Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing: Mystery Author C. Hope Clark on Dialogue, Character, Structure and More, Giveaway

Sneaking in here to wish everyone a 
Happy Valentine's Day!
Now, please check out C. Hope Clark's great post while you munch your Valentine candy...

Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing
A series on tips for writing, publishing, and marketing

Hello and welcome to the Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing series featuring mystery author C. Hope Clark. Hope is sharing quite a mix of  helpful tips today.

You may know Hope Clark as the editor of the award-winning FundsforWriters.com, Her Friday newsletters are packed with information and ideas to generate income from your writing career. If you are a fiction writer, have you thought about picking up some extra cash by submitting articles for magazines on writing or your passion for your hobby? How about the topic of your latest novel or short story? Is your main character a quilter (probably like you)? You could write an article for a quilting magazine or site AND get exposure for your book. If you are a children's writer, submit articles to magazines for children. 

There are numerous ways to pick up more income and Hope can direct you to those sites. She even includes contests that pay. Check out Funds for Writers  for opportunities to expand your writing career.

Palmetto Poison by C. Hope Clark

Hope has brought along two prizes for two lucky commenters. One is a subscription to Total Funds for Writers and the other is a copy of Palmetto Poison, the third book in the Carolina Slade Mystery Series. Just leave a comment below to enter the drawing. Winners will be drawn after 9 pm EST Sunday evening.


Hope, put on your mystery author hat and tell us about your experience when you entered the world of fiction. 

Thank you, Janet.

I realized when, after ten years, I finally published a mystery with a traditional publisher, that I still had not "arrived." As a matter of fact, I learned that we never arrive. We just take new steps. After building FundsforWriters for a decade, and speaking nationally, I learned that entering the fiction world put me in the position of a freshman in college, stepping out of being the big dog in high school. I was a novice. Nobody had heard of FFW in the fiction world, so I was a newbie of the highest order. I had to publish more and earn sufficient royalties to even be accepted in certain professional organizations. Today, I've published four mysteries and one nonfiction book, and while I might have climbed one more rung on that ladder, I'm still way behind a gazillion authors and have a long way to go. It's always an upward climb. It's never easy. And there is no top. If you aren't in this business for the enjoyment of the long haul, then leave. You most definitely have to enjoy the process or you are in the wrong game.

Thanks, Hope. Your experience is a good lesson for all of us. You have more valuable advice for writers. Please go ahead and let us in on the tips you have gathered as a mystery author.

Writing Tips by C. Hope Clark

DIALOGUE - Write dialogue without the tags to test whether your characters are distinct enough. If the voices sound alike, you have work to do.

CHARACTER - Your characters need to walk off the page. In other words, readers should want to meet them in person. Most characters these days do not meet this criteria, so better to make them bigger than life than routine. Opt for over-the-top characters over those that color within the lines. Doesn't matter the genre.

STRUCTURE - Nothing beats the Three Act Structure (see http://www.musik-therapie.at/PederHill/Structure&Plot.htm ) or the Hero's Journey (you can see how similar it is to the Three Act Structure here http://www.movieoutline.com/articles/the-hero-journey-mythic-structure-of-joseph-campbell-monomyth.html ) for fiction writing. Over time, after several novels, you learn to naturally see where the pivotal moments are. Just remember that every scene has to propel the story. Every scene needs something off-balance that makes the reader proceed forward. If you get to the end of a scene, and nothing stirred the pot or yanked the reader in some manner, go back and rewrite. This is a good editing phase once your draft is done, though your structure (your skeleton) needs to be basically solid at the end of the first draft.

SETTINGS - Settings drive my stories. I feel readers should sense location as much or more than the characters themselves. The story is three-dimensional, and character and plot only make up a fraction of the pie. Setting is all around us in real life, to include all the senses, so why not include the same in your story? The reader should feel hot, cold, damp, parched, sticky, buggy, or dirty. He should hear the traffic, the birds, the wind or the crowd. He should taste the pollution, the salt breeze, or the margarita. He should smell the ozone, the bakery, the decomposing organize matter in the swamp. He should feel the sticky ooze from a jungle plant, the dust on a coffin, the smoothness of a stair banister. Don't leave a scene with running all the senses through your mind to give your words depth.

ORGANIZATION - Personally, an outline is a good tool for your story. However, be willing to be flexible. Many new writers want strict organization before they start, then get frustrated when the story doesn't go in that direction. An outline keeps you on task, but sudden innovative thoughts can take you on a better journey. Be willing to detour. Creativity is not static . . . it flows wherever the downhill takes it.

EDITING - I'm the world's worst editor for myself. I have edited each one of my books differently. And I'm one of those people the masters fuss about...my internal editor never shuts off, but I like it that way. That's not to say I do not have to edit as much as the next guy. I just hate reading sloppy work, so even if I have to move or delete a chapter, erase a character, or shift the climax, it's in a cleaner environment, and frankly, I make fewer mistakes in the long run. But...that's me. The masters state that you need to get that first draft down on paper as quickly as you can, so that you are running on pure creativity. I strongly suggest you begin that way until you have a bit of experience under your belt. Creativity is original and yours. Editing is more structured and a multi-person effort. Get all of you on the paper before you worry about commas and passive voice.

FINDING AN AGENT, EDITOR, OR PUBLISHER - It is a slow process. Accept it. The world is packed with writers who gave it a month and a couple dozen queries then gave up and self-pubbed. And ninety percent of them learned later that they were not ready to publish. That process is not just supposed to find you a representative. It's supposed to make you reconsider whether your work is ready. If you are not finding these representatives after several dozen attempts, them go back and fix your writing, because the truth is, all those people found it in need of repair.

 CONTENT FOR BLOGGING - Y'all...it isn't all about you. Readers want take-away value. You might mention yourself, but the message has to be bigger than you, and applicable to the reader. I don't care you've been to Italy. I am not intrigued by your Christmas. Not unless there was a story to be told, a growth process that emerged, an unexpected lesson. The reader has to feel the reading was worth the time, with something to take away and learn from, even if it's just a recipe or a string of how-to items.

 BEING A GUEST BLOGGER - Honor the blog's theme, first and foremost. Adhere to guidelines, and if there aren't any, read enough of the blog to recognize them. The day it appears, be available to answer comments, and treat each comment like a special guest. You are a guest in the blog host's home . . . act accordingly. 

MARKETING/PROMOTING - Like writing, marketing is a daily venture. It doesn't take  much, but you should do something, somewhere, to put your face/name/title/brand out there each and every day. If you aren't energized to spread the word, and aren't eager to communicate with your readers, why should they be interested in what you have to offer? They want a part of your energy as much as what you are selling.

USING SOCIAL MEDIA - Find that balance between using it religiously and being addicted. Use the 10:1 ratio. Ten items your followers might be interested in learning, and one item that promotes you and your work. You need to show you care about your followers and that it isn't just about you.

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Murder on Edisto by C. Hope Clark
The Edisto Island Mysteries (Volume 1)
A big city detective...a lowcountry crime

In Murder on Edisto, former detective Callie Jean Morgan returns to her parents’ South Carolina home broken, widowed, no longer employed, with a craving for gin and a teenage boy to raise. Life means little to her, but she owes it to her dead husband to raise Jeb. Regretfully, she remembers too late why she left her parents’ overbearing ways so many years ago, and she heads to the family’s vacation home on Edisto Beach to get away, clear her head, and hopefully give her son the life he deserves. On her first day in her new home, however, she finds her childhood mentor, a senior gentleman in his 80s, murdered, and Callie has to decide what she’s made of.

Buy Link: Amazon  

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About Hope:

Mystery Author C. Hope Clark

C. Hope Clark holds a fascination with the mystery genre and is author of The Carolina Slade Mystery Series as well as the Edisto Beach Series, both set in her home state of South Carolina. In her previous federal life, she performed administrative investigations and married the agent she met on a bribery investigation. She enjoys nothing more than editing her books on the back porch with him, overlooking the lake with bourbons in hand. She can be found either on the banks of Lake Murray or Edisto Beach with one or two dachshunds in her lap. Hope is also editor of the award-winning FundsforWriters.com, chosen by Writer’s Digest Magazine for its 101 Best Websites for Writers for the past 14 years. Her Friday newsletters reach 40,000 readers, and she speaks at writing, reader and mystery events across the United States.  She also freelances and has been published in the likes of Writer’s Digest, The Writer, Writer’s Market, Guide to Literary Agents, and Guide to Self-Publishing. 

Connect with Hope at:

C. Hope Clark's Author Website  

Funds for Writers

Have you been to Edisto Island and/or the Carolinas? Please leave a comment below.Your comment will enter you into the drawing for a subscription to Total Funds for Writers or the e-book, Palmetto Poison. Two winners!!

 

Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing: Mystery Author Joan C. Curtis on Dialogue, Characters, Settings, and 5 Tips on Editing Giveaway

Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing, series on writing tips

Hello and welcome to the Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing series.

I am excited to have multi-published, award-winning business writer, Joan C. Curtis here. She put down her scholarly pen to write a mystery. And what a mystery it is. Joan's book, The Clock Strikes Midnight, is definitely a page-turner. I'm enjoying reading the relationship between the two sisters and can't stop wondering about who killed their mother. Delicious. 

Joan is donating her e-book, What Does It Take to Write, Publish, and Sell a Novel, as a door prize for a lucky commenter. The drawing will be after 9 pm EST Sunday evening.

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Welcome, Joan. Thanks for sharing your writing tips with us. You have included many helpful points for us. 

Writing Tips by Joan C. Curtis

DIALOGUE

The best advice I ever got about writing dialogue is to eavesdrop on conversations. Not for the content, unless the content is particularly stimulating. Instead for the expressions and word choice. When writing dialogue, it’s important to distinguish your characters by their individual voices.

For example, you may have a southern “redneck” character. That character speaks very differently than your more sophisticated characters.

“I’m gonna carry my ma to the market come Saturday evening.”

“I’m taking my mother to the grocery store on Saturday afternoon.”

You also want to be sure that your younger characters speak in an age-appropriate way. Don’t have five year olds talking like adults or teens.

Years ago, writers like Mark Twain used dialect. Today, readers will not tolerate reading dialects. As writers, we must search for other ways to create realistic speakers in the regions where we write. Here’s an example from a southern writer, Mary Kay Andrews, He was sniffing like a dog on point. ‘Are you cooking collard greens?’ he asked. Notice it was unnecessary to drop the “g’s.” Readers can read without dropping “g’s.” I bet you did!

And be sure to read your dialogue out loud.

Dialogue can be the most fun to write. It’s through dialogue that characters take on lives of own. They say things we sometimes don’t expect and if we’re doing it right, in ways we don’t expect!

CHARACTER 

I’ve been credited with creating meaningful characters in The Clock Strikes Midnight. Let me share a few tips about the way to create characters readers can relate to.

First, you must allow the characters to create themselves. Once the person hits the stage in your story, give them the freedom to be who they are. Don’t force yourself onto them. That sounds strange, but if you give it a go, you’ll understand.

Next, as your character emerges, ask yourself questions like, what does this person value, what are his/her goals, how does this person add to the story, in what ways does this person help add to or exacerbate the conflict, how is this character different from the others in the story, what kinds of things does this character like to do, what are his/her work, hobbies. Many writers create bios for their characters. I do not do this until the character is fully formed in my mind through the writing of the story.

Third, make sure the dialogue and action are consistent for the character. I’ve had Beta readers say things like, “I did not expect this character to say something like that. It seemed odd and jarred me.” When I hear that critique, it is clear I got in the character’s way. Readers are great at catching these slip-ups.

Fourth, move away from the story long enough to ponder the character. I like to think about my character while walking or swimming. In those situations I can let my mind travel and my imagination run free. That’s when I’ve had the greatest insights into a character’s behavior or action.

Fifth, if a character is tapping you on the shoulder to do something, do it. In The Clock Strikes Midnight, I had decided to write from two points-of-view: Janie’s and Marlene’s. They were the two main characters in my story. Throughout the writing, their mother kept tapping me on the shoulder, wanting to have her say. I ignored her until the writing came to a complete halt. At that point I gave in and created a new section of the book strictly from the mom’s point-of-view. Readers have told me how valuable that section was to their understanding of the story.

Sixth, people say if you dream in another language, you have mastered the language. In my experience if you dream about your characters, you’ve created real people. Have you ever dreamed about them?

I’ll end with a quote about characterization from DL Doctorow. He said, “Writing is an acceptable form of schizophrenia.”

SETTINGS

The one tip I’ll share about setting is to make it as real as possible without taking away from the story. For some books the setting is the story, example: Under the Tuscan Sun. For most books, however, setting sets the stage. I think of it as the “set” on a stage, to reverse the concept.

Some writers write their setting so well, it becomes almost another character in the story. For example, I love the “cold” mysteries—those set in Sweden, Iceland and other such cold places. There, the weather and the setting are so powerful. It sets the stage for a chilly mystery. Henning Mankell did that expertly in his Detective Wallender series. Steig Larsson also created an amazing setting in The Girl with the Dragoon Tattoo series. Very cold, very ominous.

Cozy mysteries often have cozy settings, in cute little towns or villages. Those help create the theme. Murder happens even in the warmest of places.

As writers we must think about where our action occurs. It can’t just occur in a vacuum. Settings puts the reader somewhere and gives them a foundation for the action.

EDITING

Somewhere I read that creativity lies in the writing and genius in the editing. For me the truth lies somewhere in between.

As a writer I cannot think about editing as I’m writing. I must create and get what I’m writing on paper or on my computer screen. I suggest this over and over to new writers. If you write and then go back and edit, you waste lots of time and disrupt your creative energy.

5 Tips on Editing:

  1)      Nothing you write for the first time is perfect. Re-write and re-write.

  2)      Do not edit until you are out of the creative mode. I usually write freely and then the next day, I read what I wrote the day before. Not to edit, but to put me back in that place to continue creating. On the third or fourth day, I’ll go back through with an eye toward some light editing, but primarily putting in things that I left out. I do not completely edit until the manuscript is finished. I’ve often described it this way. I have on my “Creative Hat” in the beginning. Later, I put on my “Editor’s Hat.” The two require different kinds of thinking.

  3)      Listen to what your readers say or what your editor says. Even though you are the author and you have the final say, often readers and editors have excellent suggestion.

  4)      Don’t be too proud to share your work with an editor.

  5)      If you are self-published, pay for solid editorial services. Your readers deserve that!

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With just three months to live, Janie Knox returns to her childhood home
to face her dark past and destroy her mother’s killer. 

Buy Links:

 Amazon

 B&N

About Joan:

Four times business book author, Joan C. Curtis, releases her first mystery/suspense title, The Clock Strikes Midnight.

Mystery Author Joan C. Curtis

Her first-place book awards include: Best mystery manuscript in the Malice Domestic Grants competition and best proposal for nonfiction in the Harriette Austin competition.

Joan has been an avid reader for as long as she can remember.  She reads all kinds of books, including women’s fiction, mysteries, biography, and memoir.  Her passion as a reader lies closer to literary writing with a commercial bent. She writes books she would love to read.

“I write about characters who remind me of myself at times and my sister at times, but never fully so. My stories are told from a woman’s point of view. Characters drive my writing and my reading.”

Having grown up in the South with a mother from Westchester County New York, Joan has a unique take on blending the southern traditions with the eye of a northerner.  She spent most of her childhood in North Carolina and now resides in Georgia.

Connect online with Joan at the Joan C. Curtis site.

Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing: Sara-Jayne Townsend, Giveaway

Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing series

Hello and welcome to the new year's first post of writing tips in the Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing series. Sara-Jayne Townsend rings in the New Year with us and she brought along a prize to give to a lucky commenter. Leave a comment below and you will be entered into the drawing for your choice of Sara's mysteries, Death Scene or Dead Cool. The winner will be drawn after 9 pm on Sunday.

Dead C ool

Hi Sara. We are so pleased you have come across the pond to join us. I see you have some great tips to share. But first, what is the best advice for writers that you have received?

Don’t give up.  Most writers amass many, many rejections before they get an acceptance.  A rejection doesn’t mean your story is no good – it just means it’s not right for that particular publisher.  You just have to pick yourself up, dust off the manuscript and send it out again.  Eventually, you will get published, but it might take many years and endless rejections first.

Rejections are no fun, but after each one I think writers learn more about writing. I especially like it when editors take time to explain what the ms needs, in their opinion. Their suggestions may help to improve the story if the writer is open to constructive criticism. Great advice to never give up!

Sara has helpful tips on dialogue, structure, settings, and editing. See what nuggets of information you will find in her advice below. 

Tips on:

DIALOGUE

Death Scene

The way I learned to write dialogue was by eavesdropping on other people.  Learn to shamelessly listen in to other people’s conversations wherever you can – on the bus; in a restaurant; walking down the street.  Natural sounding dialogue often looks very odd on the page, so try reading it aloud to see how it sounds.

STRUCTURE

Because I plot my books before I write them, I spend a lot of time thinking about structure.  Some authors take a more ‘seat of the pants’ approach, but I spend time working out the beginning, middle and ending of a book before I even start writing chapter one.  I develop a plot summary and then a chapter plan before I begin the first draft.  Generally the plot deviates a bit when I start to write, but following the chapter plan means that every time I sit down to write, I  know what’s coming next and it helps me to be more disciplined in getting the words onto the page.

SETTINGS

Most of my settings are ‘real world’ contemporary settings.  Quite often I will create a fictional town to set the story in, but the Shara Summers novels are set in and around London.  Using a real setting is easier in a way, especially if it’s a place you know, but it is necessary to sometimes take liberties with a real-life setting and amend it slightly for plot purposes.  Most of the action in the second Shara Summers novel DEAD COOL takes place in a hotel just off Tottenham Court Road in the West End of London.  The hotel doesn’t actually exist, but I can take you to Tottenham Court Road and show you exactly where it is.

1.     EDITING

First, get to the end of the first draft.  Everything can be fixed in the rewrite, but you have to have a first draft to go on.  Join a writing group – if you don’t have a local one in real space, look to see if you can join an online one.  Getting feedback on your work from fellow writers is invaluable.  But when you get feedback, even if it’s unfavourable, make sure you take it on board.  The only way you can improve as a writer is by understanding where your weaknesses are.

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Death Scene

Poking around in family closets produces skeletons…

Back of the Book: British-born, Toronto-based, actress Shara Summers turns amateur sleuth when her sister is stricken with a mysterious illness. Summoned back to England to be with her family during a time of crisis, Shara discovers doctors are at a loss as to what's causing Astrid’s debilitating sickness.

After her aunt is found dead at the bottom of the stairs the death is deemed an accident. Shara suspects otherwise. Her investigation unearths shocking family secrets and a chilling realization that could have far-reaching and tragic consequences that affect not only her own future, but Astrid’s as well.

Buy Link:Available at MuseItUp Publishing and major online  booksellers.

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About Sara:

Sara-Jayne Townsend is a UK-based writer of crime and horror.  She was born in Cheshire in 1969, but spent most of the 1980s living in Canada after her family emigrated there.  She now lives in Surrey with two cats and her guitarist husband Chris.  She co-founded the T Party Writers’ Group in 1994, and remains Chair Person.

The first two books in her amateur sleuth series about Canadian actress Shara Summers, DEATH SCENE and DEAD COOL, are available as e-books from MuseItUp Publishing.

Learn more about Sara and her writing at her website at http://sarajaynetownsend.weebly.com.

Don't forget to leave a comment. A winner will be chosen from the commenters after 9 p.m. on Sunday evening. Good luck!

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If I may--I am honored to be included in a book bundle of mysteries from MuseItUp Publishing along with Sara. If you are a mystery lover, you can pick up four mysteries right now for $1.99 for some suspenseful winter reads. Check it out below.

Sirens on Death Starke Boulevard Mystery Book Bundle 

Four fascinating mysteries bundled together. Stories by authors Conda Douglas, Heather Fraser Brainerd, David Fraser, Sara Jayne Townsend, and myself, J.Q. Rose, in a four mystery e-book set releasing from our publisher, MuseItUp Publishing. 

   

Mystery Book Bundle--Sirens on Death Starke Boulevard 

Four mysteries by five prolific authors, all packaged in 749 pages of suspense:

Starke Naked Dead by Conda V. Douglas
Jeweler Dora must become a sleuth to solve a murder in the first of the Starke Dead cozy mysteries series.

Death Scene by Sara-Jayne Townsend
Poking around in family closets produces skeletons.

Sunshine Boulevard by J.Q. Rose
Mysterious deaths upset the Florida retirement community interfering with their seasonal activities and turning up more than dead bodies.

The Sound of Sirens by Heather Fraser-Brainerd and David Fraser
Thanksgiving dinner with the family can be murder. Especially when someone is actually trying to kill you.

Available at MuseItUp Publishing, amazon and major online booksellers.

Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing: Author Marsha R. West with Tips on Dialogue, Setting, and Editing, Giveaway

Hello and welcome to this Thursday's writing tips in the Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing series. Mystery author Marsha R. West shares her writing tips on dialogue, settings, and editing. Marsha has brought along an e-book copy of her mystery, Truth Be Told. 

Win the drawing for a copy of Truth Be Told by subscribing to Marsha's blog. Hop over to the Marsha West blog after reading all her great tips here today. 

      Hey Marsha, thanks so much for bringing tips for us today. What are two of your favorite information-packed writing books? 

      

There are many, but two that I have are post noted, highlighted, and dog eared (yes, I have the paperbacks) and are great helps with editing. I’m embarrassed to say a couple of judges from the first contest I entered suggested I get these. They also suggested I get one on Goal Motivation and Conflict. (I really knew nothing about the craft of writing fiction, especially genre fiction.) Here are the first two:

 SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS  by Renni Browne & Dave King

THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE by William Strunk, Jr. & E.B. White

Whether you have a publisher who provides an editor for your manuscript or you hire an editor (And you are doing that, right?) because you’re Indie publishing, you will be ahead of the game to send as clean a copy as you can possibly get to your editor.

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Thanks so much. Now read more of Marsha's writing tips below.

DIALOGUE: Read your work out loud. That’s the best way to see if it sounds natural. Try to have the characters each have specific characteristics to their speech. In one book, I realized everyone said “hell.” I decided to give a certain swear word to each  of the main characters to help differentiate them. Thank goodness for the “Find” button! I fellow writer, actually had a hero who spoke in really short sentences—like 4 to 6 words! It really worked for her and for him. J

SETTINGS: I’m drawn to settings. I may even start with that before I have the characters. Helping the reader get a real “feeling” for the locale of the story is important to me. I had a friend who wrote a thriller set in one of the hottest on record Texas summers. The heat became almost a character in that book affecting everyone’s actions.

   EDITING: I first learned about Throw Away words from Margie Lawson. I tend to be wordy.

(My first book had 145 thousand words before I began cutting, getting it to 100K.) And this was when agents and publishers were looking for 80 to 90 K. No one would look at such a long book. I had a great story, but no craft skills. The idea of eliminating any of my wonderful words made me ill. Time passes and now I write 75-90 K books. Much tighter than when I began. I got there by using a list of 75 words and phrases I (and others) over use. I’ve added to the original list of about 30 words as I’ve discovered my favorites.

Quick look at my favorites: that, some, little, bit, (as in a little bit), even, began to, tried, just, really, thing(s)

Omit these words to help keep you in deep POV: think, thought, thinking, mused, wondered, see, seeing, looking, believe, considering, hearing.

Not: He thought he heard a noise.

Better. The large crash threw him from his bed.

After I’ve finished all the re-writes I go through doing a search and find for the words. I study each use and decide if I can make it better. If it’s unnecessary, I hit delete.

Most of the time, contrary to what you might be thinking, your word count may go up rather than down when you use more specific language than saying “things.”

I’d be happy to send you the complete list. marsha@marsharwest.com Then you can add your own favorites. I’ve noticed with different books, I’ll pick different words to over use, so I add those to my list. That’s how the list has grown.

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  SWAT member teams with her brother's former homicide detective partner to stop a blackmailer. 

Falling in love wasn't one of their strategies.

 Buy Link for Truth Be Told 

About Marsha:

 Marsha R. West writes Romance, Suspense, and Second Chances. Experience Required. MuseItUp Publishing released her first book, VERMONT ESCAPE in July 2013. Marsha released the print version of the first book in the fall of 2014. Her second book, TRUTH BE TOLD,  was released by MIU in May 2014.  She’ll release her third book, SECOND CHANCES, in February 2015, the first of a 4-part series. Find out more at www.marsharwest.com She’d love to hear from you.