Murder She Writes

THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT ALL

There’s a huge difference between writing a novel and creating a short story. I have a tendency to be verbose, so the structure of a novel fits me well. In it I feel I get more opportunities to bring my characters to life. I can add in a bit of their background and more of their mannerisms to give the reader a true flavor of what the character’s about. Doing the same thing, bringing a character to life I mean, in a short story takes pure damn genius in my opinion. And a genius I’m not…. At the moment, I’m working on rewrites for two shorts that will appear in an anthology this year. The anthology is titled FIVES STROKES TO MIDNIGHT, and ALL of the contributors are excellent storytellers and can make a short story sing like nobody’s business. Mine sounds like somebody’s Uncle Charles singing in the shower with a bad case of laryngitis.

Fortunately, one of the tools that has aided me along this new road of short story writing, has been a plot outline that a dear friend shared with me. It’s been invaluable in helping me get to the point of the story and stop fluffing things up so to speak. Because it’s been so useful, I thought I’d share it with all of you. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the outline comes from the infamous, master storytellers of all times….Dr. Jack Williamson.

Here’s the crux of the concept….In a 3,000 word story, for example, the beginning is about 750 words, the body about 1500 and the ending about 750 with resolution/validation taking no more than a few sentences. Thus you have said outline:

BEGINNING (3)
1. Main character
2. Disturbing situation (conflict)
3. Character’s story purpose
4. Hazards or difficulties
5. Assets essential to the ending

BODY (6)
1. Attempts to achieve purpose (usually 2-3, increasing in difficulty)
2. Results (usually 2-3, commonly failures)
3. Black (or bright) moments

ENDING (3)
1. New stimulus
2. Final conflict (one last attempt as above, usually succeeds.)

RESOLUTION/VALIDATION

So, there ya go. The perfect formula for the perfect short…..happy singin’ everyone!

As my Jenny T. Partridge Dance Mystery series get sets to launch (April 3), I find myself in the middle of some real life dance drama. Quite frankly, dance drama is a given. Pick a high strung, “creative-type” teacher, oodles of psycho dance moms, fragile egos and little dancing divas, and you have a RECIPE for disaster. It’s a wonder that things EVER go right.

Our particular studio is going through some changes, mostly because of growth. And the fact that I can’t stand the psycho moms anymore, even though they give me lots of fodder for my books.

It occurred to me last night, as I lay awake wondering if this was REALLY what I wanted for Dancing Daughter, that if my youngest’s achievements have to be attained by stepping on the backs of others, than I would rather she not achieve at all.

Of course, this does not apply should she become a cheerleader, as stunting requires some back stepping and such.

But what is really gained by a parent tearing down someone else’s child in order to make their own look better?

Some of the statements I have heard.

“I don’t know why my daughter has to stand next to those two, when she is SO much better than they are.”

“What do I have to do to get my daughter on the front row fifty, where she belongs? (Explanation: Front row fifty means dead center in the front row.)

“I’m so glad that the teacher recognizes that my daughter is so much better than those other girls, even though they are older.”

“Jane (not her real name) wants the pink dress. She doesn’t want the yellow dress. Yellow is not her color. What do I have to do to get her the pink dress?” (Explanation: the routine was True Colors, with four different dress colors.)

Hmm. Interesting. I just noticed that all of the above quotes came from ONE mother, the MOTHER of all pyscho dance moms. But there are others on the team.

I think about this, and compare it Karin’s football stories, and I know that this happens in all sports. I watch television news as parents attack other parents, and sometimes even other people’s children, and I wonder about what we are doing to our children?

And then I remember the heartwarming stories of young champions, and kids who succeed against all odds, like the autistic waterboy who shot a game-winning three pointer against all odds.

And that? That keeps me going. I still won’t let my daughter’s success be based on my tearing down of someone else’s child, but I have to believe that we can set good examples, and maybe, maybe just maybe other parents who are too-over-the-top will notice. And try to be better. A girl can dream.

And now, as I promised, my book SISTERWIFE, is now available free from my Web site. Feel free to download, share with friends, and forward to anyone you feel would enjoy learning more about a polygamist. Or a bunch of polygamists. Or a polygamous cult. Okay, I’ll stop now.

A week ago I was at a board meeting for my local Romance Writers of America Chapter. Half way through the meeting, on of the current co-presidents was extremely frustrated and said, “My hat is off to you.” She looked at me and the two women I shared the position with during my two years as Co-President.

I laughed. Oh yeah, it was funny. Why? Because the board is comprised of brilliant, creative and highly motivated women. Their brains work so fast and on such a broad spectrum, that it’s like trying control sunlight to keep these women on task. Forcing then to follow the agenda to run the board meeting is a challenge.

Sometimes though, you just have to toss the agenda and let the creativity take over. Then we bring the agenda back out and organize all that creativity.

That is what the whole writing process is like. There’s a time to be organized and a time to take the reigns off the creativity and let it go.

Recently an online group read my book as part of their book club and they posted favorite lines and favorite scenes. I noticed something interesting—many of the lines they chose as favorites are lines that were done in a fit of unrestrained creativity. Those lines when I was deep in the characters head and just writing down what she told me.

But to get a book finished, it takes some control. Just like the co-presidents of my RWA group has to control and guide the creativity, there has to be some force in the writing process to control and guide the creativity.

This is nothing new, but as I was sitting there watching the two co-presidents find a way to reign in the enthusiastic, creative women, and do it with grace and humor as they presidents set the tone, I thought about how hard I am on my own creative side. Very often I’m annoyed that I’m not working fast enough, or I’m not smart enough, or whatever. Perhaps I need a lesson from the two women running my RWA chapter. I could treat my creative side with a little more grace and humor.

Or is that just giving into my lazy side?????

I don’t know. But hey, here’s some good news—I finished my book! And I have a title for it, EXTREMELY HOT. It will be out in November 2007.

So what’s your good news this week?

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I do not watch television (except American Idol, the History channel and the Discovery channel). My husband loves to watch television. So as not to make him feel as if I have deserted him, I take my Dana downstairs in the evening and write or read while he watches what he watches.

Okay, so tonight as is habit, I sat on the sofa, tele on and tried to write. But, I got caught up in the emotionalness of Grey’s Anatomy. What I found so disturbing is, I don’t watch Grey’s Anatomy, but my husband likes it and so I end up at least hearing it on a somewhat regular basis. The kicker? Hubby wasn’t home to watch it, but I was! Go figure. So back to the show. I got sucked in. It was emotional and touching and well, it didn’t make me a rabid fan, but my writer’s mind drew from it. I made notes, I paid attention, I had several ah ha moments.

So, then I see there is an Oprah special coming on afterwards. I stay tuned for Russell and Nicole. What’s-her-name and the Sexiest Man Alive don’t interest me, and I was meh, about Jamie Fox and Sidney Poitier. Well, Russell and Nicole did not disappoint, but I found myself glued to the set when Sidney Poitier began to speak. I took more notes. And something this wonderfully humble man said resonated with me. He said his father told him, “You can always measure a man by how he takes care of his children.”

I sat there for a long moment and thought, “Wow, that is some deep stuff.” And it’s true. Shitty fathers are shitty men.

I immediately thought of my heroes and wondered how they would take care of their children. Then I was like, doh! Of course they’d be great dads! They’re my heroes after all, it’s a given. But I’ve never written a hero with a child.

Then I thought about a Christmas story I may be writing, and I thought, hmm, I want my hero in that story to have a child and although he will be one angsty dark man, his child will light him up. He will do anything for that child and because of his love and devotion to his child no matter how dark and twisted his past and even some of his present, he will be an endearing character.

I can already picture this man in my mind and better still, I can see the woman he will become just as fiercely devoted to.
Moral of this story: I guess I need to watch television more often.
How about you? Does television influence your stories? And readers? Do you like to see television concepts in print?

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Late last night my family and I stumbled in from Disneyland. Needless to say, today has been slow to get moving. The kids were all late to school, I was late to a doctor’s appointment, and I just sat down at the computer and realized–yikes! It’s Thursday! It’s after one and where did the day go?

I am SO sorry I wasn’t around for our two American Title finalist guest blogs! Both entries are fabulous, they had stiff competition. I think all ten finalists are wonderful writers and I’m sending Tink over with some fairy dust that their manuscript finds its way to the right editor. Now we have two entries to choose from, Kim and Jenny. I’ve read the entries. Twice. Two unique voices and two great stories. Two talented writers. It’s going to be a tough choice.

When I got home from Disneyland, I had some boxes waiting for me, including some great reference books. You know you’re crazy when you get excited over DSM-IV MADE EASY and the CRIME CLASSIFICATION MANUAL. Awhile back, I spent nearly $100 on a forensic coursebook. It’s not a book to read cover to cover, but it’s GREAT to look things up in.

And then I got this little book, THE SOCIOPATH NEXT DOOR. The hook on the front: “1 in 25 ordinary Americans secretly has no conscience and can do anything at all without feeling guilty. Who is the devil you know?”

The reason this book intrigues me is that not all sociopaths are serial killers. Are all sociopaths CAPABLE of killing? I think so. Scott Peterson is a classic example. In Dr. Keith Ablow’s book INSIDE THE MIND OF SCOTT PETERSON he argues that the only one in danger from Scott was Lacey (and he gave many reasons why this was the case.) But Scott killed his pregnant wife without conscience or guilt.

I wanted to read this book to understand the mind of sociopaths outside of the serial killers I feature in my novels. If it’s true that 4% of all people ARE sociopaths–defined as someone without a conscience and the ability to do anything without guilt–I want to know how it manifests, what signs to look for, things like that.

Anyway, I have two more books to read for the Thrillers, one for the RITAs, and three galleys. THEN I can dive into these research books and see what I can learn.

So, what’s your favorite ride at Disneyland? Can you believe I had NEVER been on the Indiana Jones ride until this week? It was fabulous. But my favorite is still Pirates of the Caribbean. I love that an amusement park RIDE spurred an idea for a story.

Although just about everyone in the state of Louisiana has been celebrating Mardi Gras for more than two weeks now, the official Fat Tuesday was yesterday. Notice how I said they’ve been celebrating more than two weeks now? A Cajun will use just about any excuse to drag out ANY holiday or party, especially one like Mardi Gras, where they get to dress in sparkly costumes with masks and being drunk is a given. In fact the only time they won’t look for an excuse to party is during Lent.

In case you’re not familiar with Lent, it’s a Catholic thing, where for forty days (from Ash Wednesday, today, to Easter Sunday) we’re supposed to fast, pray, and abstain from certain pleasures. I won’t go into the whole religious hoohah about the why, when, etc. of Lent, only that Cajuns consider it taboo to mess with God during this time of year. Or, as a friend of mine once said….“You Cajun Cat-licks sure take that Lent stuff serious, huh?” The sad truth is that most of us are going through the motions of Lent simply because it’s tradition. For many of us, Lent’s one of those ‘always been around’ things, and its meaning evolves over time. Here’s what I mean….

1. Childhood

You are dragged from your nice warm bed to attend the earliest Mass possible, as all good Catholics must fortify themselves spiritually for the coming 40 days of Lent’s deprivations. These deprivations come in the form of personal sacrifice: no meat on Fridays (yes, bring on the horrid tuna/noodle casseroles, or, if wealthy, perhaps a Burger Chef fish sandwich.); giving more alms (help in any form) to the needy; abstaining from normal mindless fun in exchange for more charitable works; the addition of more and longer Mass attendance; and don’t dare get in trouble at school or home! All “Fat Tuesday” (Mardi Gras) means at this point in your life is that you are going to attend a ratty little parade on your downtown Louisiana Main Street for an hour, maybe catch a few beads, wave to Buckskin Bill of local TV show fame, then return home to begin your penance.

2. Teenage Years

You finally know what “Laissez les bon temps roulez!” means. (Let the good times roll!) You sneak off to a neighboring town’s Mardi Gras parade, where hopefully no one will know your family. You plan to attend Mass the next morning, but not so early because you now have wheels and a little more freedom. Your friend Patricia is waiting to be picked up and has 3 bottles of Boone’s Farm Strawberry Hill tucked into her oversized bag. Off you go for a day of fun—your goal, to grab and jerk every bead thrown from the floats away from anyone ignorant enough to stand next to you. Your first day of Lent starts with a bad head and stomach to go with the grounding and spanking you get from your parents who know people/tattlers everywhere you go on the planet.

3. The 20s and 30s

Complete freedom is yours. You plan to skip Mass so you cram in as many parties, balls, parades, and festivities as you can, all the way up to 12:000005 a.m. Ash Wednesday morning. (You’re counting on all the prayers your mama and grandma said for you over the years to cover your butt for that thousand-thousandth of a second overlap.) Lent begins and you ‘give up’ things like watermelon (which aren’t in season), lima beans, or wearing ugly shoes. You do wind up attending a late Mass because your mama makes you feel guilty, but you’re so hoarse from screaming, “Throw me something, Mister!” you can’t even manage an “Amen.”

4. Parenthood

Now in family mode, you drag your children from their warm beds to attend Mass and discuss what they will give up as a Lenten sacrifice or what good deeds they will add to their daily lives. If they are good, and if you have enough energy, you will take them to a family Mardi Gras parade. Drinking and partying are now a distant memory.

5. Parenthood Part 2

With teens of your own, you lecture them on the stupidity and danger involved in Mardi Gras-ing. Herds of hormone-filled wild children rush in and out of your home on their way to and from parades, balls, and parties. There seems to be a whole lot more of these damn activities than when you were a kid. You yell at the last car peeling out of your driveway, “Hey, remember we have Mass tomorrow! Don’t be out late, and you’d better have your cell phone with you and charged!” You wonder what you will do with the dump-truck load of beads that will be scattered all over your house tonight.

6. After the Kids

You’ve made a long list of Lenten sacrifices and good deeds to perform over the coming 40 days because you want to offer up every form of self-denial in hopes that the graces and benefits will be applied to your children and grandchildren, who are undoubtedly out on the streets among wild Mardi Gras paraders. You ‘enjoy’ Fat Tuesday by watching parade clips on the 10:00 news, if you can stay awake that long. You mumble to yourself as you take your vitamins, fiber, and medicines, “Laissez les bon temps roulez.” 6 a.m. Mass was nice and quiet.

Note: Today’s guest blogger is Jenny Gardiner, one of the two finalists for the American Title contest from Romantic Times and Dorchester.

I spent my Sunday at home in domestic bliss–hanging out with my family with a fire in the fireplace, watching forgettable television a little, writing a little on my laptop, doing a whole lot of nothing.

Now, domesticity can be boring–just hanging out doing a whole lot of nothing. But I always tend to find the humor in the mundane.

For example, putting a perpetual crimp in our uneventful Sunday at home was our parrot. Once content to be a prisoner in her cage (which stands about 5′ tall), she’s entered a phase of what I call oppositional defiance. Why not? She’s 16-1/2 years old. Classic teen behavior, right?

So now Graycie is intent on creating havoc if she doesn’t get her way. First thing she does: plinks on a single bar of the cage non-stop until we pay attention to her. Or she drags her beak across the cage, like a prisoner with a tin cup along the iron bars in an old western. She’ll do it for 45 minutes straight. It makes me INSANE.
Her goal? Freedom. She wants the perch opened on top of the cage so she can get out. It used to be I’d gladly do so. But now, when she gets out, she stealthily climbs off the cage and goes on a walkabout in my house. Problem is, the first thing she heads for are the electrical cords and outlets.

Now, she has gotten annoying enough over the past several months that I have fantasized her a la an episode of a Wile E Coyote cartoon, bird on a spit-style. But she has an incredible saving grace: her gregarious nature, which makes us laugh.

When I get up from the couch, only to see a trail of bird doo plopped across my hardwood floors, and I have to corral her back over to the cage while she pecks at my feet, she yells at me. As in: “Come, on, Grace, get in your cage.” or “Stop it. Now!” or “Hello, gray chicken!” Or when one of the dogs gets a little too close, “Bridget, stop it now! You’re a bad, bad girl!”

All in my voice.

So behind my dull day at home, there was a thread of a story weaving itself into my mind, as the bird continued her contrary behavior well into the evening. And despite the rest of the day being relatively uneventful, I was able to walk away with a few good laughs as well.

When I wrote SLEEPING WITH WARD CLEAVER, I was interested in exploring this concept of the everyday–the mundane nature of life and love and marriage after a lot of years have passed. So many couples stray onto different paths during the course of their marriage, and many hit a point at which they realize they must decide whether to cut and run, or tough it out and fix what’s gone wrong.

I wanted to take a protagonist who was drowning in the minutiae of her life, with what felt to her like a very non-supportive spouse, and help her figure out how to fix things and reconcile her unfulfilled expectations. And along the way, make sure that she could laugh–instead of cry, really–and be able to find her way out of the darkness and back onto the path she’d chosen with her husband in better times.

I’m not a big fan of melodrama, so it wasn’t in me to make this a treacly story. I wanted readers to be able to laugh with Claire, and even empathize with her (because don’t we all know at least one woman has gone through what Claire has?).

I hope you’ll get a chance read SLEEPING WITH WARD CLEAVER soon, and would be honored if you’d consider casting your vote for it by linking the American Title III contest from the Romantic Times website. It’s been a great experience being in this contest, getting to know my fellow competitors, and am humbled to be in the company of such wonderful writers as Kim Howe, the other remaining finalist in the competition.

Thank you for inviting me to be here today!

Note: Today’s guest blogger is Kim Howe, one of the two finalists for the American Title contest from Romantic Times and Dorchester.

The Imperfect Mirror

I read an article recently about retail stores purchasing change room mirrors that were designed to make everyone look taller and thinner. Sounds like a great marketing tactic—especially for those times when we’re frantically searching for the perfect outfit for an important wedding, a business meeting, or a cocktail party where Matthew McConaughey is the guest of honor (a girl has to dream!).

The article started me thinking about fiction writers and how we have our own personal mirror—our novels—because no matter how hard we try to avoid it, parts of ourselves are reflected in our stories for all readers to see. If we analyze the common threads or themes in our books, it can be an interesting view into our psyche. Sure, our stories are pure fiction (unless we’re killing off our former boss), but the heart of the story is special to the writer, and they must explore the issue in their own way and time. For example, in WIVES AND SISTERS, Natalie R. Collins explored religion and its place in society, an important issue that touches all of us. Her background and experiences with the Mormon culture allowed her readers insight into this unique world and that’s why the novel was such a gripping read.

As the queen of analysis/paralysis, I glanced into my own imperfect mirror. Trust issues seem to be my favorite topic. I moved around quite a bit growing up (my dad worked in telecommunications) and I was the perpetual new kid. I had to make quick decisions about who to trust and often learned the hard way that not everyone is related to the Cleavers! Trust issues have seeped into my romantic suspense novel, ONE SHOT, TWO KILLS. Although my sniper heroine, Kenya Alexikova, is more than capable of protecting herself physically, she is emotionally vulnerable. I enjoyed exploring her psyche, her past. Growing up with a sociopathic brother had powerful effects on her ability to trust and bond with others and my hero, CIA psychologist Jack Travis, has his work cut out for him!

In fiction, writers often use that imperfect mirror to exaggerate or extend concepts to the highest level. For example, in ONE SHOT, TWO KILLS, no one would be interested in a little squabbling between siblings. To fully explore the sibling trust issue, I ventured into the darkest place imaginable—a brother who wanted to kill his sister. It was a fascinating experience writing about forbidden feelings. That’s why I have such respect for authors who tackle controversial issues. To tap into those challenging emotions, you really have to put yourself out there. I’d love to hear from other writers and how they see themselves in their fictional mirrors.

On a lighter note, yet staying on the topic of imperfect mirrors, I’m having a draw to celebrate ONE SHOT, TWO KILLS making the top two of the American Title III Contest. You see, even my lean sniper Kenya thinks her thighs are too fat when she glances in the mirror!  So, she wears a lacy bra and boy shorts from Victoria’s Secret under her fatigues to help her feel beautiful. In honor of her making the finals, I’m having a draw for two Victoria’s Secret gift certificates. Please visit the contest page on my website at www.kjhowe.com for more details.

If you can spare a few minutes, please drop by http://www.romantictimes.com/news_amtitle.php and vote for your favorite love scene. Congratulations to my fellow finalist, Jenny Gardiner, for making the top two with her chick lit novel, SLEEPING WITH WARD CLEAVER. A big thank you to the lovely ladies at Murder She Writes for inviting us to blog this week. And remember, next time you’re trying on clothes, if you’re not happy with your success, blame it on the imperfect mirror!