Rhys on What I am Writing. I wish I knew.

 RHYS BOWEN:  What am I writing?  Well, at this moment you can take your choice.  If those of you who are not writers imagine the writer sitting alone in the garret, waiting for the muse to strike while someone else brings coffee and cookies, please reimagine.

This morning I have done two loads of laundry, including bed sheets and mopped all the hard floors of the house before settling at the computer where I am not quite sure what to do next.

1.         I am in the middle of writing the next Royal Spyness novel that takes place at the house of Chanel during a fashion show. So lots of research and lots of mental juggling about how a certain crime could possibly have been committed. I get brilliant ideas like…. Wouldn’t it be fun if a woman was killed in the middle of a fashion show when all the doors are locked? And? Not quite sure yet.

2.         I am also doing a final edit on my next Molly book which has to go to the publisher on December 1. This is the series I’m writing with daughter Clare so we’re each doing our final clean up and John is doing his final read through to tell us that the whole thing needs to be re-written.

3.         I have just received the copy edits for my next big stand-alone WHERE THE SKY BEGINS. They are due on Monday and I’m dealing with things like queries that say , “You said three miles from town. Shouldn’t that be kilometers?” Picture one of those cartoons with head blowing off steam.

So a certain amount of juggling is involved as I try to work through all three of the above while also juggling a request to write an article on Agatha Christie for an upcoming book, to write a piece on historical novels for an upcoming book etc etc. Ah for that peaceful garret! I have to add that John does bring me coffee.

So I thought I’d share a small snippet from the book I’m trying to write, the next Royal Spyness called something to do with Paris and fashion and murder and runway. Title suggestions please? Runway of Death, In the Paris Fashion, Dressed to Kill, etc etc.

Georgie is staying with Belinda but suspects her husband Darcy is on a dangerous mission in Paris. She is being taken up the Eiffel Tower by Belinda’s new beau, a French count.

We went across to the tower, paid our money and joined the line for the lift. The first lift took us to a broad platform. We walked around, taking in the view from all sides. Louis-Philippe was a good tour guide. He pointed out the gardens and fountains of the Trocadero on the other side of the river, the Arc de Triomph looking quite small and insignificant from this height. Then we followed the river to the Isle de la Cite, that tiny island in the middle of the Seine with its medieval looking fortress and the twin towers of Notre Dame. Louise-Philippe told me that no building in Paris is allowed to be built higher than the cathedral. He named gardens and parks, the impressive expanse of woodland that was the Bois de Bolougne and on the far side of the city a building with glistening white domes that even I knew was the Sacre Coeur on Montmartre. It was all quite breathtaking and somehow gratifying to know that monuments I had dreamed about really did exist and I was among them.

Then I looked down onto the Seine below us, the river busy with pleasure boats on a Sunday afternoon. On the quayside I spotted a man with a bald head, pouring over a large map. As I focused on him he approached a passing stranger, pointing at the map. The man stopped obligingly and also pointed out a route. The first man nodded thanks then set off.  The other man watched him for a moment before turning away.

                From this height it was impossible to see faces but I could have sworn that the man who gave the directions was Darcy.  Was he just being polite to a tourist or was this more? I tried to recall exactly what I had seen. Wasn’t there something about the man with the map that hinted at being German? Something about the cut of his jacket. Had he just pointed at the map, or had something passed between them? A small piece of paper? As if in answer to my question I saw two men who had been standing at the coffee kiosk on the quay move out of the shadow and set off after the man with the map.

So far so good. We've set up danger and conflicting missions. And I'm really enjoying spending time in Paris. But a title would be good. Any brilliant suggestions?

The Agony of Writing

Photo by JE Theriot

LUCY BURDETTE: Since my holiday company has departed, I can turn my thoughts to the new year, wondering what I’ll write and how I’ll get it done. And get your suggestions of course.

First of all, I always have doubts! Every book. KILLER TAKEOUT will be my fifteenth published book and I still get stuck every time in the middle. Where is this book going??? What’s the point? Why is she doing this? Who will ever want to read this?

A few things help keep me sane in this situation. One is to keep writing. Apply butt to chair and write 1000 words a day. It also helps to write out a sentence or two the night before about what I will cover the next day. Another good tool is brainstorming with my writer friends. They are invariably generous, and fresh eyes can see paths out of my plot when I feel hopeless.

I also heard two wise quotes while I was at the New England Crime Bake in November that I plan to keep right beside my computer. The first from Elizabeth George:

“When your story stalls out on you, you’ve played your hand too soon.”

And Peter Abrahams/Spencer Quinn suggested when a writer gets stuck: "Think about the engine that drives the story."

How about you dear Reds? Do you ever have doubts when you are in the middle of the writing, or other non-writing projects? How do you get past them?

Photo by Anokarina

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: I have doubts ALL THE TIME. Seriously. But I just keep going. I'm  from the "chip on the shoulder" school of life, so I think of all the people who told me I couldn't do fill-in-the-blank and then say, "Yeah, screw you — I'm going to do it anyway. Watch me." I had this conversation with writer and neighbor, Alice Bradley, the author of LET'S PANIC ABOUT BABIES (http://alicebradley.net) . And we decided the two keys to writing are red wine and anger. We weren't really joking.


HALLIE EPHRON: I really don't want to talk about this as at this very minute I am in the pit of despond. I go into full panic mode daily. The only cure is writing. And then writing some more. And then fixing what I wrote.

photo 

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  Constant panic, all the time. And when I sometimes get that glimmer of...hey, this could be good! Then I freak, because maybe I am fooling myself. People say to me--how's the book going? I say--I have NO idea. And how can that be?
I think the middle is the most difficult, because it has to be riveting and fast-moving and meaningful, but it has to get seat-of-the-pants writer me to a place I don't know where is. Which is pretty funny!
I say to myself, every day: ADVANCE THE STORY. ADVANCE THE STORY.
I say: what would really happen? What would this character think? How would they feel? How would they react?
Then I say to Jonathan; I can't do this, I stink.
Then I get a good idea.
Always.
I hope.

RHYS BOWEN: What a bunch of neurotics we are! I wonder if there are any writers who just churn out book after book without worrying? Nora Roberts, maybe? Danielle Steele and her stable of secretaries? Obviously James Patterson. When I finish a book I always think Ill never have another good idea ever. Then I do... So keep believing, Hallie.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Always middle-of-the-book panic. Why did I ever think this was a good idea? No one will believe this story! And then there is always the underlying panic of "What about the next book? What can I possible write about?" Really, the only time I'm not panicked is when I'm actually writing and I'm in a scene and the characters start talking to me... Sometime around mid-book I have to stop and block out the rest of the book, or I am absolutely paralyzed. I don't know how seat-of-the-pants writers like Rhys do it. Although I guess we all have to figure out the same things, we just do it by different methods.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Pit of despond here as well. I picture me and Hallie slogging together through one of Dante's less pleasant circles of hell - maybe the one with all the cold rain and mud. I complain and complain about not having any time to write because of all the other things going on in my life, and then when I do sit down to the computer with a few hours, I think, "I have nothing to say. This book sucks. Why did I think this plotline was clever? My characters are cardboard." Etc. Etc.

My one consolation is the knowledge that every other time, I've managed to finish the manuscript and it didn't turn out too badly. Insert big-ampitheater rendition of "Don't Stop Thinkin' About Tomorrow" here...

What do you think Reds? Does this sound surprising? Familiar? Suggestions?

A Writer’s Bucket List; a guest blog by Jenny Milchman

Don't forget to check out Jenny's Writer's Wish List Contest!

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I'm not sure Jenny Milchman needs much of an introduction. Her first suspense novel, COVER OF SNOW, won the Mary Higgins Clark award and, like her second book, RUIN FALLS, was an Indie Next pick. If you like your mysteries cold, moody and set in the Adirondacks (and really, who doesn't?) she's your go-to girl. 

Yesterday, I talked about the prison break from NY's northernmost maximum security facility. I thought the escapees - still on the loose! - would make a great story. Well, look at the description of Jenny's upcoming thriller, AS NIGHT FALLS:

Sandy Tremont has always tried to give her family everything. But, as the sky darkens over the Adirondacks and a heavy snowfall looms, an escaped murderer with the power to take it all away draws close.

In her isolated home in the shadowy woods, Sandy prepares dinner after a fight with her daughter, Ivy. Upstairs, the fifteen-year-old—smart, brave, and with every reason to be angry tonight—keeps her distance from her mother. Sandy’s husband, Ben, a wilderness guide, arrives late to find a home simmering with unease.

Nearby, two desperate men on the run make their way through the fading light, bloodstained and determined to leave no loose ends or witnesses. After almost twenty years as prison cellmates, they have become a deadly team: Harlan the muscle, Nick the mind and will. As they approach a secluded house and look through its windows to see a cozy domestic scene, Nick knows that here he will find what he’s looking for . . . before he disappears forever.

Opening the door to the Tremont home, Nick brings not only a legacy of terror but a secret that threatens to drag Sandy with him into the darkness.

Is getting out ahead of a national news story a "you made it" moment for writers? I would say so. Here's Jenny to tell us a few other items on her list of made-it moments.

On my blog—which isn’t the phenom Jungle Red is, of course, but home to a loyal group—I have a forum called the Made It Moments. About 300 authors have appeared, sharing the moment when they knew they’d made it. The entries vary wildly. (Come on over and read them! They’re a font of inspiration). But my point in sharing this today is that the message of the Moments is that we’d better pay attention to the small ones. The ones that could get missed. Because if we sit around waiting for John Steinbeck to walk up and say, “OK. You’re a real writer now…” Well, that may never happen. And not only because he’s deceased.

In that spirit, I thought I’d share 10 Moments I’m striving for that I hope are attainable. They’ll let me know I’m on my way…even if I never quite feel I’ve made it.

• A reader quotes one of my lines to me. You know the words we pour over, and lovingly caress? How great would it be to know that those words spoke back to someone? This is my Taylor Swift moment. Before she got famous, Taylor said how great it would be to hear fans singing her lyrics at a concert. Now, millions do.
  
  
• I see someone reading one of my books when I’m out and about. This happened to craft mystery writer, Lois Winston, on the subway, I believe. How cool! I think I’d walk up and hug that person. They’d think I was a nutcase and never read one of my books again.
  
  
• I see someone reading a review of one of my books when I’m out and about. This is close to the above. Except that in this case, I sidle over to the person, all clandestine-like, and intone solemnly, “You should really buy that book they’re reviewing.” Unless the review is a bad one. Then I would sidle over, all clandestine-like, and mutter, “Ignore it.”
  
  
• I go into a library and somebody is taking one of my books off the shelf. Another variation on the same theme, I suppose. Except that I remember being that kid in the library for whom each book was a precious jewel in a treasure chest. I couldn’t afford to buy books as a child, and libraries saved me in many ways (the least of them financial). To know that my work is now part of that chain would probably make me weepy.
  
  
• Somebody recognizes me. I waited so long to be published—it took thirteen years—that my brother finally gave up and decided to fill the role of #1 fan. Now when we are together, he’ll periodically break into this croggy, lifetime smoker voice and say, “Hey! Aren’t you Jenny Milchman?” I’d like for this to happen…and it wouldn’t be my brother. 
  
  
• At a book event, they need to bring in extra chairs. Some Reds readers may know that I do a lot of book events. (Like, a real lot. Of the past 24 months, I spent 11 touring, and we’re about to head out again). So needless to say—but I’ll say it—I’ve entered my share of empty rooms. Comes with the territory, and a night spent talking to booksellers is always a night happily spent. Or rooms with 1, 2, or 10 attendees, and I like those, too. Truth to tell, I love ’em all, or else I probably couldn’t do so many. I’ve even had a smattering of events with triple digit attendees. I remember going to see Louise Penny at The Tattered Cover in Denver and it was SRO. Louise walked up to the podium and said something gracious and Louise-ish, like, “I want you to know that I don’t take a single one of you here for granted.” I never will either. I’ll even get you a chair.
  
  
• My books are in bookstore windows. OK, this has actually happened already. As I mentioned, I do a lot of events, and booksellers are smart about using their real estate. (Thank you, Malaprops, in Asheville, North Carolina! You rule!) But it’d be super cool if it happened so often that I didn’t run over to the window, press my face against the glass so I looked like a smushed fish, and jump and down, screaming, “That’s my book! That’s my book!”
  
  
• Two generations in a family read my work. Maybe I have to write a lot longer for this to happen. But Lois Duncan—who was celebrated as a Grand Master at this year’s Edgar ceremonies—was and is my favorite YA suspense novelist, and introducing my own daughter to her work was and is one of the great joys of my reading life. Oh, and once I even got to introduce my daughter to Lois in person! And that put things all kinds of over the top.
  
  
• Somebody sends me something. Not in a creepy way, like hand-delivered to my house. But you know, maybe in care of my publisher or agent? And not something creepy, like a finger. But it could be a cake. I like cake. Or a miniature, which I collect. Or a book they love. Or a picture of him or her reading my book. Which would bring this whole list full circle.
  
  
• But wait! There’s more. If you’re reading this post, I’d love to get to meet you along the road. Your road or mine. I’d love to hear where you’re at, with your writing or your reading, and I’d love to connect. I think that’s the real feeling behind every single item on this list. Connecting with readers and other writers. That’s why we’re all in this game.

Those are 10 items in my bucket. What are some of yours?

Photo ©Don DeBold under a creative commons license.

Special for Reds Readers! I’m announcing a giveaway for the first time ever on this blog. Anyone who pre-orders my forthcoming thriller, As Night Falls, is eligible to win a Writer’s Wish List, or give one away to an emerging writer in their life. Please see here for details: http://jennymilchman.com/as-night-falls/giveaway

Jenny Milchman  lived for eleven months on the road with her family on what Shelf Awareness called “the world’s longest book tour.” Her debut novel, COVER OF SNOW, won the 2013 Mary Higgins Clark award. RUIN FALLS was a Top Ten of 2014 by Suspense Magazine. Jenny’s third novel, AS NIGHT FALLS, is an Indie Next Pick and a summer 2015 release.

Jenny is Vice President of Author Programming for International Thriller Writers, and the founder of Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day, which is celebrated annually in all 50 states and 6 foreign countries.

You can find out more about her and her books at her website, friend her on Facebook and Goodreads, and follow her on Twitter as @JennyMilchman.