Thursday, April 29, 2010

How To Write A Mystery - The Five Senses

We all know what they are: sight, touch, taste, smell and hearing. Most writers us sight and hearing primarily and sometimes touch. Your work will be richer if you can use smell and taste too. We 'see' a lot in books. Beautiful women, tall buildings, the ocean at dawn, but how many writers tell me that the beautiful woman's clothes smell like she just took them out of the dryer? Maybe she smells of some exotic and expensive perfume? Now you've described two very different beautiful women. When your hero touches her elbow does he feel the nubby fabric of her suit? How about the roughness of her working-class elbows? We know immediately that she's not only that she might be tight of funds, but has more important things to do with her money then to worry about her elbow.

How about when a woman rushes to the train station to meet her long-lost lover? They kiss and she tastes coffee, or bourbon or peppermint, or even, God forbid garlic? How is she going to react? It makes a difference.

It's fun to come up with unusual ways to describe the five senses. Instead of saying, "Tom Barton had the sprinkler going, watering his lawn," we say, "As Tom and I talked I heard the kissing sound of a sprinkler from someplace nearby." Can you hear it? How about this one:

"His words came out in a rough string, like pebbles from a rusty tin can."

Want to show how scared a young boy is? "Freckles stood out on his pale face like coal on a snow mound." or "The night was dark and beautiful, like diamonds on black velvet." Yes, those last two are from my books - and I must say I rather like them.

Use you imagination - always show don't tell and your readers will keep turning pages.

What do you mean, show, don't tell? Easy:

"Bob Johnson stood on the edge of the cliff looking at the angry sea below him. He was afraid."

"Bob Johnson dug in with his toes, wavering at the edge of the cliff. He watched the sea churn below him. The acrid smell of sweat blossomed his on body. Nausea rose in his gut and he tasted last night's bourbon. He clenched his teeth and he heard a voice from beneath the waves calling to him, telling him to jump, jump, jump."

Hey, I even managed to use all five senses in that sentence!

felt his toes

saw the ocean

smelled himself

tasted booze

heard the sea

And, while we're talking words, do be specific. Nothing brings your words alive so well, beside the five senses as specificity.

Bill doesn't just jump into his car, he jumps into a red Corvette. His hair isn't brown, it's coffee-colored. Sally's hair looks like fresh butterscotch pudding. When he arrives at Sally's place he doesn't just notice she's wearing his favorite sweater set - nope, she's wearing his favorite sky blue cashmere twin set. Be specific and you'll paint a better picture for your reader.

I trust you have a thesaurus so you can vary your words. I personally own four. Well, I like words and they are my business. I also own a color thesaurus and it's one of the most valuable tools I own. So I don't have to use the old tired "tomato red." Nope - how about signal light read, the color of a sequoia, or paprika. Are her lips just plain old red or are they the color of ripe raspberries, freshly harvested cranberries or current. See the possibilities? If you aren't lucky enough to own a color thesaurus make one of your own. Every time you see an unusual color used, write it down and pretty soon you too will have a character in a dress that's not just yellow, but the color of a phone book, Hollandaise sauce or Galliano.

Of course you don't want to go too overboard. I'd rather see eyes that are flame-blue than the color of lizard's belly. You can spend hours finding new and unusual words, but you'll only succeed in confusing your reader. If he has to stop and try to remember the color of a holly leaf, you've lost him. He may put down your book, not pick it up again and worse still - never buy another one. Nope, it's better to simply use emerald or forest. I've always wanted to use a color of the belly of bull frog but I know that's going too far.

Carlene Rae Dater has been a writer of both fiction and non-fiction for over 25 years and has been published in a variety of genres. Writing, reading and talking about mysteries is her passion. Visit her mystery blog at: http://www.themysterystartshere.com or view her published books at: http://www.silveradopublishing.com
Carlene Rae Dater - EzineArticles Expert Author 

Thursday, April 22, 2010

How To Write A Mystery - What's The Most Critical Part?

Have you given a lot of thought to your title? I hope so because the title may sell you book and once it's on the shelves, get people to buy you book. Here's an interesting statistic for you. In 2008 approximately 300,000 books will be published. Once the book is on the self, a buyer will take approximately two seconds to decide to buy it! That's why the title is so important.

So, how do you come up with a good title for your mystery novel? First of all, don't rush. Make a list of titles you like and keep adding to it. I've always found that the right title will jump out at me and I know immediately that's the correct one. I guess you could say the book picks its own title. Short titles are best, but generally harder formulate. Hang in there, it will come.

Which comes first, the title or the book? I've done it both ways. I came up with the title for the book I'm shopping right now and then wrote the book. I really only had a vague idea what it was going to be about. I tried for almost 10 years to sell my dark mystery. The original title was, "Dark Deception" and I loved it. I kept querying and mailing and biting my nails and was ready to give up but, I didn't. Instead I got out my Barrett's Quotations and found a quotation I liked and that fit the novel. I changed the title to "The Worse Evil," queried ONE MORE TIME and sold the book.

Titles can't be copyright so you really don't have to worry that you're using someone's title or vice versa. If you want to title your book, "Gone with the Wind," you can, but why would you want to? You'll only confused readers and they will not be happy with you. If you look at the bookshelves in your local bookstore or library, you will see that most of titles are short, one or two words. Why? Attention span. Remember, you're trying to catch the eye of a prospective buyer and you only have two seconds. One by One will capture a reader's attention quicker than, A Woman Risks Death to Save her friends in the Wilds of Southern Minnesota. Of course that's a long silly title, but you get the idea. Both titles describe the same book. Which one would you pick off the shelf?

So, you've found the best descriptive short title for your book. You found an agent, she sold the book and...the publisher immediately changes the title. Don't despair, sometimes they do keep your title and even if they don't you've done your job. You caught the attention of the agent/editor and publisher. You sold your book.

Carlene Rae Dater has been a writer of both fiction and non-fiction for over 25 years and has been published in a variety of genres. Writing, reading and talking about mysteries is her passion. Visit her mystery blog at: http://www.themysterystartshere.com or view her published books at: http://www.silveradopublishing.com
Carlene Rae Dater - EzineArticles Expert Author 

Monday, April 19, 2010

EVENT REMINDER: Murder Mystery Theater pt. II - MAY 21ST



Join us for a battle of the minds! In true detective fashion, you and your team will search for clues to find out who-done-it at the
234 Winder St. Inn.



Tickets $20
*Includes game and h'dourves



Tickets are available at

www.black-smithenterprises.com

and must be purchased in advance.



No tickets will be sold at the door.



Winder Street Inn
234 Winder St.
Detroit, MI
6pm-10pm

Contact Information

Black-Smith Enterprises
P.O. Box 1455
DETROIT, MI
734-634-3151
www.black-smithenterprises.com twitter.com/janayablack

Thursday, April 15, 2010

EVENT REMINDER: Murder Mystery Theater pt. II - MAY 21ST




Join us for a battle of the minds! In true detective fashion, you and your team will search for clues to find out who-done-it at the
234 Winder St. Inn.



Tickets $20
*Includes game and h'dourves



Tickets are available at

www.black-smithenterprises.com

and must be purchased in advance.



No tickets will be sold at the door.



Winder Street Inn
234 Winder St.
Detroit, MI
6pm-10pm

Contact Information

Black-Smith Enterprises
P.O. Box 1455
DETROIT, MI
734-634-3151
www.black-smithenterprises.com twitter.com/janayablack 

 
 

How To Write A Mystery - The Right Beginning

You want to write a mystery novel, you have a terrific idea, you know who kills whom and why. You have a great detective and think the killer is ...killer. Where do you start?

In a mystery we need to see the crime within the first few pages, certainly within the first three chapters. You want to grab your readers right off the bat so start with a bang, kill somebody, blow up a bridge, or have two jetliner nearly miss one another. You need to hook your reader immediately or they may not bother to read the book. Many readers especially of mysteries choice a books by the cover, the back blurb and the first page. So grab him by the throat and don't let go.

Mystery readers like action and they like it fast. The worst thing you can do is start your story slowly and build. You don't have time! Noah Lukeman in his excellent book, "The First Five Pages" states that and editor will buy your book based on the first five pages of your novel, possibly the first page and probably the first paragraph! Scary I know, but that's the publishing business.

Don't think it's possible? Sure it is! I can't remember the title of the book nor its author, but here paraphrased is one of my all time favorite openings.

"Besides the dead man, there were four of us in the room."

Now, are you going to say, ho-hum, I guess I'll put the book down and get a cup of coffee? I don't think so! You'll want to know: who's the dead man, how did he die, who are the other four men and what are they doing in that room? Isn't that a better beginning then this?

"Sally Johnson lived all her life in Detroit. She went to school with the same group of girls and grew up with four brothers. By the time she was ready for high school, she knew exactly what she want from....closed eyes... sleep....loud snoring.

We might need that information later, but first we have to have the crime. You can fill in the back story later - but in small chunks, please.

Here's another example from my own book, "The Worst Evil."

"Chicago, February 1964

It was the bitterest winter in a century. Frigid air swept down from Canada. Hard icy winds blew off the lake. The temperatures hadn't been above freezing for weeks. Most people were cold, many were miserable. Some died."

Aren't you just a little curious as to who died? And how? And....why?

It may take you a while to get just the right beginning. It might take you months, but don't worry about it. Get it down the best you can because you know you're going to have to re-write and you can always come back to that part. Starting is hard, but don't get stuck there. I've known too many writers who agonize for months, even years on getting that first chapter perfect. Don't do that. It will never be perfect, just do the best you can, and move on. Finish writing a first draft, first.

You now have a super grabber beginning and that's great. Be sure to also introduce your detective and your villain. If the bad guy enters too late in the book, your readers will feel cheated because they didn't have sufficient information to solve the crime. And for heavens sake, don't have the villain enter in the last few chapters. People read mysteries to try and figure out who the culprit is, so he has to be there pretty much from the beginning.

The crime must be plausible. Your reader will feel cheated if the crime is something that couldn't really happen.

Have your detective discover clues and let us know what they are so we can "detect" right along with him. They have to use conventional scientific methods and do the research to make sure you're giving the reader correct information. Not sure how to find the correct procedures? Call the local police, sheriff, FBI or whomever you need to. Believe me, they're used to hearing from writers and they want us to get the facts straight. I really hate to read mysteries that have too many coincidences. Let your detective find the clues so we can see them too.

The villain should be capable of doing the crime and have sufficient motivation. It would be hard to believe that a 70-year-old, slight, preacher's wife was an axe murderer. Or that a nine-year-old boy was a serial killer. Both are certainly possible, but highly unlikely and I doubt your readers with buy either.

Your reader is trying to solve the crime along with the detective so don't have improbable situations or supernatural solutions. Of course you want to hold off as long as possible to reveal the bad guy. Make it hard for the detective to solve the crime and it will be hard for your reader to solve the crime too. He'll love you for it - and buy your next book.

Carlene Rae Dater has been a writer of both fiction and non-fiction for over 25 years and has been published in a variety of genres. Writing, reading and talking about mysteries is her passion. Visit her mystery blog at: http://www.themysterystartshere.com or view her published books at: http://www.silveradopublishing.com
Carlene Rae Dater - EzineArticles Expert Author

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Bookclub @ Carr Presents Paula L. Tutman, WDIV Reporter & Author of Deadline April 15th



FREE TO THE PUBLIC! I hope to see you there!!!

As an EMMY winning high profile reporter in Detroit, Paula brings  instant credibility and a ready-made audience to the book market. Her  creative ethos, coupled with a keen ability to promote, and her  unrivaled rigorous attention to detail, provide circumstances ripe for  success.

DEADLINE is very loosely based on something that actually happened to  Paula when she was a young police reporter in Baltimore.

The Set up...PS Garrett, Detroit's top crime reporter shows up at the  scene of a double murder. Two kids are shot and killed  senselessly...it's a crime of opportunity...but what PS doesn't know is  the triggerman still lurks on the scene. While soaking up the aftermath  of his handy work, he catches a glimpse of his favorite TV reporter. He  realizes that if he keeps killing, she'll keep showing up...and  perhaps...just perhaps...one of these times she shows up to cover his  crimes, he'll get a chance to meet her...and make her his.

Join Us for BOOKCLUB @ THE CARR
with Paula L. Tutman!

APRIL 15TH, 2010 6PM
The Virgil Carr Cultural Center
311 E. Grand River, Detroit, MI 48226

For more information, please call 313.289.8614 or email:  motownwriters@yahoo.com

http://paulaltutman.com
http://artsleague.com
http://motownwriters.com

Friday, April 9, 2010

April 15th: Paula L. Tutman @ Virgil Carr Center w/Bookclub hosted by Motown Writers Network



FREE TO THE PUBLIC! I hope to see you there!!!

As an EMMY winning high profile reporter in Detroit, Paula brings instant credibility and a ready-made audience to the book market. Her creative ethos, coupled with a keen ability to promote, and her unrivaled rigorous attention to detail, provide circumstances ripe for success.

DEADLINE is very loosely based on something that actually happened to Paula when she was a young police reporter in Baltimore.

The Set up...PS Garrett, Detroit's top crime reporter shows up at the scene of a double murder. Two kids are shot and killed senselessly...it's a crime of opportunity...but what PS doesn't know is the triggerman still lurks on the scene. While soaking up the aftermath of his handy work, he catches a glimpse of his favorite TV reporter. He realizes that if he keeps killing, she'll keep showing up...and perhaps...just perhaps...one of these times she shows up to cover his crimes, he'll get a chance to meet her...and make her his.

Join Us for BOOKCLUB @ THE CARR
with Paula L. Tutman!

APRIL 15TH, 2010 6PM
The Virgil Carr Cultural Center
311 E. Grand River, Detroit, MI 48226

For more information, please call 313.289.8614 or email: motownwriters@yahoo.com

http://paulaltutman.com
http://artsleague.com
http://motownwriters.com

Thursday, April 8, 2010

ARTICLE: How To Write A Mystery - What The Heck Is A Plot Point?

When writing a mystery you want to figure on about 300 - 350 pages. Depending on the sub-genre, that may change so you'll have to figure out which publisher you want to target and check out the average length of their books. To make it easy, we'll say your book will have 350 pages.

You'll want your first plot point to hit around page 100, the second at 200, the darkest moment at 300 then you'll have 50 pages to wrap up and resolve the book.

What's a plot point? It's a significant event within a plot that digs into the action and spins it around in another direction. Your hero is going along nicely trying to reach his goal, when you throw in a twist, change direction, make it impossible for him to keep going. Be mean to him! Make him sweat. After all, conflict is what moves your story forward and keeps the reader turning pages. Your book will be a series of "what ifs."

Whew, he finally figured out what to do now he's moving forward. He's pretty sure he knows whodunit, why and with what. He's going to save the fair lady and she's sure to fall in love with him. Then you come to about the 200 page mark (this isn't exact so to don't sweat it. Page 194 is fine) it happens again! You put another elephant in your hero's path and once more, he's stuck - or so it seems. Everything he thought was true is wrong. Naturally, he'll find a way to keep going.

Just when he's almost achieved his goal we come to the darkest moment at around page 300. All is lost, there's no hope of the hero ever getting to his goal. It's seems, impossible, but of course it's not. Now you have about 50 pages to pull your hero out of his terrible mess and get him to the end. Our hero solves the crime, gets the reward, or the woman, maybe both, the promotion, whatever. The reader can give a sigh of relief and close the book with a happy smile on his face.

As I've said before, you want to have lots of conflict in your book; it's what keeps the reader reading. My first writing teacher explained it to me this way.

"The reader of your book has popped into bed and wants to read just one chapter before she goes to sleep, but she finds she can't put the book down! Suddenly, it two in the morning, she has to get up in a few hours to go to work, but she HAS to read, just ONE MORE CHAPTER."

That's the kind of book you want to write, don't you?

Along the way you'll have to plant red herrings, introduce characters who MIGHT have done the crime, situations that challenge the detective. We're lucky today to have the internet. With the click of a mouse, you can find a super, undetectable poison to use to
kill someone or find out how long it takes a body to go into rigor mortis - and come out again.

Now that you have an idea on how to plot a book, I can hear several of you saying, "But do I HAVE to?" No, you don't. I don't. Sue Grafton doesn't nor does Tony Hillerman. Like me they get an idea, sit down and write. You might want to try that method too, but I'll tell you from my experience, it's easier in the end to have at least the semblance of a plot. If sit down and write your book from Chapter One to The End without a plot, you will find yourself going back again and again to put thing into the book, like red herrings or characters. Those who write by the seat of their pants spend more time writing the book than do those who plot. So, you've got to decide which is the best way to write, but do try plotting first. It's easier to keep track of everything that way too.

I think it was Alfred Hitchcock who cautioned, "If there's a gun on the wall in chapter one, it damn well better be fired by the end of the book." That's a paraphrase, but close enough. What does it mean? We've all seen it. Sally walks into the spooky old house and sees.....a butcher knife sitting on the kitchen counter and....is that blood on the blade????? We have the bloody knife in the back of our minds because it's been pointed out to us. We read, and read, and keep thinking okay, where's the knife? We get to the end and find it had nothing what-so-ever to do with the plot! That knife isn't a red herring unless you can explain somewhere along the line why it's in your book. Maybe the cook had been cutting up chickens - fine, but give us that information at some point or we'll be angry when we finish the book and realize how much time we spend thinking about that bloody knife and it had nothing to do with the killer.

Please, don't bore your readers. That's easy to say, I know but it's amazing how many books I read that start with a bang, have interesting characters, a dynamite premise but still sag in the middle and become boring. Why? Probably there's not enough conflict. I know I keep coming back to that word, but conflict is what makes your book sing. It's what keeps people reading. But first of all, it's what gets an editor to buy your book.

Alfred Hitchcock said, "Drama is life with all the boring parts left out."

So, when you're writing your book, remember to leave the boring parts out. I'm still amazed when I read books where Bill and Sally have been talking on the phone and Sally says, "I have to tell you something but it has to be in person. Can you come over to my house?"

"Sure," says Bill. He gets his coat from the front closet, shrugs into it and goes in search of his keys. Outside he walks to his car, gets in and starts the engine. It's only seven
blocks to Sally's house, but there's construction on Maple Lane, so he decides to go the long way over to Chandler and down Nobel Drive. He parks in front of Sally's and walks up the sidewalk and knocks on the door.

Have your eyes glazed over yet? My fingers almost froze just writing this! It's boring. Instead do something like this:

"Bill dropped the receiver into the cradle and hurried over to Sally's house."

Now you've accomplished the same thing with many fewer words. We don't care nor do we need to know how Bill got to Sally's house. And yet I still read books who give me a long description of streets and avenues, cornfields and whatever. I don't care. Just get your characters from point A to point B and leave out the boring parts.

What about time? Same thing. You can end the chapter or section with something like:

"I love you," Bill said and took Sally into his arms."

The next day Sally stood in the kitchen, a frilly pink apron tied around her tiny waist, cooking grits for Bill.

Voila! No boring parts.

Carlene Rae Dater has been a writer of both fiction and non-fiction for over 25 years and has been published in a variety of genres. Writing, reading and talking about mysteries is her passion. Visit her mystery blog at: http://www.themysterystartshere.com or view her published books at: http://www.silveradopublishing.com
Carlene Rae Dater - EzineArticles Expert Author

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

EVENT REMINDER: Murder Mystery Theater pt. II - May 21st



Join us for a battle of the minds! In true detective fashion, you and your team will search for clues to find out who-done-it at the
234 Winder St. Inn.



Tickets $20
*Includes game and h'dourves



Tickets are available at

www.black-smithenterprises.com

and must be purchased in advance.



No tickets will be sold at the door.



Winder Street Inn
234 Winder St.
Detroit, MI
6pm-10pm

Contact Information

Black-Smith Enterprises
P.O. Box 1455
DETROIT, MI
734-634-3151
www.black-smithenterprises.com twitter.com/janayablack

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

The Writers' Police Academy Novel Writing Contest

The Writers' Police Academy Novel Writing Contest

http://hopeclark.blogspot.com/2010/04/writers-police-academy-novel-writing.html 

THE WRITERS' POLICE ACADEMY DON KNOTTS NOVEL WRITING CONTEST

http://writerspoliceacademy.com/contest1.html
$10 ENTRY FEE
Submission Deadline: June 1, 2010.
Cover letter should be in the form of a ONE-page query letter that offers a brief synopsis of the work including genre, word count and author bio. Submit FOUR copies of the first 12 pages of your manuscript.
Contest is open to all genres (please, no erotica) and is not exclusive to attendees of The Writers' Police Academy.

Mail to:
Don Knotts Silver Bullet Award
c/o Dreisbach Literary Management
PO Box 5379
El Dorado Hills, CA 95762

The Don Knotts Silver Bullet Contest Award winner will receive The Silver Bullet Award, free Writers' Police Academy registration ($235 value), and have the opportunity to submit their entire manuscript to one of the judges. Winner of the Silver Bullet Novel Writing Contest will also win free attendance to an Algonkian Conference. Algonkian holds a dozen or so conferences per year including the San Francisco Write and Pitch Conference (W&PC) and the New York Pitch and Shop Conference. For the smaller, one-on-one intensives like those in Algonkian Park and Fisherman's Wharf, the winner would have a credit of $600 towards the conference since lodging is part of the conference fee. http://www.algonkianconferences.com/conferences.htm

READ MORE AT: http://hopeclark.blogspot.com/2010/04/writers-police-academy-novel-writing.html

Thursday, April 1, 2010

ARTICLE: How to Write a Mystery Novel - 5 Awesome Tips For Writing Your Mystery Or Thriller

Are you an aspiring author who would like to know how to write a mystery novel? Read on for 5 really great tips to get you started on your way.

1. Read all the time in your genre, but also read on a wide variety of subjects as well. Read magazines and newspapers. You'll be really surprised at the great ideas you will get just from reading articles in the paper, especially for mystery novels. There are tons of things going on all the time that could be turned into a novel. Keep your eyes and mind open.

2. Observe people. Notice how they speak. Watch adults and watch children. Watch their reactions to things, especially unexpected things, and see what they do. You might consider carrying a small notebook or voice recorder around with you to write down or record these observations. You'll be able to use a lot of it later in your novel.

3. When plotting your mystery, decide what the "twist" is going to be before you begin writing. What is the twist? That's the really interesting and surprising ending where your reader realizes that what he or she was lulled into believing throughout the novel wasn't actually what was going on after all. Some of the most popular mystery books have twists. But be careful not to throw out too many red herrings, as this will probably anger the reader.

4. Figure out your plot first, then add the characters. Your characters should arise from the plot itself.

5. If you are stuck for an idea for your novel, think about routine and mundane things that happen every day in your life, just those normal daily activities, and put an interesting twist on them. Like, for example, let's say that every night before you go to bed you check all the doors and windows but every morning your kitchen window is unlocked. Nothing is ever missing and no sign of forced entry, yet the window is mysteriously unlocked each and every day. Just that simple little thing is enough to grab your reader's interest.

You can write a mystery novel easy and fast! Go here now: http://www.writeyourfirstnovel.com
You will not believe how quick and painless it can be to get that novel finished and ready to go to the publisher.
email motownwriters@Yahoo.com if you would like to be a blogger here. email to list books in our amazon store