  Mystery
This week: The Benefits of Authenticity Edited by: Kitti the Red-Nosed Feline  
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Do you write without knowing your characters, or any idea where your story will go? Or do you use character sheets and plot outlines? There is something to say for both methods, and anything in-between. Still, when you know where you are going and what you are on about, the details you add help create a feeling of authenticity.
I am your guest editor for this week's Mystery Newsletter, and I am guilty of a distinct lack of planning, most of the time...
kittiara |
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In the last few months my life has been enriched by two series – The Wire on DVD, and Michael Connelly's novels. Both were a pleasant surprise.
I'd never heard of Michael Connelly before. The first book I read was about a lawyer, Michael Haller. I was drawn to it because I enjoy the work of John Grisham, and this sounded similar. After that, I picked up some of Connelly's other novels and I soon became familiar with his most famous character, detective Hieronymus Bosch.
The Wire I had heard of before, but I didn't think it would be something I'd enjoy. When, earlier this year, I was between ISPs, I decided to give it a go and found out that I couldn't have been more wrong. After the first few episodes, I was hooked.
Both The Wire and the Michael Connelly novels are works of fiction, but what makes them attractive – at least to me – is the feel of authenticity. Connelly used to be a crime reporter. Some of the characters and scenarios in his work are based on true experiences. The writers of The Wire could draw from their own experiences and did years of research to try give an as realistic portrayal as possible.
Now, for many of us, such experience and such research is not possible. I used to work with a police department, but considering the field of expertise was traffic, I couldn't base a mystery story on that apart from “who ran the traffic light” or “who was speeding along the highway just then”. If I wanted to write a story based in, for example, Los Angeles, I could ring up the cops and ask them to tag along for a few months, and I'm pretty certain they'd laugh me off the line. Not that I could even afford a trip to LA. I'd be limited to books, the Internet, movies and TV-series for a feel of the city and its crime.
I'm all for writing about what you know, and using your imagination to fill in the gaps. That's what I tend to do. I don't have the patience for years of research – I tend to see a blank page and I start writing. I don't plan my characters, or my plot, I don't have books full of notes or specific details in mind. Most often I catch a snippet of dialogue, or a glimpse of a scene, and I go with that. For my level of writing, it works. I write stories that, according to feedback, are entertaining enough. That does not mean I stand out in any way.
Some of my friends on this site go about things in a different way, and it shows in their work. They have character sheets, for example, or outline their story so that they know each twist and turn of the journey before they even put pen to paper, or finger on keyboard. Some of the best novels I have read, including those outside of the mystery genre, are by those who make this effort. Jean M. Auel is such an author - her Earth's Children series is filled with her knowledge and research.
I think both ways of writing – and anywhere in-between – have something to say for it. Writing the way I do is fun, because it's full of exploration and you never know what's going to happen from one minute to the next. You get to know your characters along the way, and they keep on surprising you. It helps me appreciate what creativity I have.
Writing when you are prepared, helps an author to fill in those gaps that are evident in my work. When you know where you are going and what you are on about, the details you add help create that feeling of authenticity. You can familiarize your readers with an environment they may not be familiar with themselves, because you have studied it to the best of your capability. You know what things are supposed to look like, feel like, sound like and taste like. You can foreshadow events because you know what's coming. In a mystery novel, that's pretty important, because the reader loves clues.
Even though most of us won't have access to the kind of background or research opportunities of a Michael Connelly or the creators of The Wire, we all have unique insights to draw from. A restaurant worker, for example, will know the ins and outs of what goes on behind the scenes, and they can use that in their work. The same goes for a mechanic, or a scientist, or a teacher, or a student. On top of that, the Internet does have a whole lot of a material for those with the patience and determination to flesh out their writing.
A mystery, after all, does not need to include detectives as main characters. You don't need to know how, exactly, a police department operates. The clues can be solved by anyone, from a shop worker to a bin man, from a clever child to a determined granny.
Just so long as you make them believable and, contrary to my usual approach, it helps to know whodunnit, otherwise the puzzle may never get solved.
kittiara
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Here are some of the latest additions in the Mystery genre  .
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Also, don't forget:
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And a little plug for my own contest, because the current round has a Mystery theme:
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The Mystery Newsletter team welcomes any and all questions, suggestions, thoughts and feedback, so please don't hesitate to write in!
As I am a guest editor of this Newsletter, I don't have any questions to answer or feedback to respond to, but please rest assured that any thoughts you send in are appreciated and will get read!
Wishing you a week filled with inspiration,
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Mystery: May 15, 2013 Issue [#5673]
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