Author: Elizabeth Spann Craig

Time for all the year-end retrospectives. I sort of like them…but sort of not. So mine is more of a recap of things I learned this year and resources I gathered.

January—I discovered that you can get out of jury duty by being a mystery writer. Yes, there I was, pen and notebook in hand. I was completely ready to do my civic duty—and get an insider’s view on courtroom proceedings for a criminal trial. The defendant’s attorney? He did not want me there. I guess if you’re a lawyer, it’s best to stick with what you know. And he didn’t know how a mystery writer might react.

Feb-March—I worked through the revision process with Midnight Ink for Pretty is as Pretty Dies. I realized that promoting a book had changed since my first book was published in 2006. It had become a much more virtual process than a matter of a physical appearance. This was a huge relief since I’m 1) an introvert and 2) a stay-at-home mommy for whom appearances are difficult.

Early April—I got the green light to write a new series for Penguin’s Berkley Prime Crime—the Memphis Barbeque series.

April—I became curious about blog touring and discovered that several successful authors had attended Dani’s Blog Book Tour class on Yahoo Groups. Although she doesn’t have an upcoming class on her rota as far as I can tell, she has some great info in her archived Blog Book Tour blog.

May—Taking Dani’s class, I learned many interesting tips:
RSS Feed buttons and Add-This and what RSS feeds and bookmarks do.
Blogrolls
Making room on your sidebar (collapsing your archives.)
Qualities of a good blog.
Buy buttons if you have a book to sell.
How to handle Facebook.

Want a great overview? Try her Quickest Blog Book Tour Guide Ever.

Late May—I made some really wonderful friends that were classmates of mine in the Blog Tour class. Among them were Karen Walker, Galen Kindley, Jane Sutton, Patricia Stoltey, Stephen Tremp, and Nancy Sharpe. I also met graduates of Dani’s class: Marvin Wilson, Helen Ginger, L. Diane Wolfe. They’ve stuck by me through the months—which I really appreciate.

I also opened up a separate, professional Facebook account.

June—Welcome to Twitter. I start to make many new online writing friends and discovered what a fantastic writing community there is online. For a great sampling of my new friends, check out my blog’s sidebar or my award list.

Early July—Joined the fabulous mystery writing cooks at the Penguin/Berkley Prime Crime blog, Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen. I met some really welcoming authors who inspired me to ramp up my writing, as well as my cooking.

July—I learn that yes, you can write the bulk of a book while you’re kids are home on summer break. I wrote at the swimming pool and skating rink. (Link: How I Survived My Kids’ Summer Vacation.)

August 1—Pretty is as Pretty Dies is released. I guested on a variety of blogs and increased my book’s visibility on Google.

August, September, October—I made a lot more public appearances than I usually make…to promote the release of the new book. Here are my “Thoughts on Public Speaking.”

November, December—Revisions, revisions! Learned to juggle revisions on two separate books and write the first draft of a third. Still working on time-management. :)

Thanks so much to all of you who have made this such an incredible year for me. I’m looking forward to 2010 and connecting more with all of you! Your comments and support have meant so much to me.

I’ve frequently been guilty of tunnel vision. I’m very Type A, and to me, staying the course sometimes means completing a project or train of thought.

You’ve sent me a Christmas card? You’re on my Christmas card list for life. I will continue sending you a card each year until I have proof of your demise in triplicate.

Change in schedule? I try to continue the original game plan for the day, while incorporating the change. In years past this meant carrying a squalling, unhappy toddler with me to lunch with a friend because someone eschewed naptime.

My first draft of my first book was the same way. Although I’ve never been a fan of outlines, I definitely had a plan for my book. I received well-meaning advice for my manuscript from first readers and a professional editor—but I was loath to take it. To me, it meant compromising my project. I wasn’t staying the course. And I felt the WIP was losing something that made it mine.

This inflexibility with editorial direction was, I now think, a sign of my immaturity…both as a writer and person.

At this point I’m open to both criticism and ideas. Bring them on! Usually even the toughest critique or harshest review has something useful I can take from it. Maybe it’s not something I can use for the current manuscript, but it might make a future book in the series stronger.

Tips for handling criticism and making it helpful:

Thank them for it. Even if I’m gritting my teeth, I’ll thank someone who criticizes my work in a non-nasty way. If they’ve taken the time to read my book or draft and think up ways to improve it, then they deserve some appreciation.

Don’t be defensive. When I’m defensive, I’m shutting down. I can’t be receptive to new ideas if I’m trying to defend something I wrote. And…it doesn’t really matter. Whether someone likes something I wrote or not isn’t up for debate. I don’t have any control over anyone else.

Consider the change. I write a quick version incorporating the advice and see if it’s better than I thought it would be.

Consider the essence of the criticism. Maybe there was a part that bothered your reader that they couldn’t exactly put their finger on. Perhaps they know there’s a problem with the protagonist, but they’re not a skilled enough reader to hone in on the exact nature of the problem. If a first reader says they didn’t like the character, find out why they didn’t. Was the character too static? Was the character whiny? Unbelievable?

Look for a second opinion. Have you got anyone else to read your draft? Did they stumble at the same spot? If not, ask them what they think of the criticism and whether or not it’s valid.

Is the criticism from your editor? Then…If my editor asks for the change? I just make it. For me, it’s always worked out better that way, even when I wasn’t jazzed about the change.

I’ve realized now that my books aren’t extensions of myself. They’re more of a collaborative effort—between me, my agent, my publisher, my readers…and even my critics. Once I came to that realization, it was all gravy.

Have you ever watched something unexpected happen?

My now-8 year old daughter was a cute baby. She was roly-poly and liked singing to herself in baby babble. Her hair stuck straight up and her serious eyes stared directly at or through you.

When cooing strangers in the grocery store came up to my baby? She’d fire them an unblinking, belligerent glare that could curdle milk. Then she’d recoil–withdraw her arm, her head, her whole body from the stranger’s looming proximity. She looked like an outraged adult, offended by an unwelcome advance.

The strangers would draw back and laugh nervously. I’d mildly say, “ I’m sorry. She’s so funny sometimes.” And then I’d laugh hysterically as soon as the stranger left my aisle. The strangers’ reaction to her unexpected response was always so funny. Just like watching “Candid Camera.”

I’m really fond of the unexpected in my writing and I lenjoy reading it, too.

What surprises are good for:

For adding humor or quirkiness: You think a character is going to behave in a particular way. You’ve carefully portrayed Edna as an uptight prude. Your protagonist views Edna that way. Then Edna says something outrageous and brazen that completely shatters this stereotype. Or Edna invites the protagonist to lunch—and serves McDonald’s Quarter Pounders with Cheese on her delicate china. And Bloody Marys.

For suspense: Your character juggles his groceries on one hip while he fumbles with his house key. It’s a ho-hum scene with a character focused on doing two things at once. Ho-hum until he feels the gun pressing into his side.

As a distraction: Mystery writers need to put in clues. We don’t particularly want our readers to notice the clue until it’s time for the case to be solved. A suddenly erupting argument or a quickly-contained but alarming grease fire provides a wonderful opportunity to slip in a clue under the radar.

As a breath of fresh air: Is your scene getting stale? Is your character going through the same motions every day? Are their days a little too ordinary. Liven things up with something unexpected. It doesn’t have to be something major (scary landing during their plane trip)—it could be something as minor as a flat tire or a broken air conditioner that takes their day on a different and surprising trajectory.

Surprises may not be as fun in real life as they are in books. Do you enjoy throwing in unexpected elements to your story? Do you use big or little twists?

Cool:

• Tell your friends your mother writes books. Have them convinced you’re a liar. Have Mom verify later she actually does write. Maximum impact!
• Your name is in actual, printed books (because Mom can’t resist putting you in the book somehow.)
• You meet other writers sometimes.

Not Cool:

• The teacher will definitely ask Mom to teach a class on writing at some point during the school year. And your mom can be soooo embarrassing.
• If your mom is a writer, you always have to do your reading and English homework.
• Your teacher will write notes on ‘B’-grade essays that say, “I know you can write better than this.”
• Sometimes you have to go to conferences or book signings. These are tedious and even Mom doesn’t look like she’s having fun.
• If you’re at a dental appointment after school, you can’t claim you can’t do your homework because you don’t have a pencil. Mom has at least fifty pencils in her massive pocketbook.

Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. I’m taking a short blog break for Christmas and reposting some of my older posts from 2009. Thanks so much to everyone for making my blogging year a happy one.

And…my friend and fellow Midnight Ink author, Keith Raffel, is guest blogging for me at the Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen this morning.  Hope you can pop over. He’s got salmon with almonds that’s ready to serve!

This post functions as a follow up to the last one. What if you do need your protagonist to go down into a dark basement?

I think most readers agree that one thing that immediately forces them out of a story is when a character does something out of character. Occasionally authors need a plot device to forward the resolution of the story and some poor character will have to do something totally contrived.

“Why,” wonders the reader, “would Kathy go into the clearing alone when she knows there’s a ravenous T-Rex there? She’s always been perfectly rational before…did she have a small stroke?”

Sometimes I can suspend my disbelief and just try to forge on and enjoy a book. But it’s gotten harder to do so. As a writer, I’m determined not to humiliate my characters by making them do something they wouldn’t ordinarily do.

But I still need a plot device. Usually, there comes a point in my story where I need my sleuth to confront the murderer. Naturally, this meeting never happens in the police station. Oh no, it’s got to happen in a scary, deserted location where my detective’s life is at stake.

But my sleuth is a smart woman. How to reasonably get her there? Was she expecting to have a partner present to ensure her safety during the confrontation? Did that partner end up in a car crash or unavoidably detained somehow?

I try to think like my character—what kind of excuses would they give for behaving like this? “I realized I’d seen something odd at the scene of the crime, so I went back to have another look. But the murderer went back too…to collect the evidence that pointed to him.”

I try to think of as many excuses as possible why a character would act out of their normal behavior pattern. Then I pick the most plausible reason, write it, and see if it works.

If none of the excuses seem plausible, it’s back to the drawing board. It’s worth some extra work to make sure I’m not losing a reader’s interest.

I’m thinking most fiction writers have the same problem. Why is the protagonist not using his magic powers to solve the problem? Why is the female protagonist making the same mistakes over and over again for no reason but to provide more plot conflict? I think it’s good to point out what the readers are already thinking and have the character answer their questions: (“Wish my magic powers could be used to stop time, but….” or “I know it seems like I keep making the same mistakes, but…”)

Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. I’m taking a short blog break for Christmas and reposting some of my older posts from 2009. Thanks so much to everyone for making my blogging year a happy one.