The Writers in Residence

by Maggie King

As a mystery writer, I enjoy TV shows with strong characters and storylines that show the ups and downs of being human in a less-than-perfect world. They don’t have to be crime shows, but they’re mostly what I watch. Regardless of the genre, the best shows feature conflict as a common denominator. Watching them is a great way for writers to study dialogue and body language.

Ever heard that oft-repeated writing advice to give your main character something to want and make sure she/he has a devil of a time getting it? TV writers are experts at giving their characters motivations and the accompanying challenges.

No doubt about it, TV is a great source of writing advice and inspiration. Consider the following shows:

Breaking Bad
It’s big, it’s bold, it’s … well, bad. Walter White is a mild-mannered, dispirited high school Chemistry teacher. When he’s diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, he knows his meager income won’t secure his family’s financial future after his death. He partners with one of his students in manufacturing and distributing crystal meth.

At some point, Walter White’s cancer goes into remission. It doesn’t take long for him to become a power player in the dangerous criminal underworld. For the first time, he feels alive–his new career as a drug kingpin is much more exciting than teaching adolescents in Albuquerque.

Any writer can find Breaking Bad a model for character development and a riveting, twisty plot. Vince Gilligan, creator of the show, knows how to weave secrets and deception into the story, and Walter White’s double life requires him to constantly deceive those closest to him. His growth, moral decay, and transformation result in tragic consequences for his family and associates. The DEA’s hunt for Walter leads them to a very interesting discovery. A huge cast of supporting characters will also inspire writers.

Warning: Breaking Bad is uber-violent. I usually shy away from its level of violence, but the story and writing are just too good.

Darby and Joan
Now we take a 180-degree turn. Darby and Joan is a lighthearted Australian mystery series, set in the stunning Queensland outback. A retired detective (Darby) teams up with a British nurse (Joan) to solve the mystery of her husband’s recent death. As they travel through Queensland, they encounter, and solve, other mysteries ranging from murder to arson to kidnapping.

Darby and Joan are well-drawn characters in a growing relationship that feels real. The humor is natural and not manufactured. They experience minor, temporary conflicts. At the end of season 1, romance looms for the two. Will they succumb? I’m eagerly awaiting season 2.

I try to emulate Darby and Joan’s tone and interaction for my characters. Most stories have a romantic component and my Hazel Rose Book Group mysteries are no exception.

Death in Paradise
This cozy-ish police procedural is set on the fictional island of Saint Marie (actually Guadeloupe). The Caribbean scenery is breathtaking, certainly a character in the series.

Death in Paradise is known to be formulaic. Once the lead detective comes up with the killer (one of those lightbulb moments), he assembles the suspects and, a la Agatha Christie, goes through the events and finally names the killer.

But being formulaic isn’t all bad. The predictable narrative style and structure of each episode makes it easy for writers, especially beginning ones, to study. Besides, the stories themselves may be creative and original.

If nothing else, Death in Paradise is lighthearted entertainment with pretty scenery.

Miss Marple
The beloved Miss Jane Marple is a perennial favorite of mystery fans. Created over ninety years ago by Agatha Christie, the elderly spinster lives a quiet life in the village of St. Mary Mead—quiet until a villager is murdered and that happens with alarming frequency. Miss Marple never fails to identify the killer(s), using her powers of observation and knowledge of human nature. Sometimes she disguises her shrewdness with a dithery manner. She can always see a parallel between the latest crime and a villager, or village incident.

There are countless adaptations of the stories and a number of actors have played Miss Marple. Joan Hickson is my favorite as she best matches my picture of how the character looks, acts, and speaks.

Agatha Christie has influenced many crime writers over the years, especially with plot development. I expect she’ll do so indefinitely. I think the Columbo character played by Peter Falk often channeled Miss Marple, with his bumbling ways that concealed a sharp mind.

Touched By an Angel
Touched By an Angel was a popular American series that ran for nine seasons. It’s not a crime show, but it featured stories of troubled people who had reached turning points in their lives. As they grappled with personal demons, conflict, and tough choices, along came an angel in human form to guide them and impart God’s wisdom.

This show inspired me on many levels. At the beginning of my debut mystery, Murder at the Book Group, the main character, Hazel Rose, is standing at a crossroads. She’s at loose ends in her life and is hard pressed to make even the smallest of decisions. Solving the victim’s murder gives her the opportunity to grow and get out of her rut.

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There are many shows I can recommend for writers: Brokenwood, City Homicide, Janet King, Inspector Morse, Midsomer Murders, Orange is the New Black, Scott and Bailey, Sommerdahl, Vera, Wallander, West Wing, and Winds of War/War and Remembrance are just a few.

Writers, tell us your favorite sources for writing advice. Is TV one of them? Please share your favorite shows.

by Gayle Bartos-Pool

Does it matter what Point of View you use in telling your story? Yes and no. What matters is how you want your readers to experience the story. There are three main POVs and a few variations.

Third Person Omniscient lets the writer act as the puppet master controlling every character’s words and actions and thoughts. Not that the writer doesn’t do that anyway, but in this POV each character says his lines and then the writer will chime in and tell the reader what the character is really thinking in case the words were lies or evasions and the character has hidden motives or desires, both good and bad. The reader gets to climb inside all the characters’ heads and see the story through everyone’s eyes. The writer can also keep a few things from the reader in order to build suspense and to keep those pages turning. The writer can also have one character let his inner thoughts say that he is the bad guy, but nobody will know that except him and the reader until the end of the book and the truth is revealed to everybody else. That works, too. All the writer has to do is keep those plates spinning as each character reveals more and more about themselves. This style keeps the tension and excitement high right up until the last page.

There is another version of Third Person POV called Third Person Close. That’s when the writer gets inside just one or two main characters and tells the story from their perspective. Other characters appear, but the details about them come from their speech and actions, not allowing the reader to climb inside their head and walk around with them like you can do with those few Third Person Close characters. This method also lets the main character(s) discover things by watching and listening to the other people in the story and figuring out their true intentions and sharing that with the reader. That would be when the main character has a private thought like: Ah. Check out his eyes. He’s looking at everything except me. There’s a liar if I ever saw one. The reader gets to share that little tidbit, but nobody else on the page knows it.

Another Point Of View is Second Person POV. The writer tells the story with “you” being the driving force. An example would be thus: You walk into the crowded joint and you spot the guy standing at the bar. You wonder where you saw him before and then it hits you. You’re looking at the guy who tried killing you a year ago. Are you going to give him a second chance or end it right here?

That POV is far more challenging than its alternatives and not often used in novel-length stories. It can work in a short story because the reader doesn’t have to follow that unusual method for too long of a time.

And then there is First Person POV where a single character takes you on the journey. The reader gets to know how that person thinks and reacts and grows throughout the story because the character is basically talking directly to the reader. As for the main character, he or she has to watch and listen to the other characters and figure out what they are up to and impart that finding to the reader in their thoughts and actions. But in this way the reader also gets to interpret the other characters’ movements and see if they can figure out what is really happening along with the main character.

First Person POV provides a very personal connection to the story for the reader since they are with the main character every minute of the journey, so make sure the main character is somebody the reader will like. More than once I have put down a book because I really didn’t like that particular character. I have a rule: If I wouldn’t invite the main character into my house, I won’t stick with the book that has that particular character telling the story.

I have even seen this particular POV done with more than one character doing the honors. Each character gets their own set of chapters in which to tell the story from their point of view. One writer I know, Bruce Cook (writing as Brant Randall in Blood Harvest), had an animal have his say in his own chapters along with the various humans. The reader goes from section to section watching seven different characters take the reader on the journey. The reader gets to see what the characters first think is happening and then when they go a second round, we get to see what to make of it all and find out what really happened. It worked.

There was another book (though I have forgotten the name) that had the main character do his chapters throughout the book in First Person POV and other chapters were in Third Person so we could see what others were thinking and doing when the main character wasn’t around. That worked, too.

So there are lots of options out there. It just matters how you want to tell your story and how your characters want to express their feelings. Be sure to consult them because they are an integral part of that story you are trying to tell. I kid you not. Good characters have a mind of their own and sometimes they take the writer into uncharted territory that turns out to be just what your story needed. Write On!

by Linda O. Johnston

I love what I write, and I want to do more of it. I’m currently writing for two Harlequin Romantic Suspense series, their long-running Colton books and my own Shelter of Secrets series, as well as a mystery series called Alaska Untamed for Crooked Lane Books under my first pseudonym, Lark O. Jensen. I enjoy them all and have new books coming soon in each of them.

But my mind is at work on, yes, something new. Not sure what yet, but it’ll quite possibly be a mystery series. And it’ll have romance in it. And it’ll definitely have at least one dog.

That’s who I am, and what I write.

How did I become that way? I’ve developed my writing persona over a lot of years, and I write the kinds of things I like best.

But how about you? What is your favorite genre to write in? Your favorite kinds of characters? Any quirks, like mine of including dogs whenever possible? And do your favorite ideas morph over time or stay the same?

Think about it now. If you were going to change what you’re writing, how would you determine what came next? I have to admit I do ponder that a lot, though I recognize I’m fairly set in my ways.

Or do you always try something new? Or do you prefer staying with a particular genre?

I suppose that kind of pondering is part of the creative process. Writers write. And think. And plot. And create characters and stories, and even their own futures, to some extent.

It’s certainly who I am and what I do. And you?

       By ROSEMARY LORD

Well – a New Year begins – full of promise and excitement.

I think many of us writers welcome a new year in which to fulfill our promises of writing goals. As Hannah Dennison said recently, “write that Big Book”!

It’s a time, after reflection during the holidays,  that we can decide on a new path, a new direction. Renewed enthusiasm.

As writers, we might decide to try a different genre to explore, a new audience to reach, different publishing sources or methods of publication, a fresh approach to promotion. It’s quite exciting, isn’t it?

Perhaps it’s time to create a whole new ‘image’ as an author. Of course, there’s a risk of losing loyal followers. So how do you convince them that you’re still keeping that strand of your writing that they enjoy, but you’re expanding to include new themes, character lines, new series. It’s a way of reaching additional audiences.

I’ve been looking at new markets and new approaches. I’ve spent so much time writing about Old Hollywood and its Golden era, maybe I should look at contemporary subjects.

In working my way through my scattered ‘memoir’ project, I realized how many different lives I’ve led, different places I’ve lived, different eras I’ve inhabited.

I thought about those who suddenly took off in a totally different direction and created a new life. A writing life. Often, a very satisfying, successful writing life. Doing something totally different from their earlier success, but following their heart.

Californian Barbara Seranella turned her life as an auto mechanic into wonderful mystery book series featuring Munch Manchini, a female auto mechanic turned sleuth.

Fellow Sister-in-Crime and MWA member, Pamela Samuels Young was an attorney. She yearned to be an author, but her work as Managing Counsel for Toyota required long, long hours. Pamela rose extra early, writing before she went to work, in her lunch hour and on weekends. Eventually her dedication paid off and her courtroom dramas became huge successes. Abuse of Discretion about youth sexting looks into the juvenile court system. Anybody’s Daughter won the NAACP and other awards. Pamela is now a full-time author and, happily, a former attorney. 

British musician Chris Stewart came to fame as the drummer in the band Genesis. In the 1970s Chris decided he’d had enough of touring, enough of cold, rainy, dark English winters and moved to Spain. He and his wife found a remote home in the village of Alpujarras, a region of Andalucia. They bought a ram-shackled hovel and restored it into a simple, self-sufficient rambling home. He helped the local village solve their sheep-shearing challenges and soon became an avid farmer, discovering an amazing variety of local plants, flora and vegetation. Eventually Chris began to write about his new life in Driving Over Lemons, which found a hungry audience of several million readers. Last Days of the Bus Club followed and recently Three Ways to Capsize a Boat.   

National Theatre Company actress Carol Drinkwater, who found fame as Herriot’s TV wife in All Creatures Great and Small and movies such as An Awfully Big Adventure travelled the world as an actress. While filming in Australia she met her French husband, Michel, and wrote her first children’s book Molly, which became a series. Carol and Michel fell in love with a run-down olive farm they bought in Provence, France, and spent years cultivating it into a thriving olive oil business. Carol continued to write. As well as her children’s and YA books about suffragettes, World War I and World War II, Carol was asked to write magazine articles about their struggles in restoring their olive farm. These, turned into books, became a highly successful Olive Farm series.

For the movie buffs amongst us, the late David Niven turned away from Hollywood and moved to Southern France.  He turned a garden shed, overlooking the Mediterranean, into his writing den with two planks of wood across two stacked orange crates for his desk.  Having entertained TV audiences and Talk Show hosts with hilarious tales of his showbiz life, he turned this talent into successful books starting with The Moon’s a Balloon. It became an instant hit. Several other volumes followed.

Another famous actor, Dirk Bogard, also turned to writing. Fed up with ‘pretty-boy,’ Doctor in Love romantic roles, he moved to Europe in search of meatier, serious parts, in The Servant and Death In Venice. From his new home in the South of France came several semi-autobiographical books, based on a lengthy correspondence with an older American woman in the Mid-West. She knew nothing of his acting success, but they wrote to each other about family, the world and many things. She encouraged him to start writing books. Bogard’s letters to her were returned to him after her death, with her request for him to write books based on those letters. A Postillion Struck by Lightning became an instant success, followed by Snakes and Ladders and many more.

It’s curious what happens when we decide to try a new career, when we step off into that unknown. Turn right instead of left. As FDR once said, “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.”

Are some of us writers (like ME!), going through the motions of a writers’ life, without really living it. Due to Life’s challenges and interruptions, are we just putting one foot in front of the other?

So, what is in store for us this year? Do we try a new recipe, if our writing career is sagging? Do we add a little bit of this, a pinch of that? Do we try something new, experiment with a different approach?

Envious of those writers whose lives hum along productively, what can I learn from them? I am excited to discover what’s next. What will be the new inspiration? I think that this time I’ll get it right!

What about you?

As January comes around again and, for the fourth year running, I’ve made the same resolution to finish writing my “big book.”

My agent always talks about “when you write the big book Hannah” – but it’s a struggle to get to it. I juggle a full-time job on the West Coast (working remotely from the UK), an elderly mother (not juggling her physically I must add), plus exercise two high-spirited Hungarian Vizslas at least a couple of hours a day.

Trying a different genre is always a challenge. For those who don’t know me (yet), I write three mystery series – cozies. I love writing puzzles and of course, the joy of writing a “traditional” mystery is that justice is always served, good conquers evil and if you can make people smile along the way, that’s even better.

Readers expect to solve the mystery. They get caught up in the whodunnit and the page-turning climax but with a different genre and a different kind of reader, it’s a new experience for me.

Rather than rely on my friends to read the current draft of my “big book” (who would be kind), I hired a respected book/script doctor, Lisa Cron.

Well, to say I was utterly crushed is putting it mildly. “I’m sorry but it just doesn’t resonate. I don’t feel anything.” What? How can it not resonate? The story was solid and, although I say it myself, it was quite clever, especially with the final twist. But Lisa was not interested in the nuts and bolts of story. Of course, character development, setting, dialogue etc. are critical since they’re the foundation and cornerstones of the ‘story house,’ but it’s the essence, the soul of the story that is the key to drawing a reader in.

It’s not enough to tell your reader that your character is happy, sad, or angry. That’s too general. As Lisa says, “these descriptions are the what – we need to dig to the why.” If you pluck a scene out of any novel, are you able to immediately tell what your protagonist is going through emotionally?

Just like us, whatever we are worried about or mentally going through, is always at the back of our minds. My mother has been deemed end-of-life at least three times this past year and her health dominates my every waking moment. We don’t live in a vacuum so nor should our characters. And just like us, how would your character’s state of mind impact everything he/she says and does?

Another thing to ponder – who really remembers the twists, turns and intricacies of a good plot be it a thriller or a love story? Yes, we’re caught up in the story especially if it’s a good one, but don’t we just remember how a scene makes us feel? I think back to my childhood and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis) – I wasn’t that bothered about the lion and the White Witch, I just wanted to find a wardrobe and wade through some fur coats to meet the Faun under the lamppost.

When I began to develop feelings for the opposite sex, I devoured sweeping romantic sagas like Penmarric and The Rich Are Different (Susan Howatch) and The Forsyte Saga (John Galsworthy). I don’t remember the plot in the Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough) but I do remember that scene on the beach where the priest and Meggie consummate their illicit love. Toe tingling stuff.

In a “Survey of Lifetime Reading Habits” conducted by the Book-of-the-Month Club in 1991, researchers found that To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee) ranked second only to the Bible as “making a difference in people’s lives.” Oprah Winfrey called To Kill a Mockingbird “our national novel,” and former first lady Laura Bush said, “it changed how people think.” But maybe it changed how people felt as they lived vicariously through Scout, Jem, and Atticus Finch? The story resonated with readers and, as Lisa believes, “the only way to change how someone thinks about something is to first change how they felt.”

As for my “big book” I’m busily rewriting it. I’m digging into the why of my protagonist and it feels so different to the what. I’ve learned that it takes a lot of courage to excavate emotions of my own that I would prefer to keep buried but I’m doing it anyway.

What books still resonate with you years later and why? Don’t think too hard. I’ve already added a dozen or so books to my original list of favorites! I’d also love to hear tips and suggestions on how you make your writing resonate with readers.