  Mystery
This week: A Fresh Start Edited by: Jeff  
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"The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense
of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery."
-- Anaïs Nin
Mystery Trivia of the Week: Karen Kijewski is mystery novelist and California native who was born and raised in Berkeley, taught English in Massachusetts for almost a decade, then moved to the Sacramento area where she tended bar while she established herself as a novelist. Although her first novel in her Kat Colorado series (Katwalk) had a mixed reception among critics, it was impressive enough to win her the dual honor of an Anthony Award and a Shamus Award in the same year.
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A FRESH START
As I write this editorial, we're less than two weeks into a new year and I'm less than two days away from hopping in the car and driving to my first day at a new job. All of this new-ness has me thinking about fresh starts when it comes to our fiction. Have you ever written the adventures and exploits of one character so long that you're starting to feel like it's all getting a little stale? This is often a risk for mystery novelists as stories often revolve around the commission and resolution of a crime. When characters are detectives, or private investigators, or spies, or soldiers, or federal agents, or any profession that's comprised of individual cases or missions, it can sometimes start to feel like you're just writing the same story over and over again, but instead of murder, the crime is arson... or instead of a terrorist, the villain is an unhinged superior officer.
These kinds of properties, where each work is a different assignment or mission, are often called "procedurals" or "case of the week" stories, the latter especially when it pertains to television shows. With the mystery genre, there are a seemingly endless number of stories you can tell. Not only are there a multitude of different assignments or cases ... law enforcement officers might be assigned to investigate a murder, kidnapping, burglary, hostage situation, car jacking, bomb threat, etc. ... but each type of case can have a wide variety of particulars ... murder, for example, could be a crime of passion, a cold-blooded assassination, a mercy killing, a gang-related act, etc.
But there comes a time in every long-running story arc where a writer asks themselves, "Now what?" After ten books, or twenty short stories, or thirty television episodes, there might be a tendency to want to mix things up a little. Maybe have the protagonist work on something different for a change. Rather than an NYPD detective investigating a murder in the Five Boroughs, maybe you're tempted to have that NYPD detective pulled into a political intrigue plot while on vacation in Washington, D.C. Or perhaps the FBI comes knocking and offers them a job solving crimes all around the country.
Change isn't inherently bad. Everything changes sooner or later, and embracing a new challenge or new set of circumstances can be a refreshing breath of fresh air for something that the author (and maybe the reader too!) feels might be getting a little stale. But it's important to make sure that changes don't come out of thin air, or without the proper groundwork. You don't want to give your characters a fresh start that makes their loyal audiences scratch their head, or worse, feel like they're no longer getting the kinds of stories they've come to expect by diligently following your character's exploits.
I'd offer two small pieces of advice to those thinking about changing up a significant element of their character or stories in order to keep things feeling fresh:
First, lay the groundwork. Don't just thrust your character into a new situation and mention it as an afterthought. If your special forces soldier character has been running around the globe taking out military targets for the Marine Corps, don't just start a new story where that character is now already a private security consultant and explain it away with a prologue or a handful of paragraphs. Establish the job offer, or the potential for a career change in a previous story. Show the character disillusioned with their current job and considering or at least wanting to make a change. It's important to lay the groundwork not just at the beginning of the new type of story you're telling, but as early as possible so the audience feels like they're right there witnessing the character's fresh start and along for the ride, rather than feeling cheated because a character they've come to care about suddenly made this big change that they didn't even get a chance to read about. Heck, you might even get ideas for a whole new story if you focus on telling readers how and why the transition is made!
Second, don't make the change implausible. Don't have your character's fresh start be something that comes way out of left field and changes the rules of the game. This goes hand-in-hand with the first thing above; if you properly lay the groundwork for the change, you'll have a lot more latitude in getting your audience to believe it. For example, unless the NYPD detective referenced a couple paragraphs above is solving cases that are making national headlines, or working with the FBI on a regular basis, it's unlikely the FBI is suddenly going to come knocking and offer them a job. Similarly, if your character is a small-time crook, they're probably not going to get recruited by an international thieving ring to steal a priceless piece of art from the Louvre. But both of those situations could happen if you lay the groundwork first and give the audience a reason to believe someone would come offering the character a new job. Regardless of the groundwork, though, don't try to change too much too quickly. Remember that especially with a long-running series, audiences have come to expect a certain type of story and probably won't react favorably if your hard-boiled NYPD detective solving crimes in a realistic modern-day New York is suddenly traveling to the Middle East to take down a terrorist network, or fighting off an alien invasion. 
Sooner or later, we all need a fresh start. Everyone needs to break the cycle sooner or later ... it's how we grow and how we learn. The same is true of characters in fiction; they need new adventures and new experiences too. If you're prepared to make those changes, though, make sure you go about it in a way that honors the audience you have and their existing expectations. Don't rush into anything haphazardly; take the time to lay some groundwork and give your audience a plausible progression of events that leads character and audience alike into the fresh start you've been angling for.
Until next time,
Jeff
If you're interested in checking out my work:
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I encourage you to check out the following mystery items:
EXCERPT: The sun held wistfully over the trees like it was reading them their last rites. It was November and soon the cold, dark nights of December would come and slowly suffocate any life from them. The landscape, once green, now brown would turn to an even bleaker shade of death. Below, as the receding fog dissipated through the thickets of surrounding trees the Belmont Cemetery could be seen, desolate. It was well past five and in the later months of the year that meant an early darkness. While customarily open until seven the groundskeepers took to departing early, with no lack of haste on their part. Keeping the gates unlocked for any late stranglers but still clasped shut, mostly for show.
EXCERPT: The man dressed in black sat quietly looking out over the desert. He was way out of his comfort zone, which was 7000km's away, back in Manhattan. This was Africa, even the hundred thousand dollar, air-conditioned Range Rover Sport he currently found himself being chauffeured around in, could not diminish the discomfort he felt from relentless heat. It had been seven months since he had left the states on his quest. His travels had taken him through some of the toughest country he could ever have imagined but in the end, he knew it would be worth it. The reward for his endeavours would far outweigh the millions he had spent, the many nights he spent doing research and the torturous voyage he had under taken. A voyage that had started back in his Penthouse eight months ago. A voyage that had begun with dreams. He closed his eyes, then put his head back as the dreams came flooding back.
EXCERPT: After the emergency vehicles turned a corner in the near distance Astrina continued on. She turned at the corner too. When she did she suddenly stopped. The emergency vehicles stopped a couple of streets ahead of her. Astrina just sat there - staring at what was going on. Suddenly she sat straight up in her chair. “That’s about where my house is at.”
EXCERPT: Waking up to the static glare of the television, Vic rubbed his eyes before finishing the half-glass of water on his bedside table. He looked around the small room and shook his head – the floor was a minefield of unwashed clothes and half-packed boxes. The only thing in there that retained a semblance of order was his bedside table, arranged with soldierly precision: phone charger; fiction by Frank Herbert; black and white picture of a man in full military regalia. Pulling himself out of bed he ate, drank coffee, showered, and then got in the car to go to work. The journey was slow, crawling through the rush hour traffic. On the radio was a dialogue between the prime minister and a journalist about how Remembrance Day is still relevant in a society opposed to international conflict.
EXCERPT: I slammed my bedroom door angrily. I fell down onto my bed, my tears wetting the sheets. I didn’t understand why my parents always sided my younger brother. Being a royal faerie came with its disadvantages as well. I had to follow whatever my parents asked me to do as they were the King and Queen of the faerie world. I picked up her handphone and my reflection stared back right at me. I sighed and walked into my bathroom. My eyes were all puffy and red, and obvious tear marks stained my cheeks. I quickly used a hot towel and got rid of all evidence of me crying. It wouldn’t be good for any servant to walk in and see me crying.
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Feedback from my last newsletter about constructive criticism:
Shannon  writes: "I couldn't agree more, Jeff. This is what I like to call keyboard bullying--unnecessary cruelty and meanspiritedness simply because the computer screen and keyboard offer the invividual a semblance of anonymity. Would the reviewer say such things to the person's face? Doubtful. If you wouldn't like to receive the review you've just written for someone else, don't send it. Do unto others and all that. Excellent newsletter!  "{/quote}
Thanks so much for writing in, Shannon! And I totally agree; it's shocking the things people feel free to say to another screen name that they wouldn't dare to an actual person standing in front of them. 
Whata SpoonStealer  writes: "Absolutely the best advice on receiving and giving reviews I've read. You're right-- succinct is best for this Newsletter that I will know subscribe to. Your wisdom is quite appreciated! PS: I do believe putting this in your Portfolio is called for. Perhaps you'll consider it  ~Whata"{/quote}
Glad to have you as a subscriber! I might put it in my port one day, but in the interim you can always find it in the newsletter archives! 
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Mystery: January 13, 2016 Issue [#7422]
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