together people who care about their community and each other. A community interested the greater good and setting things right when they go wrong.

In our fictional Laguna Beach there are some great restaurants and stores, just like in the real village. However, though we’ve used a real place we’ve populated the tree-lined village area, the Hills and the fabulous beachfront homes with characters from our imagination.

In our make-believe world you'll find: 

• Judd Malone, no nonsense, stay-out-of-police-business homicide detective, 
• Diana Knight, former screen star who still brings to mind the magic and glamour of a bygone era in Hollywood, 
• Darby Beckett, wholesome and sometimes naive owner of Paw Prints pet photography, 
• Ollie Hembry, former rocker turned pet rescuer, 
• Kendall Reese, flamboyant dresser and pet groomer extraordinaire, 
• Fan favorite, Betty Foxx, silk pajama-wearing senior with a strange sense of fashion and an eye for the gentleman, 
• And, of course, assorted adorable cats and pups.

They all, like us love the unique and close-knit community. We think it's the perfect place for Caro and Mel. And for a bit of fictional murder... 

What specific things do you love about the settings in your favorite mysteries? Do you enjoy returning to those favorite places? 

Our most recent book, Fifty Shades of Greyhound, has been called "A real tail-wagger!" (That's from Buttercup aka Trixie the smart puppy who stars in the Paws & Claws series by NYTimes bestselling author Krista Davis). It follows Desperate Housedogs, Get Fluffy, Kitty Kitty Bang Bang, and Yip/Tuck. Next up is, The Girl with the Dachshund Tattoo. 

Find out more and sign up for updates by visiting our website!

Real Beauty

On Oscars night, social media went wild with often-cruel snark and criticism of some of the older women at the Oscars who had had plastic surgery, in particular Kim Novak. 

In reaction, crime fiction author Laura Lippman posted a photo of herself without makeup, special lighting, or any kind of flattering filters and challenged other authors in the field to do the same in an attempt to show what real people actually look like at all ages.

The response was overwhelming. Mystery and thriller writers and readers, male and female, posted what some people called “raw selfies.” I put up one myself.

 Erin Mitchell put together just a few of the earliest responders into a video slideshow that’s absolutely wonderful. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM9kBqG5VEM

Each of us who posted our raw selfie also wrote about what prompted the photo and about the issue of society’s distorted expectations and demands on women in the realm of physical appearance. This led in many cases to intense conversations on Facebook and elsewhere about this issue. I had a thread that ran through more than 20 comments.

 I argued with some of my feminist literary writer friends who blamed the older women like Novak who had fallen into the movie industry’s trap of disvaluing their looks. One asked, “And where are the men in this?” And I was happy and proud to tell her how many of our male crime fiction colleagues had involved themselves in this little protest movement.

 What’s your take on this whole subject of society’s definition of female beauty as an underweight teenager’s body and face? Also, what did you think about the Real Beauty Project video?

 
COMMENTS (Blogger still won't let me comment conventionally):

Reine, thank you for laying out so clearly the evolution of your feelings about physical appearance. I do think these perceptions change--and often for the better--as we mature. I sympathize about the problems with holding hair dryers and combing hair since I have similar issues--and these are universally issues no one takes into consideration. Often a person may take medicines that affect the thickness and quality of their hair or skin and meds and illness can impact so much more than that of our physical appearance.

Mary, I think the people who control our media focus the images of women they promulgate according to what will make them money. Many men may well not buy into those images, but many men and women are pretty much conditioned to think that those images are the only way women should be. It's very pervasive and very powerful.

Whose Story Is It Anyway?

One of the first rules taught to new authors is to write about what you know. Now clearly, I don’t personally know any murderers (or at least I don’t think I do). But in our books, the lives led by Mac Sullivan and Rachel Brenner are within the realm of my comprehension. I may not have an Irish wolfhound for a pet, but I do have a dog and understand the mutual devotion that develops between animal and owner. My characters, even the villains, have traits, habits, and motivations that I’ve encountered in real life. Maybe not to the degree that would push someone to kill, but my fiction writing is grounded in reality.

But that’s different than writing a book on a real-life event where the people involved are still alive. Laura Lippman, in her critically acclaimed novel, What the Dead Know, encountered that criticism when she based the storyline on a true-life mystery that had occurred 30 years earlier in a nearby town. She answered those critics when she explained, “Still, I hope that readers understand the difference between writing stories based on true incidents, and writing ones that are inspired by asking, "What if . . . ." With that question, real life is left behind and fiction begins.”

I accept that rationale and Lippman certainly made significant changes in her characters to distinguish them from the family in the real-life tragedy.

But this week, I read a New York Times article on Julie Myerson, a British novelist, who has written a memoir about her teenage son’s drug addiction. The boy, thrown out of the family home when he was 17, “denounced his mother as insane...for exploiting and exaggerating” his drug troubles. Myerson, who encountered a firestorm of criticism when the book was published in England, now claims that had she known the criticism she would receive, “I wouldn’t have done it.”

To me, though I haven’t read her book, Myerson violated a couple of sacred rules. First, you don’t make money off your children’s troubles. Even though she is writing from the perspective of the parent, the bottom line is that her child was going through Hell and that’s not a money-making venture. Her son gave an interview to The Daily Mail where he said: “What she has done has taken the very worst years of my life and cleverly blended it into a work of art, and that to me is obscene.”

She argues that it’s important that the public understand the nightmare of teenage drug use. But since it was clear that her son objected – this is not a guide that Myerson should have written. Is there a need for a book to help parents going through a similar experience? Probably. But since it was predicated on events in her son’s life, it was not her decision to make unilaterally.

And there is always the concept, certainly promoted by my own mother, the original Evelyn, that you don’t air your dirty laundry in public. Why would you want to expose your child to public examination and possible ridicule?

Some argue that Myerson was the victim of sexism. That mothers are held to a higher standard. Not by me. I would have the same objections had the father written this tome.

I understand that as an author, sometimes when you are in the midst of a crisis, it’s the only topic you feel you can write about. And perhaps it would have been cathartic for Myerson to write about her anguish. The difference is that this story was appropriate for her personal journal – not for publication. The cost of this book for her family may well be incalculable – regardless of any royalties she may accrue.

Evelyn David
Murder Takes the Cake by Evelyn David
Murder off the Books by Evelyn David
http://www.evelyndavid.com