When I read books by other
local writers, I sometimes find myself wishing their characters worked harder,
that their people supported the story more, or advanced the plot. I wanted them
to give me something to root for.
It made me wonder how my crew
really holds up.
I recently received some
editorial comments that pretty much answered my question. My guys need to work
harder, too.
Some of my problems stem from
my own personality style, which is non-confrontational. I spend a great deal of
time tiptoeing around other people’s sensibilities. Works well enough for real
life, but not so much for a novel.
I’m not great at supplying enough
of the fine details that Sue Grafton might provide. I’m not a natural-born shopper
and dropping name brands will never come easy for me.
As for physical
characteristics, I thought I at least had my foot in the door. I supplied hair
and eye color, height and weight, threw in a moustache and a beard, even a cane
and a walker. I used direct description and contrasting comparisons. I’m proud
to say I only resorted to the mirror trick once. Briefly. Early on.
For personalities I have a
fuss budget, an entitled patrician (make that two entitled patricians), a
couple of crusty artists, and a whole raft of strong females.
That’s still not quite
enough.
With some help, I’ve brain
stormed some fixes. Which leaves me thinking about pulling out the really big
gun of writing—the outline.
I’ve been going at my writing
like a pantser. A pantser is a NaNoWriMo term for someone who writes by the
seat of their pants. Works well for some, such as Tony Hillerman. However, I
think my time has come to work with some kind of an outline. I have a great
deal to contend with mystery wise:
·
Who is the
killer?
·
Where is the real
painting?
·
Where is the
forgery?
·
Who painted what
and when?
·
Where’s the
romance?
·
Where’s the
conflict?
·
How in the world
can I tie everything up?
My paid editor, Jane
VanVooren Rogers, pointed out the problems as well as the things that worked.
Her suggestions were clear and insightful. They have been helpful and, frankly,
not all that surprising. I just needed to hear it from someone besides my own wishy-washy
internal editor. It was money well spent.
And now it’s time to get back
to work.
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