NEW FEATURE: WHAT’S YOUR PROCESS?

What’s Your Process?

How does a writer get the work onto paper (or screen, as it were)? That’s probably the next most asked question after the “where do ideas come from?” thing. So Mysterical-E set out to find the answer to this question. (Finding the answer to the other question is not possible.) We put out a call for authors to submit answers to a few questions in the hopes of giving readers some insight into the various methods writers use to produce their mystery fiction. Their answers were as varied as their writing.

In this debut column, we feature four writers.

We welcome JOE COSENTINO as the first writer to explain his process to us.

BIO: Joe Cosentino was voted Favorite LGBT Mystery Author of the Year by the readers of Divine Magazine for Drama Queen. He also wrote the other novels in the popular Nicky and Noah mystery series: Drama Muscle, Drama Cruise, Drama Luau, Drama Detective, Drama Fraternity, Drama Castle. His heralded Jana Lane mystery series is published by The Wild Rose Press: Paper Doll, Porcelain Doll, Satin Doll, China Doll, Rag Doll. Joe is also the author of the award-winning Dreamspinner Press novellas: In My Heart/An Infatuation & A Shooting Star, A Home for the Holidays, The Perfect Gift, The First Noel, The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland with Holiday Tales from Fairyland. His award-winning Cozzi Cove series in published by NineStar Press: Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back, Moving Forward, Stepping Out, New Beginnings, Happy Endings. As an actor, Joe has appeared in principal acting roles in film, television, and theatre, opposite stars such as Bruce Willis, Rosie O’Donnell, Nathan Lane, Holland Taylor, and Jason Robards. He is currently Chair of the Department/Professor at a college in upstate New York, and he is happily married. Joe’s books have received numerous Favorite Book of the Month Awards and Rainbow Award Honorable Mentions.

1. You have a new idea for a mystery that you want to develop into a book. What are your first steps in developing the idea to transform it into a novel-length piece? What’s the first thing you do after jotting down the initial idea?

I generally jump out of sleep at 3am with a terrific idea. It always starts with the surprise ending for me and I work my way backwards. If I can read my notes on my night table the next day, I write character biographies. Since I was a professional actor, I spend a great deal of time creating long backstories for my characters, delving deeply into each character’s past, present, and future. I use sense memory and emotional recall to fully connect to each character as if I’m playing them.

2. What additional things do you do to shape that idea so it becomes the mystery you thought it could be?

I think it’s cheating not to give clues early and to randomly pick a murderer at the conclusion. When the reader gets to the ending of a mystery novel, they should slap their head and shriek, “Of course! How could I have not seen that all along?” Also, I believe the final revelation shouldn’t be the only revelation in the novel. Exposed secrets should come out in dribs and drabs throughout the book as the characters are developed in the story. So, I write a detailed outline planning the clues, red herrings, plot twists and turns, secrets revealed, and of course the murders all leading to the shocking final revelation. I also strategize the misdirection of the clues, so guessing whodunit is not easy. Since I was a professional actor, I’m quite skilled at improvisation. So hearing voices in my head comes naturally to me. (I probably shouldn’t have admitted that!) After the characters start talking to each other in my head, I hit the computer. I write two hours each night after my spouse goes to sleep and the house is quiet. It’s my most precious time. Like Martin Anderson (the theatre department chair in my Nicky and Noah mystery series), I have a cozy (no pun intended) home study with a window seat, fireplace with a cherry wood mantel, a cherry wood desk and bookcase. I could live in that room. After I complete the first draft, I move on to writing the second draft. My spouse reads it. After we argue, I write my third draft. I write the fourth draft after I receive notes from my editor.

3. Do you use Character Charts, plot outlines, pictures, notebooks, bulletin boards, etc.?

          3a. Which methods have you tried and which have worked best for you?

I’ve always had a very vivid imagination. So I haven’t used pictures and music for inspiration when writing. The character biographies, book outline, and my imagination are my tools. Since I write two mystery series, I use a notebook to keep track of the regular characters, settings, and stories in each series to be consistent from book to book. For example, my Nicky and Noah mysteries take place in fictitious Treemeadow, Vermont, a gorgeous hamlet with green pastures, white church steeples, glowing lakes, and friendly and accepting people. Treemeadow College is the perfect setting for a cozy mystery with its white Edwardian buildings, low white stone fences, and cherry wood offices with tall leather chairs and blazing fireplaces. Nicky and Noah’s honey-colored Victorian house completes the setting with its huge wraparound porch and a window seat inside overlooking a crystal lake and stoic mountains.

In my Jana Lane mysteries, Jana lives in a gorgeous mansion on the twinkling Hudson River surrounded by mountains painted golden by the sun. My notebook entries include the layout of her hometown in Hyde Park, NY as well as each room and piece of furniture in her mansion. I’ve also included the historic FDR Home (Paper Doll) and Vanderbilt Mansion (Porcelain Doll) in the series.

My notebook has accompanied me on trips to Hollywood (Paper Doll), Washington, DC (Satin Doll), New York City (China Doll), Alaska (Drama Cruise), Hawaii (Drama Luau), and Scotland (Drama Castle), where my spouse and I stayed in a real castle. A stone bridge over a moat led to a sprawling stone structure from the 1700’s with turrets, fireplaces, knight in armor, and coat or arms. The Great Hall (dining room) inside was full of wait staff serving the most delectable meals imaginable. Our room included an enormous canopy bed, stone fireplace, a wardrobe out of C.S. Lewis, a turreted window seat, burgundy curtains, and leather chairs. From the enormous windows, we gazed out at a turquoise lake swirling through an emerald-green meadow, a steep cliff towering over the white-capped ocean, and violet fields of heather. When writing the latest Nicky and Noah mystery, Drama Castle, I used all of those notes for Nicky and Noah’s trip to Scotland with their extended family to make a movie (When the Wind Blows Up Your Kilt, It’s Time for a Scotch) and have a family vacation. This is one of the many perks of being a novelist! I also use humor a great deal in my books.

I come from a large, very funny Italian family. So I’ve always thought funny. I remember directors telling me as an actor to stop making my scenes so funny. I didn’t realize I was doing it. I think I get this from my mother. For example, for Christmas one year my mother asked me exactly what I wanted, so I wouldn’t return her gift. When I replied, “A red shirt,” she answered, “I don’t like red. I’ll get you a blue one.” So my inherited sense of humor helps fuel my writing. My readers love it too.

4. Depending on the method you use, how successful has it been in fleshing out the idea? Or, do you begin with one method and find yourself gravitating to another?

In the case of the Nicky and Noah mysteries, the clues and murders (and laughs) come quickly, and there are enough plot twists and turns and a surprise ending to keep the pages turning faster than a movie star getting plastic surgery (as Nicky would say). So the more absurd I set the bar, the funnier the novels. Since I am a college theatre professor surrounded by very colorful faculty colleagues, administrators, and students, I use a great deal of what happens in my real life to flesh out the stories. My faculty colleagues kid me that if anybody at my college ticks me off, I kill him/her in the series. I like my colleagues and students too much to murder them in my books. So far! I also include ideas from the news and on social media. Of course I heighten and exaggerate them. I’ll admit I laugh out loud writing those books, coo at the sweet romance, and cry at emotional peaks in the story. Once I get an idea, it is full steam ahead. I’ve never changed midstream.

The Jana Lane mysteries are more traditional mystery romance novels. I use my memories of reading Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes as well as my past life in show business (though thankfully nobody was ever murdered on any of my sets or shows). Since as an actor I have been on many film, television, and theatre stages, I am able to weave those experiences to make the Jana Lane mysteries more realistic and captivating. Everyone loves a peak at what goes on behind a closed movie set, television studio, or Broadway rehearsal. In the Jana Lane mysteries, I give my readers that enjoyment. In addition to solving the murder mysteries on her sets, Jana also goes through a personal crisis in each novel, many of which I’ve gone through myself. This makes the emotions real to me and to the readers. Jana, like all of my characters, is a part of me. I suffer through her pain and revel in her joys and successes. What she learned as a child on past film sets has prepared her to solve the mysteries in each book and work for social justice. I believe I can make the same claim about myself. Since the Jana Lane mysteries are set in the 1980’s, a time I remember well, I have a great deal of fun with Jana’s wardrobe, makeup, hair, and the music of the era. Since Jana is a liberal Christian, I also enjoy watching her stand up to the bigotry and intolerance displayed by some conservative Christians she encounters. I’ve done the same in my life.

5. Do you find that the original idea changes as you work with it?

          5a. Does the idea ever become something entirely different than when you started?

I strongly believe a mystery novel needs to be plotted and planned fully before any writing occurs. While small things can change, like the order of the scenes, the core story needs to stay unaltered. The same holds true for the characters. So I spend a great deal of time planning before writing a word. For example, Nicky Abbondanza in my Nicky and Noah mysteries is a combination of a few fascinating people I’ve known. I so admire his never say die attitude, wit, smarts, and perseverance in the face of adversity. He is genuinely concerned for others, and he will do anything to solve a murder mystery. Finally, he is a one-man man, and Nicky is proud to admit that man is Noah Oliver. Nicky is also incredibly devoted to his family and friends. I felt as if I knew Nicky intimately before writing Drama Queen.

Jana Lane is also a conglomeration of a few captivating people I’ve known. She is like a phoenix rising from the ashes. What I love most about Jana is her protective nature over her family and friends, her deep concern for the underdog, and her acceptance of others who are different from her. Again, I saw Jana as a close friend before I wrote a word of Paper Doll.

6. Does the method you use allow flexibility in development? How?

Most of the flexibility in development occurs when I write the character biographies and the outlines. I’ve quite often added or changed suspects, motives, and clues at that stage to balance out the story. Once the writing begins, I rarely change much. However, quite often I’ve written what I thought would be a minor character in one book and then expanded that character to become a major character in the series. For example, Martin Anderson’s husband Ruben Markinson was written as a bit role in the second and third Nicky and Noah mysteries. However, once Martin and Ruben began their love/hate banter, hysteria ensued, and readers fell in love with them. So, Martin and Ruben joined Nicky and Noah in the comical role plays to catch the murderer in each of the subsequent books. Similarly, Noah’s parents, who have many of the traits of my parents, were absolutely hilarious when they premiered in Drama Muscle. Readers loved Noah’s mother’s fixation with taking pictures of everything, and his father’s fascination with seeing movies. They also loved how Noah’s father is an amateur sleuth like Nicky. As they say, men marry their fathers. Also, Noah’s parents accept their son’s spouse as part of their family, which makes them endearing characters. When readers adored them as much as I did, I decided that Nicky and Noah’s parents would pop up in each of the remaining books.

In the Jana Lane mysteries, sexy ex-football player turned detective Bove was to be in only one novel. However, when the sexual chemistry between Jana and Bove sizzled in Satin Doll, I had to bring him back in Ragdoll. Jana’s old-world agent, Simon Huckby, was originally written for the flashback scenes in Paper Doll. When he turned out to be so hilarious, I brought him back toward the end of that novel, and he played an important role in every Jana Lane novel after that.

7. Tell us a bit about each of your mystery novels.

The Nicky and Noah mysteries begin with Drama Queen, where college theatre professors are dropping like stage curtains at Treemeadow College, and college theatre professors Nicky and Noah have to use their theatre skills, including impersonating other people, to figure out whodunit. In Drama Muscle, Nicky and Noah don their gay Holmes and Watson personas again to find out why bodybuilding students and professors at Treemeadow are dropping faster than barbells. Also, Nicky and Noah’s relationship reaches a milestone by the end of the novel. In Drama Cruise, it is summer on a ten-day cruise from San Francisco to Alaska and back. Nicky and Noah must figure out why college theatre professors are dropping like life rafts as Nicky directs a murder mystery dinner theatre show onboard ship starring Noah and other college theatre professors from across the US. Complicating matters are their both sets of wacky parents who want to embark on all the activities on and off the boat with the handsome couple. The novel ends with a highpoint in Nicky and Noah’s relationship. In Drama Luau, Nicky is directing the luau show at the Maui Mist Resort, and he and Noah need to figure out why muscular Hawaiian hula dancers are dropping like grass skirts. Their department head/best friend and his husband, Martin and Ruben, are along for the bumpy tropical ride. At the novel’s conclusion, Nicky and Noah decide to add an addition to their family. In Drama Detective, Nicky is directing and ultimately co-starring with his husband Noah as Holmes and Watson in a new musical Sherlock Holmes play at Treemeadow College prior to Broadway. Martin and Ruben, their sassy office assistant Shayla, Nicky’s brother Tony, and Nicky and Noah’s adopted son Taavi are also in the cast. Of course dead bodies begin falling over like hammy actors at a curtain call. Once again Nicky and Noah use their drama skills to figure out who is lowering the street lamps on the actors before the handsome couple get half-baked on Baker Street. In Drama Fraternity, Nicky is directing Tight End Scream Queen, a slasher movie filmed at Treemeadow College’s football fraternity house, co-starring Noah, Taavi, Martin, and Shayla. Rounding out the cast are members of Treemeadow’s Christian football players’ fraternity along with two hunky screen stars. When the quarterback, jammer, wide receiver, and more begin fading out with their scenes, Nicky and Noah once again need to use their drama skills to figure out who is sending young hunky actors to the cutting room floor before Nicky and Noah hit the final reel. In Drama Castle, Nicky is directing a historical film co-starring Noah and Taavi at Conall Castle in Scotland. Rounding out the cast are members of the mysterious Conall family who own the castle. When hunky men in kilts topple off the drawbridge and into the moat, it’s up to Nicky and Noah to use their acting skills to figure out whodunit before Nicky and Noah land in the dungeon. By the end of the novel, Noah also makes a shocking personal revelation.

As a child I loved child stars like Hayley Mills, seeing their movies over and over. So, for the Jana Lane mysteries, I created a heroine who was the biggest child star ever until she was attacked on the studio lot at eighteen years old. In Paper Doll, Jana at thirty-eight lives with her family in a mansion in picturesque Hudson Valley, New York. Her flashbacks from the past become murder attempts in her future. Forced to summon up the lost courage she had as a child, Jana ventures back to Hollywood, which helps her uncover a web of secrets about everyone she loves. In Porcelain Doll, Jana makes a comeback film and uncovers the shocking details of who is being murdered on the set and why. In Satin Doll, Jana and family head to Washington, DC, where Jana plays a US senator in a new film, and she becomes embroiled in a real murder and corruption scheme at the senate chamber. In China Doll, Jana heads to New York City to star in a Broadway play, faced with murder on stage and off. In Rag Doll, Jana stars in a television murder mystery series and life imitates art.

8. Choose a novel of yours and walk us through its development from idea to finished work. Please tell us about the methods used and how the idea changed, if it did.

After taking a trip to Scotland, I had wanted to set one of my novels in a Scottish castle. So for Drama Castle (the seventh Nicky and Noah mystery), as usual I began with devising the concept for a shocking ending. Working backwards, I then reviewed my notes for the regular characters: Nicky and Noah, their adopted son Taavi, their best friends Martin and Ruben, and Noah’s parents. Next, I moved on to creating the character biographies for the new characters:  Brody Naughton, the hunky head of Housekeeping with a red beard and roving eye for the oldest Conall brother Barclay and for Donal Blair a waiter in the castle’s Great Hall dining room; the three Conall brothers (Barclay—the oldest and most paternal, Magnus—the middle brother and ladies’ man, and Fergus—the troubled youngest sibling), each with a surprising secret; Moira Conall, Barclay’s gold-digger wife; Ewan Baird, the elderly caretaker with information about the last generation of Conalls; Donal Blair, a waiter in the Great Hall dining room who is sweet, adorable, and so in love with Brody Naughton who carries many secrets from his past; and Lairie, Brody’s daughter with a broad flair for the dramatic. Then I composed the plot, including the riotous role-plays the regular cast would do to help solve the mystery. I also had to plan out the story of the movie within the book, which parallels the plot of the novel. Once the characters began talking to each other in my head, I was ready to write the first draft. Burly, red-bearded Brody was difficult to script, since he starts out hard and tough, but his heart melts over his love for Donal and his devotion to his daughter Lairie. I didn’t want the readers to dislike him, so I slightly rewrote his earlier scenes in the second draft, finding moments where his vulnerability could surface. For Ewan Baird, the ancient caretaker, I had to do a lot of research to get his vocabulary and phrasing right. Ewan is also quite a bit of a drinker and I don’t drink. So more research was needed there. Again, some minor rewriting was needed in the second draft. Lairie changed in the second draft from a drama queen to a character with real soul, intelligence, and foreshadowing. Regarding the plot, not much changed from the outline phase to first draft, except for the placement of some scenes. Thankfully the humor, mystery, and romance blended beautifully and naturally. I cleaned up the writing a bit in the second draft and made the scenes even more understandable. The third draft was for the small things like finding those irksome typos.

9. What advice do you have for new mystery writers?

Write what you know and feel passionate about. Write every day. Don’t be afraid to take chances. A mystery writer should create an entire world of suspense above and beyond “who done it.” When a reader finishes a book, he/she should be satisfied that the various parts equaled the whole. Finally, don’t forget the humor and romance! When you have a mystery novel you think is unique and perfect, ask someone you trust to read it. Then after doing another draft, email it to a publisher who has an open submission policy and who publishes the kind of story you’ve written, or if you have the know-how and resources, publish it yourself.

11. Where do you market your books?

There are so many wonderful bloggers and online magazine editors who review my books and solicit interviews and articles from me (like this one!). I also do book talks/readings/signings at book stores. My acting background helps a great deal with that!

12) What has your experience been, if any, with audiobooks?

The first three Nicky and Noah mysteries and the first two Jana Lane mysteries have been made into audiobooks on Audible so far. I adore them. In each case the performer moved beyond my highest expectations to bring the world of my book into the audio realm. Each was also wonderful to work with, always accepting suggestions and corrections.

13) Have you thought about film or television adaptations of your books?

I’ve written a television pilot for The Nicky and Noah Mysteries and for The Jana Lane Mysteries. Come on television producers, make me an offer!

 

The author we hear from is WILLIAM BURTON MCCORMICK

BIO: A five-time Derringer finalist, William Burton McCormick’s fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, The Saturday Evening Post, CWA Anthology of Short Stories and elsewhere. He earned his MA in Novel Writing from the University of Manchester (UK) and was elected a Hawthornden Writing Fellow in Scotland. A native of Nevada, William has lived in seven countries including Ukraine, Latvia, Russia and Estonia for writing purposes. His historical novel of the Baltic Republics, Lenin’s Harem, was added to the Latvian War Museum’s permanent library in Rīga. In 2013, William spoke about his novel and the history behind it at the Latvian embassy to the United States in Washington D.C.

You have a new idea for a mystery that you want to develop into a book or short story.

1. What are your first steps in developing the idea to transform it into a publishable piece? What’s the first thing you do after jotting down the initial idea?

I’m rarely in a position where I can work on something as soon as the initial idea comes to me. I usually have some other current project, so after I have the first inspiration, I make sure I get it down in a Word document along with any descriptions, plot twists, and dialogue that have come in the initial rush of creativity. Then I let it sit until my schedule clears. But even while waiting for an opportunity to work on it seriously, I am always going through possible story branches from that initial idea in the back of my mind, even as I’m working on other things.  I try not to write a story from a single inspiration, and when I have, those have been my worst efforts as they are rather tame and linear.  Once I have an idea, I hold onto it until I’ve had a second or third potentially interesting idea. Then I try to fuse them into a single story. And sewing those pieces together usually inspires unseen twists and situations inside the narrative. So, when I have three or so worthy concepts and a path to link them, then I really set my mind to seriously work on a piece.

2. What additional things do you do to shape that idea so it becomes the mystery you thought it could be?

At this point, I try to figure out if the story would be best applied to existing characters or completely new ones. And then I choose a setting and research that setting, which inevitably gives additional ideas. The peculiarities of a setting can also create problems and roadblocks to telling the story you wish to tell, and overcoming those issues, can take your narrative in unexpected directions. Sometimes these detours grind it to a halt, but often they take it to fascinating places, that improve the piece. Lastly, I work on tone. Will it be humorous and light? Dark? Tragic? I’ve a great affinity for Greek tragedy (Sophocles – not Poe – wrote the first great detective story in history), so I often have to force myself to make my stories lighter with happier endings. Otherwise, they’d all be gloomy Gothic pieces.

3. Do you use Character Charts, plot outlines, pictures, notebooks, bulletin boards, etc.?

I make outlines of events, and a flow chart of what information characters learn and what readers learn (in separate columns). I sometimes download a picture that might inspire a scene and save it in a folder for later. Or, as I live in Eastern Europe, I go for a walk around the neighborhood with a notebook and jot down images and impressions to be used in the future (whether the current story or one five years from now.)

            3a. Which methods have you tried and which have worked best for you?

Once I have the basics, I make a new outline of every scene in the story, then I fill in dialogue, so I almost have a screenplay (complete with stage directions).  Then I add in the physical actions and lastly the descriptions.

4. Depending on the method you use, how successful has it been in fleshing out the idea? Or, do you begin with one method and find yourself gravitating to another?

I usually start with the outline method I just described, but often get impatient, maybe halfway through, and just start writing and see where it takes me. But I need that structure to begin even if I dump it later.

5. Do you find that the original idea changes as you work with it?

Often, I find the original idea only becomes the MacGuffin or Inciting Incident for a very different story.

          5a. Does the idea ever become something entirely different than when you started?

Almost always. And that is the most enjoyable part of the creative process. When you say “Wow, I didn’t know I was writing this story.”

6. Does the method you use allow flexibility in development? How?

I think so. By outlining and filling in, I have structure to get started. And then by ignoring that structure once the creative juices are flowing, I give myself the room to follow the tempo of the story, to take it beat-for-beat in a way that is hopefully entertaining.

7. Choose a story of yours and walk us through its development from idea to finished work. Please tell us about the methods used and how the idea changed, if it did.

The work I’ll use as an example is last year’s Derringer-nominated story “Matricide and Ice Cream” from the CWA Anthology of Short Stories: Mystery Tour.  The initial idea came to me one stifling summer’s day about eight years ago when I was stuck on a slow-moving train in western Ukraine. The heat was unbearable, the compartment compact, and as the conditions made everyone irritable, somehow the thought popped into my head that this would be a good setting for a murder story.

Now, there’s nothing revolutionary in that, there have been dozens (hundreds? thousands?) of murder stories on trains. But with the heat and the little details I could bring as an author living in Ukraine, I thought it had potential and I filed it away in the back of my mind. I waited for another idea that would pair well with my train setting.

A few years later, I noticed a brand of ice cream in Ukraine that was kept cool with blocks of dry ice in the container’s bottom. I knew sublimated dry ice wasn’t poisonous, but that in enough volume within a confined space, the gas could possibly cause suffocation. I thought this would be a unique murder weapon. But it would have to be a very confined space, with other miserable conditions, and a weak-lunged, perhaps elderly victim to be plausible. And suddenly I remembered my stifling hot train scenario. The heat paired well with the need for ice cream and the compartment provided the required confined space.

But why would our dastardly villain kill off an elderly person? I settled on the age-old cliché of “for the inheritance,” of course. So, I envisioned a terrible, evil son trapped on this train with his elderly, asthmatic parent.  Should it be the mother or father? The mother seemed the less Oedipal choice (there’s Sophocles again, folks), so I settled on matricide as my central crime.

I outlined it, set in the dialogue, researched dry ice and did an initial draft of the story from the point-of-view of my detective, a character who had already appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Over My Dead Body!, Latvian journalist Santa Ezeriņa.  But it didn’t really work as a “who done it?” Even with a train full of suspects, the son was so obviously the killer that the only way to do it interestingly would be to make him NOT the criminal. A couple of unsuccessful tries at this and I set it aside, waiting for yet another inspiration.

This occurred when I watched several episodes of Columbo, and realized that this story would work much better as a “how catch ‘em?” mystery, where the suspense for the reader came from not discovering who did it, but in the mystery of how the meticulous murderer would be caught. What mistakes would he make that would tip off our detective? Would the readers catch those mistakes when they are made or lose the game and have to wait until the detective’s big reveal at the end?

Now, this would be fun. This change of sub-genres, forced me to discard the original manuscript entirely and redraft the story from the point-of-view of the murderous, no-good son.  Again, I outlined, including each step in the murder and the coverup, then added another three columns to the outline – one for the mistakes the murderer made, one for when my detective Santa discovered those mistakes, and a last one for when those mistakes would be overtly revealed to the reader.  This still required several drafts to get things right. Eventually I had a publishable “how catch ‘em?” when I’d started with a “who done it?” that was dull and convoluted.

 

Next, we welcome BRENDA WHITESIDE to this column

BIO: Brenda and her husband are gypsies at heart, having lived in six states and two countries. Currently, they split their time between the Lake Roosevelt basin in Central Arizona and the pines in the north. Wherever Brenda opens her laptop, she spends most of her time writing stories of discovery and love entangled with suspense.

Visit Brenda at https://www.brendawhiteside.com

Or on FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/BrendaWhitesideAuthor

You have a new idea for a mystery that you want to develop into a book or short story.

1. What are your first steps in developing the idea to transform it into a publishable piece? What’s the first thing you do after jotting down the initial idea?

More often than not, the characters for a new story come to me first. Occasionally a setting will inspire me. My genre is romantic suspense, which means, when a setting or character come to mind, I have to immediately have a general idea of what the suspense will involve. The first thing after that is to make my files, which I see you’re going to ask me about in question number three.

2. What additional things do you do to shape that idea so it becomes the mystery you thought it could be?

I have to have at least some of the history for my initial characters. It’s important I find them interesting. The same goes for my setting. If I’m not familiar enough with the setting, then I’ll do some research.

3. Do you use Character Charts, plot outlines, pictures, notebooks, bulletin boards, etc.?

The files I set up and use are Free Form Plot Notes (where I’ll do a running narrative of my ideas as they form), Character Sketch (this will have everything about the character from physical description to back story), Research (there will be sub-files within this), and Plot Chart (this is a chronological chart of each chapter and each scene for each character; there are also columns for major and sub-plot points).

          3a. Which methods have you tried and which have worked best for you?

I used and discarded a few systems before I settled on this story file system. I did a story board on the wall for one book. I tried to plot out the entire story for another book. I tried the system Karen Wiesner made popular with her book First Draft in 30 Days. None of these worked for me. I did make my Character Sketch file based on Ms. Wiesner’s idea. The story board doesn’t work for me. I like everything in my computer. I can’t plot out the entire story ahead of time. I’ll know the beginning and the ending and have a general idea of where I’m going, but some of it has to evolve as I write. I need the characters to talk to me.

4. Depending on the method you use, how successful has it been in fleshing out the idea? Or, do you begin with one method and find yourself gravitating to another?Once I have the four files set up, and a skeleton of an idea, I can begin writing. I won’t change my method. I might have to backpedal and reevaluate how I thought it would progress. That’s why I like my Free Form Plot Notes. I can reread and rearrange and replot. The Plot Chart is also a huge help. Every three chapters or so, I go in and break down the chapters by scenes and characters. I can see right away if I’ve gotten off track or my plot is straying from what I intended.
5. Do you find that the original idea changes as you work with it?5a. Does the idea ever become something entirely different than when you started?

The core of the original idea tends to stay constant, but how it develops can change. I haven’t had an idea totally change. I have had the villain change or the GMC for one of the main characters turn out far different. I had the problem that will cause the conflict and suspense change. I tell you about that below.

6. Does the method you use allow flexibility in development? How?

Yes, it does, because I don’t do a rigid plot line. I don’t outline. My Free Form Plot Notes are just that…very flexible.

7. Choose a story of yours and walk us through its development from idea to finished work. Please tell us about the methods used and how the idea changed, if it did.

The fifth and final book in my Love and Murder Series started as a very vague idea. I didn’t actually know anything about The Deep Well of Love and Murder until I was into the fourth book. I chose a minor character from book one, Laura Jane, and an even more minor character, Randy, from book two to be my heroine and hero. My setting was the town, Chino Valley, Arizona, and a ranch I’d used in book two. My original idea for the suspense factor was a fight over water rights, thus the title. I asked my publisher for the cover in advance. I wanted to start hyping the entire series as soon as I could. They agreed. Once I finished book four, I created my four files for book five.

I knew my heroine had been married to a minor villain in book one. He went on to become more of a scum-bucket, so she divorced him and took a nanny job on the ranch from book two. Laura Jane meets the foreman, also from book two. Randy was nothing but a name in that book and when I chose him, wow, did his character jump out at me. He wanted a ranch of his own but would have trouble with water rights and a crooked government employee. That’s where I ran into trouble. As I researched how water rights work in Chino Valley, Arizona, I became totally overwhelmed. There was no way I could tackle such a complicated problem. My readers would think I was writing a manual!

Land development popped into my mind next. Someone was after Randy’s land as well as his neighbor’s spread. They were the last two holdouts keeping the developer from progress. Now, what was I going to do about the title? I had to reach for that, but I found out one of the reasons, in addition to location that the developer needed, was Randy’s had deep wells on his property. You can’t have a major development without water.

As for the suspense, the fact Laura Jane moved to escape being near her ex when he was released from prison helped. He comes to find her. I wasn’t satisfied with that suspense. I wanted more. The land developer was a shady character, and Randy wasn’t selling. But the son of the neighbor, who also wouldn’t sell, is a despicable character, too. I loved writing three villains of varying degrees of nastiness. And I’ve been told, which of these characters is the real villain, is debatable until very near the end of the book. Success!

I have to admit, this was the most complicated plot I had written to date. My subplot was as important as the main plot. I went back time and time again to my Free Form Plot Notes. I would write wildly and stop. Wait, should this be happening? I’d reread my notes, delete, rewrite, and straighten it out with new ideas popping up each time. Adding to the complication, was my need to bring in characters from the first four books. I thought my readers would like a wrap up for the whole series, visit those characters once more, and see where they ended up.

 

Our next processor is CONNIE BERRY

BIO: Like her main character, Connie Berry was raised by charmingly eccentric antique collectors who eventually opened a shop, not because they wanted to sell antiques but because they needed a plausible excuse to keep buying them. Besides reading and writing mysteries, Connie adores cute animals, foreign travel, and all things British. Her first book, A Dream of Death, set on a fictional island off Scotland’s west coast, comes out in early April. Her second, A Legacy of Murder, will be out in October of 2019.

You have a new idea for a mystery that you want to develop into a book or short story.

1. What are your first steps in developing the idea to transform it into a publishable piece? What’s the first thing you do after jotting down the initial idea?

Having completed two novels so far, with a third in the works, I’m clearly no expert! My first book took way too long to wrestle into publishable form because I had so much to learn—including process (I didn’t have one). Thankfully, I applied the painful lessons I learned going forward. That’s what I’ll be talking about.

My first step is to make notes about characters, settings, main plot line, secondary plot lines, underlying themes or motifs, and major conflicts. How many characters will I need? How are they related to each other, and what conflicts might this create? How will the setting and themes or motifs reflect those conflicts? Where will the main plot and secondary plots intersect? How will the story end?

Next I begin to develop acts and scenes, arranging them in sequence with plot structure in mind. I love Jane Cleland’s Plotting Road Map (Mastering Suspense, Structure & Plot, Writer’s Digest Books) and The Plot Clock, free at www.sweeneywritingcoach.com. These tools help me visualize structure, pacing, and proportion.

2. What additional things do you do to shape that idea so it becomes the mystery you thought it could be?

Since I write traditional mysteries, I also think about misdirection, planting clues, and keeping the pace moving with unexpected twists and turns. This is where surprises occur because sometimes my characters say or do things I hadn’t planned out in advance. Almost always, these unexpected elements add depth to the characters and plot.

3. Do you use Character Charts, plot outlines, pictures, notebooks, bulletin boards, etc.?

In addition to the plotting tools mentioned above, I keep a notebook for each book with tabs for plot outlines, character sketches, photographs that help me visualize characters and locations, local history, police procedures, and research.

         3a. Which methods have you tried and which have worked best for you?

I’ve also developed a chart showing acts, scenes, dates, characters, action, and number of pages. This helps me see plot holes and evaluate the pacing of the story.

All of these things help me to shape the book before I even start to write it out.

4. Depending on the method you use, how successful has it been in fleshing out the idea? Or, do you begin with one method and find yourself gravitating to another?

Now that I’ve found a process that works for me, I’m sticking with it! I really admire those pantsers who let the story unfold as they write. I can’t do that. I need a plot outline to give me confidence that I’m headed in the right direction.

5. Do you find that the original idea changes as you work with it?

         5a. Does the idea ever become something entirely different than when you started?

In my first book, A Dream of Death (the one that took me years to complete), almost everything changed except the basic plot. I eliminated four or five superfluous characters. I changed multiple POVs to a single POV. Several whole plot lines disappeared, and a couple were added. With better pre-planning, the writing of my second book took fewer wrong turns.

6. Does the method you use allow flexibility in development? How?

I always allow for flexibility because the story becomes clear to me as I write. Some things I planned for don’t work out and aren’t needed. Events I hadn’t thought of actually happen. The characters tell me who they are. This is the fun part. I love, love, love rewriting. My first draft is raw material to be shaped into a book.

7. Choose a story of yours and walk us through its development from idea to finished work. Please tell us about the methods used and how the idea changed, if it did.

In A Legacy of Murder (my second book, out next October) American antiques dealer Kate Hamilton spends two weeks leading up to Christmas in the Suffolk village of Long Barston, where her daughter, a student at Oxford University, has an internship at Finchley Hall, a stately home famous for the unearthing in 1818 of a treasure trove known as the Finchley Hoard. Long Barston also happens to be on the “patch” of Tom Mallory, the detective inspector Kate met in Book One.

Kate’s relationship with Tom and with her impetuous daughter are secondary plot lines, so my first step was to settle on the main plot line. Since Kate is an antiques dealer, the main plot line involves antiques—specifically, the murder of an intern who is planning a special exhibition of the Hoard. I knew from the beginning who committed the murder and why, but since Kate is an amateur sleuth, I had to come up with a credible reason for her to get involved and use her special knowledge and skills to solve the crime. I also had to give several innocent characters credible motives for killing the intern. I decided that the underlying theme of the book would be loyalty and betrayal and planned how I would reflect these ideas in the characters, plot, and setting.

Creating the story arc, the character arcs, and the actual scenes was made easier by the fact that I took Ramona De Felice Long’s amazing online class “The Story Arc” through Guppies. The result was a full outline and a synopsis—yay! With the whole story in my mind, I knew how each scene fit into the whole picture. But as always, the characters surprised me. In figuring out how Kate would persuade someone to give up sensitive information, for example, I let her save this person’s elderly, obese pug from drowning. The dog then became a fun minor character I hadn’t planned for in my outline. Another character’s final words in a scene came so unexpectedly that I almost forgot I was the one who wrote them.

I pushed through the writing of each scene and typed The End. But that was really just the beginning, because the real work for me (and the fun) is in revision. Clues are threaded in, descriptions are tightened, dialogue is sharpened, weasel words are eliminated, plot holes are filled, and the actual prose is finessed, down to the individual sentences.

My final step, in the words of Hank Phillippi Ryan, is to “take out anything that isn’t the book.” If you don’t know what that means, ask Hank. She’s always ready to help new any aspiring authors—like me.