My dear readers,
I love October, even though the days are shorter and my garden has begun its move to dormancy, because I have more time for writing. I've put aside my draft of Dreams of the Salad Bar and have decided to try to write a mystery: The Nightshade Stalker.I might even make it a series.
But I know the it's hard to get started. Even the New YorkTimes agrees that the odds are long for new authors. So I have to make sure that I go about this the right way.
Never having written a mystery before, I thought I should do a search on how to structure the story. I found Jo-Ann Carson's blog that included her notes on the 6 Cs of Story Structureaccording to Steve Barry. That's a good start. Then I found this Plot Worksheet. They say it's for children's authors, but I think it works for everyone. I can certainly see how it works for a mystery.
So, how to begin? I found help from Karen Woodward's blog on writing compelling openings and character identification. Ann Allen's blog helps with 10 Things Your Opening Chapter Should Do. Then I found E.M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel. Oh boy! I can't wait to get started.
I need a good--but not too good--protagonist. For that I found Strengths and Your Protagonist by Jane Lebak very useful. And there's more at 3 Lessons from Writing a Thriller Heroine by Seeley James.
Then I have to figure out how to do a really good bad guy (or gal). I found some good advice at "6 Ways to Write Better Bad Guys" and more at Mastering Villainy and at Empathy for the Devil.
Of course I'll need more than two characters. How do I make the rest memorable? Fortunately, Robin Kellvuk has the answer at Creating Memorable Secondary Characters.
I'm getting excited just telling you about this. I'm signing off now--so I can go and write!
Happy writing, everyone.
Betty Wryte-Goode
Betty Wryte-Goode is a writer, mother, and wife who lives in the Lehigh Valley of eastern Pennsylvania. Her passions include writing, reading, shopping, gardening, and exploring the internet. Betty is always looking for writing tips, so if you have any you would like to share, please send them to her through our Submissions/Contacts page.
Mixed Up Words of the Month:
Explicit
vs.
Implicit
These words are often used interchangeably, but they are opposites--much like expressed vs.
implied.
Explicit means something that is stated or expressed outright. What is stated means exactly what is said, as in "I gave you explicit instructions, but you still did not follow them."
Implicit means that something is not stated directly, but is understood only because of context. , tone, or other context. It is implied as in "While I understood the instructions, I believed that permission to deviate from them was implicit."