3/19: 

Bang on the Money by Ginny Swart

[Click here to download or print a pdf version of this lesson]

This is the first story we’ll read this semester in The Best Mystery Stories of 2022.

I chose this as the third of three stories that center around female protagonists.

First we met Miss Marple and analyzed her character and mode of investigation. Last week we compared Christie’s more conventional private investigator character to Kerry Greenwood’s Miss Fisher, set in Melbourne in the Roaring Twenties.

This week (interestingly!) we also experience a drama set in Australia (Sydney), with a strong female at the center of the action. In true modern mystery format (which tends to transcend the boundaries of the conventional genre), there is no detective. Instead, we experience a scene featuring a familiar mystery plot (spousal murder), a traditional bad guy (hired assassin), and another primary character of questionable motive (Patty). 

Is she a villain or a hero? Follow how this story unravels, take notes on the twists and turns, and, by the end, see how you feel about how justice is served.

Read on to learn about our author, Ginny Swart. 

Ginny Swart turns out to have a minimal digital footprint.

In other words, I wasn’t able to find out much about her. Her website wasn’t accessible, so I had to rely more on a few interviews online.

From what I can tell, Swart has published a huge body of popular fiction short stories (and some non-fiction), and she writes quite a bit ABOUT writing (and tutors writers through the Writer’s College listed in the sources).

On the East of the Web blog, she referred to a story she wrote some years earlier. If you click on this source you can read a few more of her earlier stories. She posted this about herself:


OK, well I'm not blond. I'm 61 years old, got three grown up children, five grandchildren ... that sounds boring, skip that ... Married for 41 years - we've been living in Hong Kong for five years and have just come home to South Africa ...

I taught English there to delightful kids and I still stay in contact with them, thank goodness for email. I've had a story printed in a magazine, and I've had one book published called Nosipho and the King of the Bones, written for African school children aged 10-14 ... I wrote a Mills and Boon [cheap romance] but couldn't get the sexy bits right and it was rejected. Now I'm quite pleased 'cos it would be really embarrassing to have that on my CV, even if the money is good. As bad as admitting you enjoy a Macdonalds hamburger!

And on a more serious note, In the Writer’s College blog she was introduced like this:

Ginny Swart started writing short stories in 2001, and to date has sold over 700 short stories to women’s magazines all over the world. Her more serious work has appeared in literary publications in South Africa, Canada, and New Zealand and on the Web. In 2003 she won the esteemed UK The Real Writers Prize from over 4000 entrants.

For the past 12 years, Ginny has tutored the Short Story Writing for Magazines Course at SA Writers College, NZ Writers College and UK Writers College.

An Interview

[Interview, n.d.]

This interview tells a little bit about Ginny Swart’s life, but it’s really about how she became a writer and advice she gives to those wanting to write and publish.


Q. How did you become a writer?


By accident! I’m actually trained as a graphic designer but have had various jobs, and one was selling advertising for a weekly trade paper. One day I sold a full-page advert but the editor said they didn’t have enough editorial to fill the paper that week, so I sat down and wrote a whole lot of articles just to get the advertising commission! After that I became a journalist for the paper for eight years. Then after a five-year break teaching English in Hong Kong I came home and started writing stories.

Q: What has been your greatest writing achievement?

I think life’s been a series of high points. The first time I had a short story accepted I thought life couldn’t get any better. I had to stop myself standing at the check-out and telling people I’d written the story in the mag they were buying!


Then I thought my first book for teenagers (Nosipho and the King of Bones) was the high point of my life. 


When I read that letter of acceptance from MacMillans I just about fainted with excitement.


Then a few years later I opened an email from the UK which asked if I was sitting down, and then told me I’d won the international Real Writers prize from 3000 entries. I was all alone at home and just sort of shrieked quietly to myself, and I couldn’t even phone my husband, as he was in Angola. I spent a huge chunk of the prize flying over to collect it in front of the local TV. That was definitely a very high point!

 

Q. How do you decide what to write about? Where do you get ideas?


This is hard to answer. Ideas sort of float up from somewhere. Sometimes I start off with just a catchy sentence and the story develops from there. Sometimes I have an idea but then one of the characters says something and everything changes. I’m not a very disciplined writer but if I’m working on a serial I have to have the whole thing mapped out in my mind before I start. There is no going back and changing once you’ve submitted the first couple of episodes.


Q. How easy is it to make a living as a writer?


Easy if you’re able to live on a crust and cold water!

Short story writing isn’t the fast track to making money. It’s not a proper job with a guaranteed pay cheque every month. I know lots of UK writers who are very prolific but just about all of them have sidelines: some of them have other normal day jobs, or they run writing schools, publish books on how to write, write magazine articles (these pay a lot better than short stories) and often, they’re often married to a man [or woman?] with a regular income!

Q. How much time do you spend writing every day?


I switch on my computer about 7.30am and it stays on until I go to bed. I have about four stories on the go at any time and I have a look and see which one I feel like going on with that day. Some days I don’t spend more than a couple of hours writing but if the story’s going welI, I just carry on until it’s finished. I also go through old stories and see which ones I can submit somewhere and how much needs changing. 


I have about 30 stories out there in cyberspace on any day, waiting for an editor’s answer.

Q. What general advice would you give aspirant writers just starting out?


Join a writing group to have feedback on your work. Other people spot the holes, and it’s worth listening to them because editors will spot them too.


All magazines have guidelines for writers, so email and ask for them. They are usually pretty fussy about word count and often have themes they won’t touch.


Research the magazine you want to submit to, and make sure your story is right for them. You can write a great story but if it goes to the wrong market, you’ll have a rejection and usually the editor doesn’t give a reason, she just sends a stock rejection note. A “no thanks” can turn into a “yes” with the next magazine, so send that story out again, and keep a list of where it’s been submitted. A rejection is never final.


And don’t think paper magazines are the only way to get started. There are a huge number of Internet sites out there with e-zines, happy to use your work. These usually specialize in themes like Sci-Fi and Horror (sadly there are more of these than any other). They often don’t pay but it’s great to have your work accepted and out there for the whole world to read.

Q: What do you consider to be the most important writing tip you ever received?


Apart from use double spacing, which at the time I didn’t know how to do, the world changed for me when another writer told me I could sell the same story (with variations) to different magazines all over the world. For the first two years I wrote, I sent out a story, had it accepted, and then thought: that’s it. Not true!

Now I change the title and the names of the characters to suit the country, and the word count which that particular magazine requires. My record is a 2000 word story which I slashed to 800 words and then increased it to 3500. Both operations were painful as I’d thought it was perfect at the original 2000, but I just gritted my teeth. That story sold six times!


Q: When you mark your students’ work, what are key qualities you look for in their writing?


Originality, definitely. It doesn’t matter how bad the spelling and grammar are but if it grabs me and keeps me reading to the end, that’s a good story. Of course all the other qualities such as good use of words and imagery, the story flowing easily from one point to another and a satisfying ending are important. Writing believable characters is vital too. I just love it when I come to the end of a student’s story and think, hey, this was a great read!

Ginny Swart on Making Time

[Making Time, 2024]

You want to write, you’ve got a great idea for a story, you’ve made a few notes – but your life is just too busy to get behind your computer.


Sound familiar? The trick is to manage your time in a way that gives an hour of “me-time” every day.  Here’s how…


First, decide when you feel the freshest and most creative.


For some people, this might be 5.30 in the morning, before the rest of the family is up and demanding your attention. There are plenty of well-known writers who do their best writing at this time and have written entire novels in that snatched hour before they have to go to work or take the kids to school.


Or you might be a night owl – able to write when everyone else is in front of the TV or in bed, leaving you in a silent house. No telephone ringing, no distractions, just you and your writing. You’d be amazed at how much you can write in an hour of undisturbed computer time.


On the other hand, there are a very few people who are happy writing at odd moments. They leave their computer switched on and grab the odd fifteen minutes here and there.  If that works for you, fine! You’re one of the lucky ones.

Learn to say NO.


Once you’ve found the writing time that suits you best, and you’ve carved yourself a regular writing slot in your day, learn to say no to family and friends who want you to do something else. Tell yourself (and your family) that writing is an extension of your job. It’s something that has to be done and you can’t put it off. They’ll soon learn to respect the fact they have a writer in their midst!


For most writers, it’s best not to try and split yourself in two, by listening to homework or making supper while you dash back to your computer in between. You’ll lose focus and you’ll end up by doing neither task successfully.

Find the environment that suits you.


If you’re a tidy soul at heart, and hate being surrounded by a disorganized desk, it’s worth spending five minutes tidying up. Then you won’t be distracted. But if you’re one of those people who work best with the kids in the same room, the TV on and someone playing loud music upstairs, that fine. Just don’t allow your surroundings to give you an excuse to procrastinate!


Lose the guilt!


It’s no good sitting down to write when you know you promised to clean the car/ wash the dog/ take the cat to the vet. You need to get important chores out of the way and the best way to do this is make a list of Absolute Must-do’s for that day.  Once they’re done, close the door and write. The small stuff can wait until tomorrow. (This doesn’t apply to you early risers!)


So yesterday you started well, but…

You’re ready to write, so you open your document and stare at the screen. You re-read what you wrote yesterday and you tweak a word here and a word there.


But new words just won’t come.  You hit the delete button after every few sentences. Today’s writing session is a disaster.


Relax! This isn’t the dreaded Writer’s Block – your story just needs to bubble inside a little. Go away and think about it. Take the dog for a walk. Skip your writing for today if nothing seems to come right.


Someone (it must have been a writer) said, “Writing is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” But if that 1% is missing today, don’t worry. It’ll be back tomorrow.


And the good thing about writing short stories is: there is no deadline. No one is demanding that story from you by the end of today. There is always another issue of that magazine next week, or next month.


On the other hand, making a decision to finish a story by the end of next week is a probably a good idea. It gives you a focus.


Joining a Writer’s Circle is also an excellent boost. You usually have monthly assignments that you are expected to finish and it’s good discipline.

Don’t be distracted

Reading "Bang on the Money"

In Best Mysteries, Swart explains:

 

The idea for this story, which is the first mystery I have written, just drifted into my mind one day (as all the best stories do).  I liked the idea of the assassin sticking to the moral high ground and not falling for her extra inducement to do him in, when he already had a contract. On her.

 

As you read, take note of Swart’s style.

 

In particular, I found this story’s point of view to be particularly interesting.


The setting:

What did you think of the opening, as well as the structure with dates and places?

We see the interior of the Taylor home through Mike’s eyes. What does this tell us about his values, and his behavior?

What effect does it have on you that the story begins in an airport (hotel), and suggests it will end there, too?

How would you know this story is not set in the U.S.?

 

The characters:

 

The Plot:

As mentioned, we have the general spousal murder plot—gone awry. We also have the hired assassin plot. What other stories emerge?

 

Theme(s):

Sure, we see the usual betrayal and revenge motifs that often come with the spousal murder story. Reading between the lines, what else explains this story and the characters’ motivations?

 

Looking forward to our discussion on Tuesday!

Works Cited