How to write a murder mystery novel

Wondering how to write a murder mystery novel? Always dreamed of joining the ranks of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, John Grisham and Dennis Lehane? What does it take to write a murder mystery novel?

In a word, it takes work. Not just any kind of work, though. It takes smart work. Here’s what I mean:

1. You need a plan – What’s your murder mystery novel going to be about? Obviously, murder. But where will it take place? Who get’s murdered? Why?

2. You need strong characters – Who is your sleuth? Is it someone who your readers will care about? Why will they care about them? Your sleuth, or their companion, needs to be someone the reader can identify with. Sherlock Holmes was a larger than life character, but Dr. Watson was a relatively ordinary Joe, someone who was as bewildered as the audience until the final act. Holmes worked because we could watch him through the eyes of someone we could relate to. Is your sleuth a professional, or an ordinary person who stumbles across a foul deed they feel motivated to avenge? If they are not a professional, they need a motivation for getting involved, and there needs to be a reason they stay involved as their pursuit of the villain becomes more dangerous. It is a murderer they are chasing after all. Be careful not to spend all your time working on your hero, or protagonist. Your villain requires just as much thought, if not more so. What is it that drives a person to commit murder? What would drive YOU to commit murder? Are they just crazy, or is there something, some deep dark secret, that makes them feel that murder is justified? The best villains are those who are not simply evil personified. Your villain should have normal, redeeming, even sympathetic characteristics.

3. You need red herrings –  False clues are what make a murder mystery novel run. If your hero simply uncovers accurate clue after accurate clue in a linear fashion, your readers will fall asleep before the victim’s body gets cold. You need to fashion reasonable dead ends and wild goose chases. In order to do that, you need to create more than one suspect. A cast of suspects, all of whom have varying degrees of motive to do away with the central victim, will provide ample opportunities to misdirect your audience and keep them guessing. And really, keeping the audience guessing is what compels them to turn to the next page. You can even use your victim to create red herrings. Maybe they were not all that they appeared to be to the outside world. Perhaps your sleuth can uncover hidden secrets about the victim that supply additional motivation for their untimely demise.

4. You need to be fair to your reader – Hidden among your carefully crafted red herrings need to be actual clues, things that could conceivably lead your reader to figure out the puzzle themselves if they only knew they were the right clues. Slamming your reader with a final revelation of the criminal based on facts they could not possibly have known will turn them off and make them feel like they just wasted the time they invested in your story. There needs to be a thin thread of foreshadowing within the narrative that leads logically to your sleuth’s successfully solving the mystery. Anything less will leave your readers feeling cheated.

Remember all the things you love about a good murder mystery novel . . . a terrible crime, the clues, the chase, bringing the criminal to justice . . . and you will succeed in crafting a story that your readers will love, too!

For an excellent resource to make writing your murder mystery novel easier, Click Here!

Phoenix Rising

Hello, my friends. It has been much too long since my last post, and I apologize for my neglect. Since you last heard from me, I found myself in circumstances which led me to take on a second full-time job. As you might imagine, working 80 hours per week, seven days a week, for months on end (along with the responsibilities of marriage, parenthood, and dog ownership), can put a crimp in even the most dedicated blogger’s aspirations.

I’ve managed to create a semblance of a more balanced life, however, (now I’m only working 1 and 3/5 jobs!) and am making time to take up the mantle of my literary hopes and dreams, along with their trials, and once again share them with you.

In my time away from writing, the truth of the age-old adage “you don’t appreciate what you have until you lose it” has borne down on me with a crushing weight. The thing that bothered me the most about my work schedule was that I didn’t have any time to spend with my family. Second to that, I was miserable about not having any time to write.

I may never become a successfully published author (then, again, I may), but what I learned over the past months is that I HAVE to write. It’s a part of who I am. How do I know? Because I’m miserable when I’m not writing. I’m not always satisfied with the quality of my writing. In fact, I never am. (One of my biggest obstacles as a writer is overcoming the feeling that “it’s not good enough to show anyone yet.” But that’s a byproduct of my own insecurities.) However, even though most of what I write leads me to frustration, I still feel compelled to do it.

So, the noble steed that proudly gallops along the dirt road leading to the hallowed emerald city of publication has bucked me off and left me lying face down in a foul mixture of mud and manure. But our hero (in this case, me) has struggled to his feet, retrieved his wide-brimmed hat, brushed off his duster and climbed back onto the saddle, determined to finish the journey, come hell or high water (or both).

And that has led me straight to my current hurdle: I’m writing a scene that takes place during a Columbine-like attack at a college campus. There’s chaos and panic and death and blood and tragedy and heroics and all of that stuff, but I’m having trouble capturing the fear and adrenaline of being in the middle of that because my point-of-view character is not afraid. He is a supernatural being who, if anything, is amused by the tableau surrounding him. Amusement is not the tone I’m looking for, though.

I thought about changing to a different point-of-view character, one who would be crapping their pants in this situation (and I might still do that), but I wanted this scene to flesh out my protagonist/supernatural guy’s internal motivations without losing the terror of the event.

It’s puzzles like this one that I find maddening, because I want to have my cake and eat it, too (I mean, what’s the point of having the damn cake if you can’t eat it?). At the same time, this is the whole fun of writing — it’s a jigsaw puzzle, crossword puzzle, chess game and Jenga tower all rolled into one.

What would you do? I’ll let you know what I decided next time.

Thank you for your time and attention, and for the many kind comments and remarks. Your readership is very dear to me. And Happy Holidays!!!

The Anticlimax

Have you ever experienced anticlimax?

What do I mean? I mean the depression and moodiness that follows the accomplishment of an important goal.

Anyone who has read this blog before knows I completed the National Novel Writing Month challenge in November of 2009. I was extremely proud of myself for completing that task, and I still am. I learned a lot, and I had great expectations as to where my writing was going to go in the aftermath.

What I didn’t count on was the crushing anticlimactic downer that was waiting to smack me in the face in December. I’ve learned from earlier experiences with anticlimax in my life that the key to overcoming it was to be sure that I had another important goal lined up for immediately after achieving the present goal. I did that. I set a word goal for December (30,000 words), and intended to repeat that goal as a regular routine for every month thereafter.

I thought it was a good goal, and I was right. It is a great goal.

The only problem was, I didn’t want to write. I had spent the previous month writing, almost obsessively, writing even when I didn’t want to write, because I was committed enough to the goal that I HAD to write.

Then December came and I somehow got in touch with my petulant childhood brat and decided

“No, I don’t want to write, and YOU CAN’T MAKE ME!!!”

I’m embarrassed to admit that I let that attitude conquer me. I allowed my writing routine to be disrupted. I gave in to depression and ennui, and took a very long and unplanned hiatus from my vision of who I am and what I aim to accomplish.

For those of you who have honored me with your readership in the past, I apologize for my long absence, and I hope that you will continue to travel along this difficult road with me.

From the day this blog was born, I have committed to sharing the real story of my experiences in trying to build a writing career, and relating the highs (and the lows) honestly, even when they don’t cast me in the best light.

I am happy to say that I have dusted myself off, and climbed back on the horse, and am back to a regular writing routine.

I would love to know if any of you have also had to deal with the anticlimax blues, and if so, how did you manage to overcome it? Maybe by sharing, our future bouts with that particular demon can be cut short, and even eliminated.

Thank you for your time and attention,

and Happy New Decade to All of You!

The Finish Line – Things I’ve Learned from NaNoWriMo – Part 4

It is done. 30 days. One month. 51,959 words written.

National Novel Writing Month has proven to be one of the most profound experiences of my life. I applaud all of the writers who took part in this year’s event, and my hat’s off to all the winners. I consider it an honor and a privilege to number among you.

It was harder than I thought it would be. My experience has been, however, that easy accomplishments are often transient, hollow and easily forgotten. I will not forget this. This was hard.

The lessons were hard-won, as well. I’ve talked about some of them in previous posts, but now that the challenge is over, the question is: what is the most important lesson learned from this experience? I’ve given a great deal of thought to that question and the answer can be found in the words of the poet, James Whitcomb Riley, when he said:

“The most essential factor is persistence – the determination never to allow your energy or enthusiasm to be dampened by the discouragement that must inevitably come.”

I wanted to quit a thousand times. I questioned my motives in signing up for the challenge. I wondered whether it was worth my time or effort. I got discouraged.

Oh, and I did one other thing – I wrote. Not always well, but always. Day in and day out.

And that’s why I met the goal. It was nothing more than pig-headed stubbornness. A persistent pursuit of a persistent goal. I opened my big mouth and told everyone I knew that I was doing this, and I was unwilling to tell all of them that I failed to reach the goal.

So, now I know, and now you know, too. The secret to becoming the writers we all want to be is persistence. It is the time-worn cliché that has never been truer: Writers write. Every day.

I am grateful to the organizers of NaNoWriMo, to my fellow participants who inspired me to take on the challenge, and to all of the wonderful cheerleaders who spurred me on to the finish line. Your support has humbled me.

And tomorrow? Well, tomorrow it will be time to write some more. I hope you’ll join me! 🙂

The Home Stretch – Things I’ve Learned from NaNoWriMo – Part 3

45,846 words down – 4,154 words to go! Woo hoo! There were plenty of times that I doubted myself, but it looks like I’m actually going to conquer this challenge! I am psyched!

Is it the best writing I’ve ever done? In my opinion, it’s not, but I don’t believe creating breathtaking, scintillating prose is the point of the challenge.

What is the point? For me, the point is to write more than you ordinarily would, more often than you ordinarily would, and with less self-criticism than you ordinarily would.

Therein lays the true value of National Novel Writing Month:

NaNoWriMo MAKES you write.

When you sign up for NaNoWriMo, you no longer have the luxury of writing when you feel like it, or when you feel “inspired,” or when you have time for it. Having a goal of writing 50,000 words in one month means it doesn’t matter if you feel like writing. It doesn’t matter if you have time for it. It doesn’t matter if you don’t like what you’re writing.

The solution to all of the above? WRITE SOME MORE.

I know the question many of you are asking yourselves:

If what you’ve written isn’t inspired, or very good, or enjoyable, what’s the use of writing it?

An excellent question, and one I was forced to confront when I was discouraged and doubtful. The answer?

The use is that I’ve spent the last 23 days WRITING!

Not thinking about writing, not dreaming about writing, not waiting for inspiration to write. No. I’ve been writing. And that is, in fact, what writers do.

So, the most valuable lesson and gift that this incredible challenge has given me is . . .

a daily writing routine.

NaNoWriMo made a writer out of me. I no longer feel like a dabbler. I no longer write only when I feel like writing. Now I write because it’s a new day and I’m a writer and that means I need to write something today. Now my psyche knows I mean business. My subconscious knows if it gives me a good idea, it’s not just going to float around in my head until I forget it. My muse knows that if she gives me something to work with, I’m going to do that work.

For me, writing is no longer my favorite aspiration. Now, writing is my favorite verb.

So, how can you and I use this? Well, NaNoWriMo happens for one month every year. From now on the remaining 11 months on my calendar will be renamed, respectively, My Novel Writing December, My Novel Writing January, My Novel Writing February, etc.

I’ve chosen to lower the monthly goal to 30,000 words, or 1,000 words per day. You may (and probably will) choose different goals, but I wholeheartedly recommend that you do set monthly and daily goals for your writing.

It may not be a word count goal that works for you. Maybe you prefer to set a time limit, like one hour per day or a half-hour per day. Or you may use a chapter goal. Or a character development goal. Or a revision goal.

Whatever works for you, it should be specific and clearly definable and work to move your project forward. Take advantage of the normal human tendency to develop habits around repetitive tasks. They say it takes 21 days of doing something every day to form a habit. My experience shows that to be true. Internalize a habit long enough, and it becomes automatic.

So, I hope all of you decide to join me and amp up your productivity by becoming an “automatic writer” and make next month Your Novel Writing Month!

Thank you for your time and attention 🙂

Things I’ve Learned from NaNoWriMo – Part 2

Thirteen days into the most ambitious writing project of my life so far, I have to admit I’m tired. I’m 22,451 words into a 50,000 word challenge, so I’m slightly ahead of the required 1,667 word-per-day pace. I would be lying if I said I’m not proud of myself. There’s still a long way to go, but I wasn’t sure I would be able to stay on top of this, and I also worried a great deal whether the idea I decided to explore would hold up past the first couple of chapters. I’m glad to say it has, and I’ve got a clear idea now where it is going and how it’s going to get there.

More valuable to me than the work I’ve gotten done, though, are the things I’m learning in the process. I mentioned a few in my last post (which was longer ago than I wanted it to be, but most of my time has been taken up with the new book), and I wanted to share a couple of other things with you.

I’ve learned not to be afraid to shift gears. I never realized how rigidly I stuck to ideas once I had them. As I’ve said before, in the past I’ve outlined my ideas extensively and then planted my butt in the chair and fleshed out the skeleton. Whereas it’s comforting to have a cross-country trip mapped out from beginning to end (when it comes to travel, I don’t like surprises until I get where I’m going), that also cuts you off from enjoying spur of the moment side trips, unplanned sightseeing and discovering hidden treasures off the beaten path. Hard-core sticking to an outline locks you into the same restrictions.

My current project has taken several unplanned turns already, and I’m not even half-way through. For example, I started the story in third person POV, and realized about five chapters in that it felt like a college professor preaching quantum physics to a lecture hall full of bleary-eyed students after an all-night frat party. My action scenes sounded like turn-by-turn GPS instructions. The newfound freedom I’ve found as a result of NaNoWriMo enabled me to switch to first person, and just like flipping a light switch, the action scenes started to pop. In the past, I would have stuck with third person either until I finished the project and realized I hated it, or I would have given up and started a new project. I like the free-wheeling approach better.

Another thing I had to learn is what to do when I’ve worn myself out, and am just plain tired of writing. The answer is something I’ve read before, and I’m sure you’ve read it, too, and that is to READ!!! Read, and then read some more. And when you’re done doing that, pick up something else and read it, too.

Now, I’m not just talking about a change of scenery. I don’t mean retreating to the comfort of one of your well-worn genres. I mean picking up something totally fresh and new, something you wouldn’t normally read.

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about: I spoke in a previous post of finding new authors and genres during my recent months on Facebook. This month is where the true value of that hit home. My entire life has been spent devouring suspense thrillers by authors like Dean Koontz, John Sandford, James Patterson, Tom Clancy and Vince Flynn. I also like vampire novels. I never really got into zombies before, but I’ve heard a lot about them on Facebook, so I started checking some out. While doing that, I heard about something called Steampunk. Which led me to a book called Boneshaker, by Cherie Priest.

One night when I felt like setting my laptop down on the driveway and driving my SUV back and forth over it because I was sick of writing, I picked Boneshaker up and started reading. I found myself immediately drawn in by Ms. Priest’s style of writing, and I started noticing various turns of phrase, original ways of saying ordinary things. A light went off in my head and I started thinking about how I could twist commonplace phrases in my own writing into something fresh and new. Will I use specific phrases from her book? Heck no. Those are her phrases. But after reading several chapters of Boneshaker, I felt like writing again. Good thing I didn’t drive over my laptop.

Taking time out from how my own mind works and playing in a sandbox with an artist turned me around, straightened me up, and set me down the right path again.

I learned how to set a killer hook right at the beginning of a book by reading Jeff Carlson’s Plague Year. Talk about being sucked in by the first sentence. It’s a great read. I highly recommend it.

So, now back to the writing. Because no matter how much you think about it, how much you learn about it, and how much you try to change it, the only way to really be a writer is to sit down and write. And nothing in my life has taught me that as well as NaNoWriMo.

Thank you for your time and attention!

Things I’ve Learned from NaNoWriMo So Far – Part 1

For those that do not know, NaNoWriMo is shorthand for National Novel Writing Month, which is currently in full-swing. The goal: Write a 50,000 word (175 page) novel between November 1^st and November 30^th.

This is my first year doing it, and I’m having a fantastic time — in a crazy, pedal-to-the-metal, death-drop  kind of way!

More importantly, I’m learning an awful lot.

The first thing I’m learning is what I’m capable of in terms of production. When I wrote my first manuscript, I imposed a 1,000 word per day requirement on myself. That felt Herculean at the time, and I did not end up writing every day. The compromise I made with myself was that I might not write every day, but when I did write, I wouldn’t get up until I produced 1,000 words. Sometimes that took a half hour, sometimes it took two hours. The last month of the first draft, I was getting excited about nearing the finish, so I did write just about every day.

With NaNoWriMo, I have to write every day, and I need to turn out 1,667 words each day if I’m to reach the goal. I found out the hard way how important it is not to slack off the daily word count: During game 6 of the World Series this past Wednesday night, my teenage daughter’s energy was so electric, what with Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Brett Gardner about to win a championship (and they’re so hot, don’t you know), that it was almost impossible for me to write. I managed to grind out about 500 words, then Hideki Matsui started driving in runs and the writing was done.

As a result, the next night I had to write almost 3,000 words just to tread water. I was lucky that I was 400 words ahead of pace going into the World Series game, but I still needed about 2,600 words to catch up. Yeah, right, I thought. But I did it! A full-time writer might look at that and scoff, but for me, it’s a ton of writing. Now I have the confidence that I can produce like that when I set my mind to it.

Another thing I’m learning is how to be looser in terms of my structure. Prior to writing my first manuscript, I outlined every scene of every chapter before ever sitting down to write. I knew exactly how it began, every step along the way, and how it ended. Then, all I had to do was connect the dots. I felt like a classical musician, who sits with a sheet of music in front of him, and plays only these notes, in only this sequence, for only this amount of time.

With NaNoWriMo, I only found out about it four or five days ahead of time, so I didn’t prepare an outline. When I sat down to write on Day 1, all I had was an overall theme and an opening scene. For the past five days, I’ve been riffing off of that.

I don’t know yet whether the ideas will keep coming or I’ll hit a brick wall, but so far, the words have appeared at my fingertips when I needed them to be there.

The overriding feeling is one of freedom. Instead of a classical musician, I feel like a jazz musician, improvising, combining, exploring and dancing on the edge between ascension and debauchery.

It’s an intoxicating mixture.

I’ll share more in my next post, but now it’s time for my jazz solo. 😉

And the Kreativ Blogger Award goes to . . .

Starting a new blog when there are already millions of them out there is an iffy thing. What if nobody reads it? What if you’re just wasting your time? Do you really have anything to say that someone else would want to read? A writer’s constant companion, self-doubt, is always looking over my shoulder, ready to whisper, “See! No one viewed your blog today! I told you! Stop wasting your time with this and go watch Real Housewives of Atlanta!” (No offense to fans of the show. I’ve never watched it, so I’m not judging. I just pulled a name out of the air 😉 ).

Then an amazing thing happens: you get your first page view! And you think, OMG! Someone actually surfed the wide expanse of cyberspace and passed over my page. Eyeballs saw what I wrote! Self-doubt is ready for that, though. “Yeah, they looked at it, but they probably thought it was a steaming pile of elephant dung.”  Huh, that’s true enough, I suppose.

If you are blessed, though, as I have been, one magical person takes time out of their crazy hectic lives and actually posts a comment. And joy of joys, they do not compare your work with a very large animal’s excrement. No, they are kind enough to validate your work, express their appreciation, and tell you they want to read more of what you have to say. OK, you think, I’ll say more then.

As time passes, more kind words come your way, and you meet more magical people, some of them with their own blogs waiting to be explored. I’ve discovered a wealth of fascinating and interesting people, and have begun to get to know them through their work. One of them suggested I participate in National Novel Writing Month, and I’ve taken their advice and jumped into the fray.

It’s not an easy task — Produce a 50,000-word novel in 30 days, a 1,667 word-a-day pace. I dream of one day being able to write full-time and I’m working toward creating that reality. For the time being, though, I work full-time at a computer terminal all day, and part-time as my teenage daughter’s chauffeur. Last night’s word tally was tough, because I was pretty tired.

So, imagine my surprise and pleasure at seeing a post on my blog that simply said, “PS. I’ve left you a little something on my blog. Check it out “

The post came from W.M. Morrell, who writes an outstanding blog at http://quillfeather-blog.blogspot.com/. She’s one of the magical people who have frequented my blog from the outset, always with an encouraging word left behind.

She has given me the Kreativ Blogger Award, along with six other outstanding bloggers, and I am humbled to be included in their company.

Thank you so much, Wendy. You have my heartfelt gratitude.

As with all great honors, great responsibility comes along with it. Terms of acceptance include forwarding the same award to 7 other deserving bloggers, who must follow the instructions below:

1. Copy and paste the pretty picture which you see at the top of this post onto your own blog.
2. Thank the person who gave you the award and post a link to their blog.
3. Write 7 things about yourself we do not know.
4. Choose 7 other bloggers to award.
5. Link to those 7 other bloggers.
6. Notify your 7 bloggers.

Seven things about me you do not know:

1. I worked semi-professionally as an electric bass guitarist for many years, beginning in junior high school.

2. I was a Christian minister for years, then modified my beliefs to encompass a broad range of philosophies, including Far Eastern, Celtic, and Pagan sensibilities. I no longer profess any single religion, but am actively pursuing non-denominational spiritual development.

3. My favorite band is Within Temptation, a group from Holland that are often described as symphonic goth metal artists.

4. My favorite TV show is Dexter, a cable drama on Showtime about a serial killer who works for the Miami Police Department as a blood spatter specialist, and lives by a code that only allows him to kill other serial killers.

5. I’m married to my third wife, and she is married to her third husband. After 12 years together, I’m deliriously happy and she hasn’t left me yet, so I’d have to say we finally got it right. 😀

6. I’m training to run my first marathon, but I’ve been hobbled by a nagging back injury, which I don’t bounce back from as quickly as I used to.

7. I believe when we look into the eyes of another person, we see God looking back at us.

Here are seven bloggers, in addition to W.M. Morrell (http://quillfeather-blog.blogspot.com/) who continually enlighten and inspire me:

1. Qumran Taj – a modern-day wizard, who writes the blog, The Wizard Speaks at http://wizardqumran.wordpress.com He owns a store that specializes in all things magickal, and be sure to check out his website at www.wizardsonlinestore.com

2. Pat Bertram – A published author with three titles available from Second Wind Publishing (http://secondwindpublishing.com/), A Spark of Heavenly Fire, More Deaths Than One, and her latest, Daughter Am I. Her blog at http://ptbertram.wordpress.com/ is lively, informative, interesting and authoritative. As if that were not enough, she has compiled another blog, entitled Book Marketing Floozy (http://marketingfloozy.wordpress.com/about/) outlining her accumulated wisdom on that widely misunderstood subject of self-promotion for authors.

3. Sophie Playle – Writer and Free-Lance Editor (http://www.sophieplayleblog.blogspot.com/). I got a valuable critiquing resource from her, along with book reviews and the benefit of her editorial insights.

4. John Truby – Author of The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller. His blog at http://johntruby.blogspot.com/ is a virtual master class in writing. Don’t miss this one.

5. L.J. Sellers – Author of the Detective Jackson series, including The Sex Club, Secrets to Die For, and the upcoming Thrilled to Death. Her blog at http://ljsellers.com/wordpress/ shares a wealth of articles, instruction, and practical advice.

6. Joy Leftow – http://joyleftowsblog.blogspot.com/, purveyor of poetry and bluetry. My exposure to good poetry is seriously lacking. Here’s how I’m fixing that.

7. Pimp My Novel – http://pimpmynovel.blogspot.com/. Eric and Laura produce an information-packed blog written from the other side of the writing game, the business side, and give insight into what happens to your book once it’s acquired by a house. This is outstanding stuff.

Please check out these fine bloggers’ work. Without readers, blogs have no reason to exist.

Thank you for your time and attention!

For the next month, the end of life as I know it

 

Tonight is my last night of freedom. Starting sometime after midnight tonight, I will be embarking on an extraordinary challenge, along with about 150,000 other people.

Our goal: Write a 50,000-word novel between November 1st and 30th, 2009.

That works out to 1,667 words per day. Every day. For a month.

To be honest with you, the idea of it scares the living crap out of me. At the same time, I haven’t been this excited about writing since I typed the last sentence of my first manuscript.

I’m not just scared about the daily word count, although that’s scary enough. I’m also scared because I’m not 100% sure what I’m going to write yet. There’s no shortage of ideas. As most of you know, I’m a big fan of John Truby’s The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller. One of his exercises is to prepare a premise list of all the ideas you would like to explore at one time or another in your writing life. In my own case, I seriously doubt there will be enough years left in my life for me to explore all of the ideas I have on my list. So, thinking of something to write about is not a problem.

The problem is, which idea excites me enough that it will keep me going when I get discouraged? What if I miss a day and now I have to write 3,334 words the next day to catch up? What if I feel the story has taken a wrong turn and now I’m bummed because it isn’t heading where I thought it would and I have to fix it on the fly? Which story idea is going to carry me through the challenges of writing an entire novel in a short period of time?

The ideas that are trying to fight their way to the front of the line revolve around either a group of cannibals terrorizing a man whose family they’ve kidnapped, or a struggle between angels and demons that takes place in a high school, or a pre-apocalyptic doomsday saga intertwined with obscure Biblical prophecies.

I’m not sure which idea will win, and I have a feeling I’m not going to know until I sit down at the keyboard sometime after midnight to begin.

Nothing like flying by the seat of your pants.

I will do my best to update this blog regularly, despite the demands of engaging in this month-long battle, but I beg your forbearance in case this dragon gets the better of me for the next few weeks.

Wish me luck!

Facebook Nation

In reflecting on the uses of technology for a writer, as I did in my last post, it occurred to me the difference that joining Facebook about a month ago has had on me.

Some of you writers might think that there is limited value in Facebook for a writer, or even that it might be a hindrance. It does, after all, take time to stay on top of your Facebook account, time that could be spent writing. It also provides a convenient excuse not to write, especially if you belong to a lot of writer’s groups, like I do. “Maybe I’ll just read one of my “friend’s” blog for a few minutes for inspiration,” and on and on until your time and energy is gone and nothing gets written.

My experience of Facebook has been entirely different, though. I’m writing more now than I did prior to joining Facebook, and here’s the reason why: In my face-to-face life, I don’t know any fiction writers. Not one. So, one of my goals in joining Facebook was to contact and get to know some authors. I’ve succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.

Now it’s an often stated fact that most people don’t really “know” most of the folks they “friend” on Facebook. And that’s true. I have requested many perfect strangers to be my “friends.” With only two exceptions, they all very graciously complied. But, lo and behold, I’ve found myself having some very enjoyable conversations with a number of writers who I didn’t know a month ago. As a byproduct of those conversations, I’ve been exposed to a wide range of new genres, authors, styles, websites, blogs, magazines, agents, editors, publishers, book cover designers, trailer creators – a virtual gamut of all things related to writing.

I’ve discovered talented authors who write exactly the type of stories I enjoy reading. I’ve had authors volunteer articles for me to read that have expanded my horizons and contained priceless tips and strategies that have already made me a better writer, in my opinion.

By paying attention to other writers’ posts, I’ve gotten a treasure trove of encouragement and inspiration, especially when I see other authors announce the release of their books, post their glowing reviews, and share the trials and tribulations they are suffering. Those are the same difficulties I face, so I feel less alone when dealing with them.

I even had one friend recommend I sign up for NaNoWriMo. I had to admit I had no idea what a NaNoWriMo was. She gave me a link to their website and I learned it stood for National Novel Writing Month (www.nanowrimo.org). It is a month-long challenge to write a 50,000 word novel between November 1st and November 30th, 2009. Participants hail from all over the world, and there are tips, forums, a handbook and fun stuff to help keep you on track and focused on the goal. The philosophy behind it is to overcome the paralysis of analysis and concentrate on getting the story out of you, first and foremost, and have a finished draft to work with instead of just dreaming about a first draft.

Why get involved in something like this instead of just continuing to work on my current writing projects? I’ll tell you why: FUN! That’s right, I said Fun. I can’t remember the last time I had fun writing. I miss it. What I mean is writing fiction is work. I have a grand vision of what I want to produce, and even though that vision is exciting to me, the nuts and bolts of actually doing it is work. It’s hard. (Paradoxically, the exception to that rule for me is writing this blog. I enjoy doing this!)

The idea of ripping out a book in one month, and having a whole community of other writers doing the same thing at the same time, rooting for each other, meeting up at coffee shops and parks and libraries to write together . . . I’m looking forward to the fun of being a part of that.

So once again, technology is helping me become a happier writer. And a happy writer is a productive writer. And a productive writer is a legend in the making!

I would love to hear from any of you who have done NaNoWriMo, or would like to try it, as well as anyone whose writing has been enhanced by their experience on Facebook. And if you haven’t already, why don’t you “friend” me while you’re at it! 😉