Hallie on teaching writing... and learning to do it better

HALLIE EPHRON: This is my favorite thing… I’m signing at a conference and someone brings me a well worn, dog-eared, Post-it festooned copy of my Edgar- and Anthony- nominated WRITING & SELLING YOUR MYSTERY NOVEL.

 
Flip through the pages and the person has written in it, underlined and highlighted, and completed the exercises. 

People won't have to write in the NEW AND REVISED EDITION (PUBLISHED TODAY from Writers Digest Books) because they can print out the exercises from the Web, though I hope they’ll still dog-ear and highlight the pages. 

I never set out to write a how-to-write book on mystery writing. An editor from Writers Digest Books approached me after seeing me give a talk, and asked me if I’d be interested in writing one. I’d long ago learned, always say YES!

Never mind that I’d published only three mystery novels. I had been reviewing crime fiction for the Boston Globe, which gave me a unique perspective on the breadth and depth of crime fiction, and most of all, what makes a book work (or not). Moreover, I was a teacher.

A former elementary school teacher and college prof, I knew that trying to teach something makes you understand it yourself in a much deeper way than just doing it. Try to teach someone how to ride a bike… or how to bake a cake... or why ice floats… or how to “carry the ten”… and you realize how little you actually understood to begin with.

Writing a book about mystery writing gave me a chance to dissect the process. I broke it down into Planning, Writing, Revising, and Selling. Duh. Then, step by step, topic by topic, I attacked each section.

I noticed things like…

• The main character needs a compelling personal reason to solve the crime.
• Story unfolds in waves of investigation, suspense, action, and reflection.
• A mystery novel has more investigation, a suspense novel more suspense, and a thriller more action. It's not a crime novel if there's a ton of reflection.
• Show don’t tell does not mean shovel information into dialogue.
• Plot should never herd a character into an unlikely, illogical situation.
• The protagonist is more compelling when she's in a state of disequilibrium (wants something she can't have, for example.) 

Here's an exercise from the book to help writers think about what disequilibrium means for their protagonist: 

And and and, so much more. The first edition of the book came out and Writers Digest put me on their magazine cover! I love that it says MAKE MONEY WRITING beside my head because at that point I was not making enough money writing to quit my day job.

Revising and expanding the book, I got to add many more insights I’ve gleaned since the book came out. For example, I paid much more attention to the perennial question:

Which is more important in a mystery novel, plot or character?

My answer is both, of course, and in particular the interaction between plot and character which usually boils down to stakes. How does the writer answer the question: Why does the protagonist need to solve the mystery?

If there's nothing personal and important at stake, then the wrong character is the protagonist.
Also…

• Secrets drive a mystery novel, and every main character needs at least one.
• Characters should have competing goals.
• Corollary: Conflict is the axle grease of a page turner.
• The protagonist needs to be flawed, not necessarily likeable.

And again, so much more.

I’m grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had to teach writing workshops and to work with aspiring, because that’s how I learn and keep learning to write better. So my question: What have you learned better because you had to teach it to someone else?
About Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel: Revised and Expanded

To piece together the puzzle of your mystery novel, you need patience, resilience, a solid understanding of the craft, and a clear blueprint for combining the plot, characters, setting, and more. And while patience and resilience must come from you, the essentials of craft and the plan to execute them are right at your fingertips with Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel: Revised and Expanded. This completely revised and expanded edition features solid strategies for drafting, revising, and selling an intriguing novel that grips your readers and refuses to let them go.

New York Times best-selling author Hallie Ephron  shows you how. Filled with helpful worksheets and exercises for every step of the process, Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel Revised and Expanded reveals the secrets of writing a memorable story that will have fans of mystery, suspense, and crime clamoring for more.

"The best how-to guide I have ever seen—I just wish I could have read it twenty years ago." -Lee Child, New York Times best-selling author 

Hallie Ephron upates WRITING & SELLING YOUR MYSTERY NOVEL

DEBORAH CROMBIE: There's nothing we like better here at JUNGLE RED WRITERS than a new book from one of our own! And what could be more fun than a book on writing a mystery? I can't wait to dig into this.

Just because I've written a few mysteries doesn't mean that I can't use a refresher course, and this is one of the best how-tos on the market. Here's our Hallie!

HALLIE EPHRON: It’s been more than 10 years since my how-to book on writing a mystery, was published and nominated for Edgar and Anthony awards. Since then, I’ve written eight more mystery and suspense novels, reviewed hundreds of crime novels for the Boston Globe, and given over 100 writing workshops and presentations.

In short, I’ve learned a lot, so I’m thrilled that Writers Digest tapped me to update my book. The new edition, WRITING & SELLING YOUR MYSTERY NOVEL: REVISED AND EXPANDED, is packed with new examples, exercises, and most of all insights about writing that I’ve gleaned since it was first published. The new introduction from Sara Paretsky is a special bonus.

Best of all, technology has evolved and now all of the exercises in it are available for download.

Here’s just a few of the things I’ve learned about writing a crime novel that I packed into the new edition (see the Table of Contents if you want to see more): 

• Suspense is about the potential for something bad happening, and often the writer has to choose between suspense and surprise. When to reveal is as important as what to conceal.

• Secrets play a key role in in driving suspense. Lies protect the innocent as well as the guilty. The revelation of secrets can beef up a slow second act.

• It’s not plot or character, it’s plot and character: they have to dance together. The protagonist’s journey is as important as whodunit.

• Character need to have competing goals (sounds obvious, I know, but it wasn’t to me); creating a character web helps you harness the tension inherent in competing goals

• Much has changed,but professional quality editing is as important as ever in this brave new world of indie publishing.

The book is laced with quotes that I cherry-picked to reinforce the ideas. Here are some of my favorites:

On doing something hard like writing... 

“In order to become even sort of good at it, you have to be willing to be bad at it for a long time” —David Owen in The New Yorker

(The “it” that Mr. Owen is talking about is playing bridge, but he might as well have been talking about writing a crime novel, another game with a steep learning curve. Almost everyone’s first efforts stink. Which led me to my advice to the aspiring writer: Just hold your nose and write.)

On getting started...

“Anyone who ever waited for the great inspiration to strike is still waiting to write her first book or short story. I start with an idea, of course; something that intrigues me. Then I start asking myself three questions: Suppose, what if, and why?” —Mary Higgins Clark

On playing fair with the reader…

“Do you promise that your detectives shall well and truly detect the crimes presented to them, using those wits which it may please you to bestow upon them and not placing reliance on Divine Revelation, Feminine Intuition, Mumbo-Jumbo, Jiggery-Pokery, Coincidence or the Act of God?” —Membership oath of The Detection Club, founded in 1928; past presidents include Dorothy L. Sayers and Agatha Christie

On the sleuth…

“A really good detective never gets married.” —Raymond Chandler,

On the villain:

“I do empathise with people who are driven by dreadful impulses. I think to be driven to want to kill must be such a terrible burden. I try, and I think I succeed, in making my readers feel sorry for my psychopaths, because I do.” —Ruth Rendell

On the suspects:

“Everybody has something to conceal.” —Sam Spade in Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon

On planning vs pantsing:

“An outline is crucial. It saves so much time. When you write suspense, you have to know where you’re going because you have to drop little hints along the way. With the outline, I always know where the story is going.” —John Grisham

“I do a very minimal synopsis before I start, and I know where I end up, I know sort of stations along the way, but I give myself freedom to kind of just discover things as I go along.” —Louis Bayard

“I just dive in and hope the book comes out at the other end. And as I get to the character, slowly the plot develops like a Polaroid.”—Tana French

The book can be pre-ordered now on Amazon or Barnes and Noble, or ordered now from Writers Digest Books.

Today's questions: Why do you think RC thought a married sleuth was a bad idea? Can you get away with "jiggery-Pokery"? And what else in life do you have to resign yourself to being bad at for a good long time before you get good?

**
About Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel: Revised and Expanded

To piece together the puzzle of your mystery novel, you need patience, resilience, a solid understanding of the craft, and a clear blueprint for combining the plot, characters, setting, and more. And while patience and resilience must come from you, the essentials of craft and the plan to execute them are right at your fingertips with Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel: Revised and Expanded. This completely revised and expanded edition features solid strategies for drafting, revising, and selling an intriguing novel that grips your readers and refuses to let them go.

New York Times best-selling author Hallie Ephron shows you how to:

• Create a compelling sleuth and a worthy villain
• Construct a plot rich in twists, red herrings, and misdirection
• Bring the story to a satisfying conclusion
• Sharpen characters and optimize pace during revision
• Seek publication through both traditional and indie paths

Filled with helpful worksheets and exercises for every step of the process, Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel Revised and Expanded reveals the secrets of writing a memorable story that will have fans of mystery, suspense, and crime clamoring for more.

"The best how-to guide I have ever seen—I just wish I could have read it twenty years ago." -Lee Child, New York Times best-selling mystery author

DEBS: The only one I would disagree with is the stricture against married sleuths, since I've done it... READERS, what do you think?


And Hallie, did revising this book help you with your novel-in-progress?


PS: A fun side note--I met Hallie when we were both teaching at workshop given every year at Book Passage in Corte Madera, California. Hallie is a regular instructor, and I can tell you that if you ever get a chance to attend one of Hallie's classes or talks, take it. She is fabulous!

Hallie revises her #mysterywriting book

HALLIE EPHRON: To kick of What We're Writing Week, I'm thrilled to report that a new edition of WRITING & SELLING YOUR MYSTERY NOVEL is coming out from Writers Digest Books in January 2017. The original edition was nominated for Edgar and Anthony awards. I updated it with new insights and advice, supported by fresh examples and exercises.

I'm even more than thrilled to report that the fabulous Sara Paretsky has written the foreword.
Writing the revision, I was reminded how much easier it is to tell people how to do something than to actually do it yourself. The revision went down smooth as silk, while the new novel that I was working on at the same time (YOU'LL NEVER KNOW, DEAR - pub date June 2017) skittered and jolted and juddered along, circling back on itself endlessly before reaching the finish line.

I finished both, but the novel required many more pints of blood.

Here's a little taste from the new introduction.

WRITING & SELLING YOUR MYSTERY NOVEL

REVISED & EXPANDED

INTRODUCTION

“In order to become even sort of good at it, you have to be willing to be bad at it for a long time”—David Owen in The New Yorker 

I came across the above quote as I was getting ready to revise the 2005 edition of this book. The “it” that Mr. Owen is talking about is playing bridge, but he might as well have been talking about writing a crime novel, another game with a steep learning curve. Almost everyone’s first efforts stink.

This discovery was particularly painful for me. I’d always gotten straight As in English, and I’d read a million crime novels, so it was easy to underestimate the task at hand. How hard could it be? After all, I wasn’t trying to write great literature, just a gripping page-turner. I hoped my characters would be nearly as vibrant as Ruth Rendell’s, my dialogue almost as snappy as Elmore Leonard’s, and my plots twisty like Agatha Christie’s. I was not prepared for the reality. The aforementioned stink.

Learning my craft was a long hard slog. It took me about six years to write a mystery novel that I felt was good enough to send to potential agents, and I have two manuscripts and a ton of short stories—all of them unpublished and unpublishable—in the drawer to show for it.

Writing a mystery novel is not for the faint of heart. Juggler, conjurer, and herder of cats—those are all in the job description. Be prepared to keep three or four intertwined plots spinning. Get ready to master the art of misdirection so readers will ogle the red herrings you’ve sprinkled throughout the story while ignoring the clues in plain sight. Don’t be surprised when you find yourself trying to corral characters who refuse to do what you want them to.

And it gets even more complicated. There is no recipe for success. Ask for advice from ten successful writers and they’ll swear by ten different approaches. That’s because, just like you, every one of them has a unique assortment of strengths and weaknesses. Maybe your dialogue sings but your descriptions are pallid. Maybe you have a grand time coming up with plot twists and writing slam-bang action scenes but your characters tend to be flat, without emotional insight. Maybe you write complex, interesting female characters but your men are cardboard cutouts. Your first draft will reflect whatever strengths and weaknesses you bring to the table.

I’m often asked: Can anyone learn to write a saleable mystery novel? My answer is no. A few are so naturally talented that they can turn out a masterpiece while barely breaking a sweat. At the other extreme are writers who, even after decades of striving, still churn out work that’s destined to circle the drain. But most of us fall in between, and no one can tell at the outset who will succeed and who will fail.

Aspiring writers don’t necessarily fail because they lack raw talent. Often they lack the stamina and patience needed to complete a first draft. Or they’re too thin-skinned to hear criticism and haven’t got the resilience to revise, revise, revise. Or they fold after the first few rejections and never reach the finish line.

This book presents a writing process that capitalizes on your strengths and shores up your weaknesses. Throughout, you’ll find a range of strategies that have worked for successful mystery writers, along with invitations to try them and see what works for you.

There is no guarantee of success, so persevering is up to you. Only one thing is certain: If you never finish a first draft, you’ll never know if you can get to “good enough.”

So here’s my first piece of sage advice to anyone about to embark on writing a mystery novel: Just hold your nose and write.

Today's question: What have you gotten better at over the years, and what's your sage advice to up-and-comers trying to learn it?