Category: writing

by Gayle Bartos-Pool

Most people who know me know I love Santa Claus. I have a rather large collection of Santas. About 3000 of them. Some are Christmas cards, old and newer ones, vintage Santa stickers, and assorted paper Santas, but two-thirds are figures, large and small. My basement now houses a good selection of these treasures, set out all year.

(The Santa with the striped gloves was the first. The others are some I made through the years.)

When my dad was stationed in France when I was in my teens, we went to Germany and I got my first Santa. That was 1963-66. Later, when I had moved to California and started working for a miniature store that sold dollhouses, the owner also had a room dedicated to holiday decorations. She had it open for Easter, Halloween, and especially Christmas. Since I could buy things wholesale, I did just that and added to my growing collection. We would also go to the Rose Bowl Swap Meet in Pasadena every month and I could get small Santas for $.50 to a few dollars. That was great for my limited budget.

My collection started to grow. I saw some really nice Santas and other holiday decorations in magazines. These were for Halloween, Easter, as well as Christmas. Now, I couldn’t afford most of these cool items, but I could make my own version. And I did. This added to my growing holiday decorations collection.

This is one of the Santas I made. Jackie Houchin mentioned that most of the ones I crafted had a bald head just like Richard, my beloved husband. Maybe that’s why I did them that way.

(These I made after seeing ones like them in magazines. Hey, I’m on a budget.)

After a while I had a revelation. I actually had an older Santa than the one we got in Germany. That was my dad. He was born on December 6, 1917. That is St. Nicholas Day. So, my dad was my first Santa. To commemorate that event, I made a figure of my dad in a Santa suit. It makes me smile every time I see it amongst the other Santas that I crafted.

But my dad being born on St. Nicholas Day doesn’t end there. You see, my dad gave me so much, just like Santa does for kids and us kids at heart. First, he gave me life along with my wonderful mom. That’s just about the greatest gift of all if you think about it. He provided me with a great education and I don’t mean just college. He was there to teach me how to fix things around the house if they got broken. He built a den onto our first house in Memphis with his own hands. I might not have built a house, a large one, but I sure built my share of dollhouses. I even designed and built one from scratch, not from a kit. Just knowing my dad had that skill made me believe I could do the same thing.

When I left their home in Memphis when I was twenty-four and moved to California, my mom was worried about me heading off to this new place, but my dad said that they had raised me well and that I would do just fine. I heard him say that. And by golly, I did manage to make a life for myself in the wilds of Southern California. His faith in me kept me strong.

Dad gave me another gift, the “git ’er done” attitude. If something needed to be done, he always found a way to do it. He was a pilot in the Air Force and many times he did the impossible because something had to be done. I have maintained that attitude in my business and well as personal life. Dad was a great role model.

So when I think of Santa Claus doing nice things for kids and grownups alike, I think of my dad. He was my first Santa and on December 6^th I think of him and St. Nicholas. Thanks, Dad, for helping to make me who I am. Being that role model was the greatest gift you could have ever given me. I love you. Happy Birthday.

(Dad’s passport photo and one with Dad and me when he took me to work one day way before it was done as a regular thing.)

I’ve never been a news hound, but felt a need to keep abreast of what was going on, locally and globally. For the most part, I watched the news while walking nowhere (treadmill). But a couple of months ago, I said “enough” and went on a news fast. I’ve been on many such fasts through the years, but this one’s lasting longer—all because I discovered podcasts!

Even though I’ve been a guest on a few podcasts, I rarely listened to them. They can run quite long, up to an hour and more. But many are much shorter, and I now listen to the long ones in segments.

A few of my favorites:

Sisters in Crime. Many of you belong to SinC and Executive Director Julie Hennrikus produces weekly interviews featuring author members discussing  their writing journeys. She kicks off each podcast with the question: “When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?”

Readers get to know more about their favorite authors and discover new ones. View the list of episodes here.

The following three podcasts are educational and offer information, tips, and advice on many writing-related topics, including craft, publishing, marketing, promotion, and social media. The podcast hosts interview writers, editors, and industry experts. Some hosts present the material themselves. Many of the podcasts are accompanied by transcripts.

The Writing and Marketing Show with Wendy H. Jones. Wendy is a Scottish crime writer. In 2022, she visited my Sisters in Crime chapter with a virtual presentation, “Storytelling in Marketing.”

I get that kid-in-a-candy-store feeling when I scroll through Wendy’s long list of podcasts. In “Using AI In Your Writing and Author Business” she presents both sides of the AI controversy. I have my own thoughts and preconceived notions about AI, but I like to make informed decisions, so appreciated her sharing.

Wendy’s podcasts on TikTok are interesting, but I’m NOT embracing that platform. While it’s no longer limited to the young (at least not for writers using BookTok), I don’t see myself producing videos on a regular basis. Still I appreciated Wendy providing information that allowed me to make another informed decision.

Wendy’s many episodes on craft include “Mastering the Art of Crime Story Writing,” “Writing Romantic Suspense,” “Writing for Children,” and “Using Your Own Life Story in Fiction”. View the list of episodes here.

Indy Author Podcast is the brainchild of Matty Dalrymple. As the “Indy” name suggests, this podcast focuses on self-published authors, but the traditionally published can certainly benefit from Matty’s many current and archived episodes.

I had read about auto-narrated audiobooks created by Google Play Books and wondered if I could produce two of my novels as audiobooks without spending thousands. I listened to Matty describe her process in turning out an audiobook for a non-fiction book she had written. It sounds quite challenging—and may be fine for non-fiction, but the monotone doesn’t suit fiction with its variety of voices and accents. Just imagining how my dialogue in the redneck bar scene in Murder at the Moonshine Inn would sound makes me shudder.

Again, a podcast gave me the information I needed to make another—you guessed it—informed decision. View the list of episodes here.

The Creative Penn is produced by Joanna Penn. She spends time at the beginning of each podcast with updates on the publishing industry as well as on her personal news. I’m currently listening to guest Douglas Smith, a Canadian author of speculative fiction who has much knowledge of publishing rights as well as how to sell our work to foreign markets. Where has Mr. Smith been all my writing life! View the list of episodes here.

Mysteryrat’s Maze Podcast, brought to listeners by Kings River Life Magazine, caters to readers. Each episode features a local actor (Fresno, CA) reading a short story or first chapter of a novel. View the list of episodes here.

Recently I learned of these two podcasts, but haven’t listened yet:

Alliance of Independent Authors
View the list of episodes here.

Novel Marketing Podcast
View the list of episodes here.

So I’ve been able to acquire much useful information, and “meet” interesting writers and experts, all while keeping in shape. Multi-tasking at its best, and so much more enjoyable and inspiring than the news. If you think I should know what’s going on in the world, let me assure you that I do. News is in the very air we breathe.

There are lots of podcasts available, on a variety of subjects. Just do a search and you’ll find more than enough choices. Here’s a good resource.

Do you listen to podcasts? Any favorites to recommend?

1. 

   My hard drive and iPad are just as cluttered as my paper files—although they’re not necessarily “filed” as in organized.…

2. 

   I have not written near as much as you guys, so the short stories and the few longer works are…

3. 

   I admire how organized you are, Miko – I’m trying to get there!

4. 

   The eternal dilemma of writers. I’m always debating what to keep “hard-copy” and what to store electronically. I write almost…

5. 

   I know what you mean – we can always use all that paper stuff. But I got a bit carried…

By Gayle Bartos-Pool  (G.B. Pool)

Ideas for stories come from everywhere whether it’s a person, a memory, a trip, a news article, an object or a picture. Something triggers a writer’s imagination and a story starts to form. Every short story or novel I ever wrote came from something I came across in my life. My three Christmas novels are no exception.

Bearnard’s Christmas was the first one. Many years ago I worked at a miniature store in California. It was one of the first of its kind in the country and the owner had a great store. She also had a holiday shop in a backroom off the open patio. We did Easter, Halloween, and most of all, Christmas. I could buy Santas for my budding collection wholesale which helped my bank account, but we also went to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena when they had their monthly swap meet. I could get Santas for $.50 to $1.00 way back then.

But Kay Kelley also had Christmas cards. I remember seeing one with a Polar bear in a Santa hat. Bing! That got me thinking about a story about this Polar bear who helps Santa and a lady who just happened to collect dollhouses who ends up at the North Pole one Christmas Eve and helps both Santa and Bearnard, the Polar bear.

Now, on my salary, I couldn’t afford to buy a dollhouse, much less a castle, but I could sketch one out that fit my story. Then I started writing that story. A few years later the shop closed and I had to find another job, but I finally found a new one that paid more in salary and I also met and married my wonderful husband, Richard. Within a few years I could buy a dollhouse kit or two, but my story was about a castle.

By then, I had written my story, but I figured I should build the castle to go with it. I did. And I fashioned the characters in the story out of clay and took pictures of everything for my book. Eventually I got the book published.

Then I saw this Christmas card with a mechanical Santa. Bing! Another idea popped into my head. What if Santa had mechanical likenesses of himself made that could be sent around to stores so his favorite stories could be told to children in his own voice? Santa has his elves make a few mechanical Santas, but a bad guy has them reprogrammed to tell kids to demand more and more toys. What is Santa to do? The Santa Claus Machine tells that story.

A few years later I happened to find this dragon ornament at the hardware store. He was just a little guy, but cute. While I was walking one of our dogs one day, I happened to spot one of those stretchy things girls use for their ponytails on the sidewalk. It was sparkly and just fit around the little dragon’s neck like a Christmas wreath. I slipped it on him and then took him upstairs where the Santa Castle was sitting. I placed the dragon on the roof and said: “Every Castle Needs a Dragon.” Bing! Guess what the name of the third book is?

A Christmas card or two, an ornament, and some imagination provided me with three story ideas and three books. Ideas do come from those things. But there is another holiday story that I wrote that had its own origin.

After the miniature store closed, I got a job at two stores in the Glendale Galleria before I got the better job at a bank. First, it was in a card store and then a bookstore. Both had their moments, but at the mall during the holidays, they had a Santa Claus. We’ve all seen them at stores as we were growing up. Well this guy was a neat Santa, but when kids weren’t around he sang. He had a microphone and he would entertain us with all kinds of songs. Bing!

I moved my singing Santa to Las Vegas where he started out as a lounge singer in really small places, but his agent, just an employment agency guy, gets him a job as a Santa in a mall during the holidays. He meets this little girl with an illness who needs some help and this Santa has to decide between his career and this kid. A few things pop up to let him know what life is all about and he makes his decision. This book is called The Santa Claus Singer.

(All books are available on Amazon.)

So ideas come from everywhere. It just depends on what you do with those ideas that determines if you get a story out of it. Write On!

By Rosemary Lord

“Remember, remember the 5^th of November,

With gunpowder treason and plot.

I see no reason why gunpowder treason,

Should ever be forgot.”

So begins the English children’s rhyme. Back in 1605, when Frenchman Guy de Fawkes tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament, his plot was discovered, and he was stopped. And each November since, the Brits celebrate their victory with ‘Guy Fawkes Night’ or ‘Bonfire Night.’ The children make a ‘guy’ – a dressed-up scarecrow figure that looks like Guy Fawkes. They take their effigies around the streets (usually in a cart or pram) asking for “A penny for the guy!” collecting money to buy fireworks.

The evening festivities include huge bonfires, in your own garden or in community squares, with informal fireworks displays, chestnuts and potatoes roasted on the fires and hot cocoa to drink. A fun winter evening for all ages.

November is a busy month.

The Hindu celebration, Diwali: The Festival of Lights, is November 12^th this year. It is a Hindu new year celebration to say goodbye to the negative and welcome the positive for the year to come. It is a five-day celebration of the triumph of light over darkness, where candles and lights abound, children with sparklers, music and dance (Bollywood style) delicious food and henna tattoos.

A more somber but very heartfelt event is Remembrance Day in England on November 11^th.

It commemorates the Armistice of 1918, signaling the end of the First World War. In England, Australia, and Canada – the Commonwealth countries – people wear a red poppy in respect. At 11 am – the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, at the Cenotaph in London, the guns fire a salute, broadcast throughout the countries, followed by two minutes silence. The buses, trains and traffic stop. The River Thames and various spots like Trafalgar Square are covered in red poppies in the tribute to the men and women who served in military and civilian service in World War I, World War II and later conflicts. The poppies are a reminder of the red poppies that grew in Flanders Field where so many perished and are buried.

In America, November 11^th is Veteran’s Day: a time to thank and pay tribute to all the men and women who have served or are serving in the military. A grateful nation decorates their homes and gardens with the American flags, and as they pay homage to the veterans, they celebrate with barbeques and patriotic concerts. Coffee shops, restaurants, shops, pay homage to the veterans with welcome signs in the windows and gifts and special discounts. Flags are proudly displayed everywhere. It is a National Holiday.

So, with all this pageantry and celebration going on you might ask, what has this to do with writing? Well – for me, it’s the inspiration. As a historian and writer, I just love to write about these amazing points in history. I think the human angle to these great events gives us rich sources of personal encounters, heroic actions, missed opportunities for mayhem and miracles. Finding a personal account of someone who was there, an eyewitness. I like the idea of using actual historic events and traditions as a backdrop. And when we delve into the real-life stories, we uncover real people; from the big heroes to the ordinary folk just trying to survive the challenges of everyday life. We discover fascinating tidbits of human nature that raise our stories to make something very special.

 And November ushers in the winter months, when we turn our clocks back, the days are desperately shortened, with darker mornings and a chill spreads around us. (Unless you’re living in Australia, of course). We dig out that cozy, thick wool sweater, heavyweight sweatpants, fuzzy slippers and we’re ready to sit at our computers with a mug of something hot. The empty page beckons and away we go: off to write another best-seller!

Every November I promise myself that in these ensuing long, dark evenings I will get a lot more writing completed.

And the winter season presents even more back-drops for our mysteries, romances, horror stories or science fiction. Holiday themed novels are always popular. Christmas stories are especially fun to write and popular – except you’re not allowed to call them Christmas stories anymore. So, that’s a fun writer-challenge: how to write about Christmas without using the word Christmas! But I digress…

Another really good challenge for some of us during the winter months is… decluttering the computer files. I didn’t say it was fun challenge, did I? But it is surprisingly therapeutic.

I discovered this need, after spending almost an hour trying to find a file I had just been working on. You see, I couldn’t remember exactly what I had labelled it. If you add a ‘the’ or start with a date, you have to know where to search. (Sometimes, learning Greek seems easier than mastering computers!)  

In this quest I discovered dozens of files in a foolishly labelled folder “Assorted writing.” Lesson #1: NEVER file anything under “Assorted” or “Miscellaneous”.

That was another file: “Miscellaneous” with ‘2022’ added for supposed clarity! Didn’t help. I learned the hard way.

Despite the fact that my hunt for my file was lengthy and tedious, I discovered a few gems of old, forgotten, partially written tales and story ideas. Hmmm.

And so I resolved to declutter (there’s that word again!) my files and create a comprehensive labeling and filing system.  One that I could remember! A Herculean task, I realize. But one that I can work on during the long, dark, winter evenings.

It’s either that – or I’m diving back under the duvet –and reading my kindle in the dark, where no one can find me!

What’s your plan for the winter months ahead?

In responding to a wonderful post a couple weeks back by Gayle Bartos-Pool, I said I write what I like to read. Not a new statement or thought from me. But then, as I finally started working on my latest, I said to myself, you’re not writing what you like to read (or even writing similar stuff to dramatizations of what you like to read). At a minimum, what I was flippantly saying/repeating was “off-handed;” and at a maximum, I was deluding myself, and probably to my writing detriment.

I’ve also commented in my own blog posts more than once in the past, about what I like to read, what authors I admire, and characters I like. Then Maggie King so thoughtfully talked about short stories and I remembered Hector Hoggs my first ever protagonist, and then Jackie Houchin talked about character names—and Eureka! The essence of this post came together.

Also, as an aside, I sometimes believe in channeling from the past—i.e. channeling Agatha Christie in particular. I would have loved to know her. Indeed, her writing is what I like to read…smart, quirky, protagonists who pull the murderer “out of the bag of all the clues that have trickily/sneakily been presented.” Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple are my prime examples. When I look back, these are not the protagonists I attempt to write. Truth is of course, there’s no way I can approach Queen Agatha. But the process of trying to is the motivator. (wonder where she got the name Hercule! And where/why/how come I chose the name Hector Hoggs(good grief))

Well, this last weekend I finally came up with major character names! I even have a name—there’s a third person narrator who is also a character who speaks to you at beginning and end. In my mind, that’s me calling myself Margo. My hubby picked my alter-ego name. (better than Lucretia his other choice!)

My intent in this post is to once again highlight a side trip on the trickily winding writing-road. Nonetheless, I can’t imagine life these days without writing. And consequently all this thinking stuff—starting with a negative revelation has led me to a new enthusiasm for writing. Writer, or “want to be writer”—the winding road I’m always jabbering about is tricky, but well worth it. And for me, writing what I like to read is definitely going to be an uphill challenge! Though so glad to have actually started my latest.

I would love to hear what you think. Is writing a true love? Stumbling blocks? What would you do instead (I’d love to have been a tv star(famous of course) but don’t have the stamina or the “put myself out there part to my personality,” nor the Talent! Another problem, I can only work with what I’ve got!

Happy writing trails!

by Maggie King

In my July post, I discussed short stories from the point of view of readers. You can read it here. But what about the writers? Why do they write short stories? Why do some not write them?

If you exclusively write short stories, or want to, there are several good reasons why you’re making a good choice:

• There’s a tremendous satisfaction in completing a story in days, a few weeks at the most.
• Short stories can be sold over and over, as long as the market accepts reprints. Reprints don’t pay as much as an original story (I can attest to that!)—still, it’s another publishing credit, and the work’s already done. I understand that reprints often pay well if included in an annual best-of anthology.
• Writing short stories trains you to write with tightness and economy of words. This is great preparation for other kinds of writing, fiction and nonfiction alike.
• For short stories, you don’t need an agent.
• That muddy (aka sagging) middle of a story, so challenging to novelists, may still  challenge short story writers–but the middles are, well, short.

But be aware of the pitfalls. John Floyd, author of over a thousand short stories, has this to say: “Now, what’s the downside of writing only short stories? I can think of only one: as a short-story writer you will probably not become famous or make a zillion bucks from your writing. But here’s another newsflash: neither will most novelists.”

Another pitfall short story writers may encounter is the Rodney Dangerfield syndrome: “I don’t get no respect.” There are any number of short story writers who are respected for their work: the aforementioned John Floyd, Barb Goffman, Art Taylor, Eve Fisher, and Michael Bracken are just a few. But short story writing in general is frequently discounted. Anything from “So when’s she going to write a novel?” to “I don’t read short stories” are comments authors often hear. I know a gifted writer of short stories who won’t create a website until she publishes a novel.

Art Taylor, winner of many awards for his short stories, says, “I’ve had people hear me say I’m a short story writer and then tell me straight out that oh, they don’t read those. (I try not to be insulted.)”

My former agent scowled when I mentioned  writing short stories. “Write the real stuff,” he advised.

If you primarily write novels, writing short stories can offer a different experience:

• After struggling with your novel, writing short can give you a feeling of accomplishment.
• It helps you to hone your writing skills.
• Writing short is a challenge like any good writing (you need to develop a compelling plot and characters); but as you’re dealing with a minimum of scenes and characters, the process is simpler.
• It gives you fresh material to promote while you’re working on your novel, keeping your readers engaged.
• In a short piece, you can resurrect scenes and characters that were edited out of your novel.
• You can further develop a minor character from your novel in a short piece.
• You can experiment with new genres.
• And you will have respect!

I’m a big fan of writing short stories. To date, I’ve published seven and have several others in various stages of completion. This fall I’m writing two for anthology submissions.

You may be a pro at writing short stories, or you may be getting started (or at least thinking about it), but we can always learn about craft. Read and study the works of the greats, like Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan Poe, Ruth Rendell, and many others. Note that these are crime writers, but the basic principles apply to all genres.

On a final note, consider this advice from the late, great Ray Bradbury: “The best hygiene for beginning writers or intermediate writers is to write a hell of a lot of short stories. If you can write one short story a week—it doesn’t matter what the quality is to start, but at least you’re practicing, and at the end of the year you have 52 short stories, and I defy you to write 52 bad ones. Can’t be done. At the end of 30 weeks or 40 weeks or at the end of the year, all of a sudden a story will come that’s just wonderful.”

For more information on writing short stories, check these resources:

What is a Mystery Short Story? And How Do You Write One? by John Floyd

Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 Tips on How to Write a Great Story. Some fascinating and surprising insights here 

Short Mystery Fiction Society(SMFS). Join and maybe you’ll win a Derringer!

Our own Gayle Bartos-Pool wrote an excellent guide, THE ANATOMY OF A SHORT STORY WORKBOOK

Do you write short stories? If so, tell us about your experience.

    by Gayle Bartos-Pool

We’ve all done it… Time Travel, in a book. Or maybe in a flight of fancy or even in a dream. But it’s that journey we get from a novel that interests me as a writer. I wouldn’t have thought about it had I not been reading a book by a favorite author. It was published in 1992. The title of the book and the author aren’t necessary to mention because I like him too much and obviously the publisher and booksellers and fans at the time weren’t thinking about how the book would be received in the future more than thirty years later. But I’m thinking about it now after I had finished some eight chapters of the best seller.

On almost every page there was a reference to a political figure of the time, a current joke going around, or a character in a popular television show or movie. I knew what the author was talking about, but I can bet quite a few of the people in the generation right behind mine wouldn’t understand half of the comments and people in Gens X, Y, Z or whatever young people are calling their particular era now wouldn’t have a clue to what was being said.

I personally can testify that 90% of the current actors, movies, on-line places one would go to be “entertained” or God forbid, enlightened, don’t mean anything to me today. I haven’t read a book written by the younger generations, at least those in their 30s or 40s, if they have ever written a book. Since many high school and even college graduates aren’t exactly proficient in writing our language or maybe even their contemporary slang, maybe there is nothing to read from their generation anyway.

Am I cynical? Yes. Should I be? Yes… and No. I have to be cynical when I see news stories that show some areas of the country have entire school systems with zero kids graduating who can read or do math. And No, it’s not cynical to want the country to do a better job educating our kids so they can write a book, much less read one and to know that 2 and 2 equals four, not five. (There’s a reference there if you care to look it up.)

But there have been books written by older contemporary authors who do a great job writing about bygone eras. How do they do it? They give the reader a nice history lesson along with the story. Their research lets us see what Jolly Old England looked like over two hundred years ago or other places in history. If they do a good job, the reader can “figuratively” walk down a street in London during Sherlock Holmes’ time or Berlin during World War II and see how people lived back then. The scenes are as much of the story as the plot and the characters and the reader gets to learn a little something along the way. Even in science fiction novels we can see the “future” through the writer’s eyes. That’s always fun.

But in a contemporary novel, what if every humorous or “ripped from the headlines” comment mentioned is so obscure the reader thirty-forty years hence won’t understand any of it? When I wrote my three spy novels covering the time from the Second World War up until the early Nineties, I understood the eras, but I had seen a lot of movies made during the war, read quite a few history books on the topics I was covering, and lived through the fifty-plus years after the war. I have to hope they still show some of those great movies made during that time period so future readers have a chance of understanding parts of that history in my books.

But what does a writer do now? Continue dropping current events into their stories just for current readers? How did Arthur Conan Doyle manage to write a story that has lasted through the ages? Even if you never saw the dozens of movies and television series based on his Sherlock Holmes character, the stories are still totally understandable. One thing I can say, he didn’t drop tons of humorous quips into the mix.

When I write a story told in the First Person, the character, if it’s a male, doesn’t have the opportunity to wax eloquently about the surroundings other than a casual mention. Perhaps a woman would comment about the furniture or wallpaper in a room or the fabric in a dress someone wore, but guys usually don’t do that if the story is in First Person. The book I was reading by that famous author wrote in Third Person and did drop in lots of references about everything: clothes, gadgets, politics, movie stars and other current events. My characters, whether it’s a guy or a gal, will often drop a clever remark about something reminding them of a television show or movie, but after reading the book that opened this article, I might not do it as much unless I give a few more details about the show I’m referencing.

I have actually watched reruns of a few television shows done maybe ten years earlier from this current time, but ones I had not watched when they were new, and even in those shows there were one or two references that I didn’t understand. Maybe that’s because I stopped watching television about twenty years ago and haven’t been to a movie in about thirty years. I can’t say it’s my loss, because when I have tried watching a few TV series that I missed when they were new, but was watching them in reruns, they weren’t very good and I stopped watching. To be honest, there have been a few movies and TV series I have watched on television done over these past 20-30 years that weren’t bad. Mostly science fiction or adventure: Galaxy Quest, Star Wars, The Mummy.

But if I want my books readable for a younger audience even when they get into their forties, what do I need to do? Watch contemporary stuff and try to mimic it? I don’t think that’s going to happen. But I will cut down the clever references to favorite television shows and old movies because a whole lot of those particular shows might never be shown again. The future’s loss. Or, perhaps, I will try to explain the reference to the show so even a space alien would understand it. That might work.

As often happens when I’m writing an article or even a book, I will have watched a movie that is pertinent. In this case it was Demolition Man starring Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes. The movie was made in 1993, but the opening scene is supposed to be in 1996, when two guys, a rogue cop and a psychopath, lock horns, cause chaos, and as punishment are frozen for over thirty years for their deeds, but when Snipes is thawed out in 2032, he escapes and starts causing mayhem, but since the “new world” is supposedly crime free, they need to thaw out Stallone so he can catch the bad guy since nobody in this “future” knows how to deal with a criminal.

It’s a fun plot. But in the future, 2032, which is only ten years from the time of this writing, 2023, things are different from the world back in 1993 when the movie was made. But even though the writers of this movie were making up what the future would look like, they hit a few nails on the head. Nobody used cash anymore. Everything was credit card so your every move was watched by “Big Brother.” Another thing that hit me was a word one of the characters used: TikTok. That app didn’t raise its head until 2021. The new society around Los Angeles where the movie takes place had been devastated by an earthquake and this new, non-violent society, emerged where they banned everything and controlled everybody except for the underground rebels who try to get the world back to reality.

Even though the plot was eerily reminiscent of books like 1984 and Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451, most all of the references were familiar to me, but I wonder if younger folks will get the joke about the Arnold Schwarzenegger Presidential Library or even the underlying theme of Big Brother.

So what words or themes or references do writers use that will make it into the future? Should we care? As for caring, of course we should care. Books are what people use to learn things and understand what happened in the past. Movies are those same words in picture form. Are you familiar with the phrase: A picture is worth a thousand words?

But maybe when we write those words we should make sure we don’t overdo it. The book I read by that very famous author had way too many references to current events of his time and they got to be problematic after a while because I was wondering if folks in the future would understand any of them. But since we do have the Internet that allows readers to look up a name or TV show from the past or a fun quote from somewhere in history, maybe the readers in the future will look up a few of them if they want to be enlightened. Maybe they won’t call it the Internet in the future, but if there is a way to learn things, writers might use a few fun facts. Now we just have to make sure people in the future can read…

WRITE ON!

(This article and several others from The Writers-in-Residence blog written by G.B. Pool are in her latest book, Words, Words, Words – The Art of Writing, available on Amazon.)

By Rosemary Lord

My apartment smells of burnt candle wick. That’s because the power keeps going out and I’ve been lighting candles everywhere on and off for the past few days. And the power always seems to go out again just as it’s getting dark… Most inconsiderate.

How is that whenever there’s a bit of rain, L.A. comes to a standstill? Drivers go crazy. The local media gets very dramatic. Noah, get out your Ark! They should try living in England, where downpours are the norm, sometimes for days on end, and snatched golden sunny days are relished and worshipped.

So, I’ve been scribbling like mad – with my trusted pencil and yellow pad, in the candlelight, to finish this blog. Research was challenging, as I couldn’t recharge my laptop or phone to get online. But I can still use my dog-eared Oxford English Dictionary given to me by a late and very dear friend, writer Gerry Davis – of Dr. Who, (he created the Cybermen) Doomwatch, Final Countdown fame. I was then a working journalist, so I didn’t consider myself a ‘proper’ writer. He often offered to help me with a novel I was writing at the time. But this foolish, pigheaded girl was too embarrassed to show Gerry her amateur attempts at writing. Boy, do I regret that now!

But I digress.

Writing is, of course, my ‘go to’ thing when things get tough. I write down my thoughts – and solutions.  I cheer myself up by writing down affirmations. Of things I want and how I want my life to be. It really does feel good to do this. And I always write, ‘thank you,’ at the end. Because I was brought up to say please and thank you!   I write the same wish repeatedly. Pages and pages of the same sentence over and over. (A bit like the schoolteacher telling you write one hundred time, “I must not talk in class”! But more fun!)

In one of my recent decluttering binges I came across a large notebook from several years ago, when I was still pursuing an acting career. Rick and I were struggling financially, so I wrote I Now Have Tons of money. I Now Have Tons of Money.  (I tend to capitalize a lot!)  Pages and pages of I Now Have Tons of Money.

I had obviously put it aside and moved on to something new. Probably I am now a published author. I am now a published author…

But all these years later, when I discovered those handwritten affirmations, I stopped. And grinned. And remembered. About a year after I’d written those particular repeated affirmations over and over and over, (then forgotten all about them – until their recent discovery) I was cast in one of the leads in a revival of a 1920’s comedy at the local Richmond Shepherd Theatre in Hollywood. Guess what the play was called?

Tons of Money!  I kid you not! We had a great run, got terrific reviews, and it led to other bigger roles.

So, I am a firm believer of writing my affirmations each morning. I am just more careful with the wording of my affirmations because I know they worked!

Okay – the power has just come back on again. Now, where was I….

“I write because I want to have more than one life,” Novelist Anne Tyler was quoted as saying. “Writing is our opportunity to peek into other people’s lives,” – or create other lives.

I’ve just started reading “How To Write a Mystery,’ a handbook from the Mystery Writers of America, edited by Lee Childs. Anne Tyler and several of our fellow writers contributed articles.

Our local writer, Naomi Hirahara, has had her first successful novel, The Summer of the Big Bachi published in 2003. It was the first in a series of mysteries about an ageing Japanese-American Gardener, Mas Arai, who became an amateur sleuth. She’s had over 20 more published novels since then and gave a terrific workshop at a recent Writers’ Conference on how her road to publishing success – and the failures along the way.

In this book, she writes about the accidental detective, the amateur sleuth. She says that no other genre reveals more about the writers’ inner life – or their personal life. Especially, new writers create amateur sleuths with a background familiar to the writer- similar to themselves or someone in their lives.

Beth Amos likens the suspense buildup in mystery writing to a roller-coaster: first the build-up, then the exciting plunge, then another build up.

Louise Penny, Charlaine Harris, T. Jefferson Parker, Laurie King, write in this book about “turning your first, raw draft into a clear, compelling story.” Jeffrey Deaver says, ‘Always Outline!’ Catriona McPherson writes about adding the humor.

I’m still thumbing through this thoughtfully produced book, inspired to read the inner workings of such an assortment of writers.

And I still find myself Yak Shaving from time to time. What, you might ask, is ‘Yak Shaving’?  It’s from a long-ago blog. Where do I start…? It’s when you find yourself setting out to accomplish one thing, but going off at tangents, taking a circuitous route in order to accomplish your original goal – much later than you had intended.  It’s doing something as irrelevant as shaving a yak (don’t ask!), instead of the goal you set out to accomplish.

I think we all find ourselves yak-shaving from time to time – except for those super-human, prolific novelists who churn out novel after novel, without stopping and who never, ever get distracted from their goals! Hmmm. Just how do they do that?

But the rest of us, we may have to do a bit of pencil-sharpening, fridge-defrosting or ironing before we sit back down to write the next page. Ironing is a good distraction because you can watch television while you’re ironing and tell yourself your doing research, watching re-runs of Murder She Wrote. I’ve thought this through, as you can see.

Now – back to writing page 173 – before the power goes out again.

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