KN Magazine: Articles
Unlocking the Mystery / Blake Fontenay
What makes a mystery? Unanswered questions, of course. But aren’t there unanswered questions in other genres. Author and Killer Nashville Guest Blogger offers his take on what unanswered questions separate mysteries from all other genres.Enjoy! And read like someone is burning the books…because somewhere in the world, they are.Until next week!
Clay StaffordFounder Killer NashvillePublisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
Unlocking the Mystery
By Blake Fontenay
What makes a mystery novel mysterious?
The answer seems obvious. A mystery is a story in which major plot points are unknown to the protagonists — and readers as well. In a murder mystery, the main question to be answered usually is: Whodunnit? And quite often, why and how the murder was committed as well.
Now, there are some authors who give readers the answers to these questions fairly early in the story. Through an omniscient viewpoint, the reader learns who the good guys and the bad guys are — and the tension in the story comes from knowing that the good guys and bad guys will eventually clash.
To me, that kind of story doesn’t really qualify as a mystery. It might be classified as a thriller, provided the author does a good job of building and holding tension.
I consider my most recent novel, Scouts' Honor
By contrast, I consider my first book, The Politics of Barbecue
I suppose an argument can be made that any work of fiction will have unanswered questions. In the romance novel, for example, the unanswered question might be whether the lonely widow will choose the socially inept pool maintenance worker with a heart of gold or the slick stockbroker who’s kind of a jerk.
Virtually all stories have some unanswered questions. In a mystery, however, I think those unanswered questions take on greater importance than they do in other genres. Yes, it’s important for a mystery writer to have interesting characters who grow and change throughout the story. It’s important to have a compelling setting for the story. And it’s also great if a writer can educate his or her readers on one or more issues of social importance.
But for me, those unanswered questions — and how they ultimately are answered — are what make mystery novels special, provided the writer follows certain rules.
It’s important for a writer to play fair with readers. That means there have to be enough clues provided throughout the story to give readers the opportunity to figure out the answers to those questions before they are revealed in the story.
There’s nothing wrong with a writer creating some misdirection — clues that are intended to throw readers off a little bit. However, I find it very frustrating when all the clues point one direction and the answers to the story’s central questions aren’t related to any of those clues.
The element of surprise in a story is great. The element of surprise when it’s completely unsupported by anything that has preceded it in the story is not so great. I think the best mystery novels are the ones where the right clues are there, but they are so subtle that they only make sense in hindsight. My favorite mystery novels are the ones where, at the end, I’m asking myself: “Why didn’t I see that coming?”
I’m also a big fan of having multiple unanswered questions in the same story, some concerning major plot points and some concerning relatively minor issues. As a writer, this provides a measure of insurance. Say the writer’s clues to one of the unanswered questions aren’t subtle enough and readers are able to solve that part of the mystery. If there are other questions that remain unanswered, that’s an incentive for readers to keep reading. If there’s only that one unanswered question and the reader figures it out halfway through the book, he or she is likely to feel disappointed at the story’s end.
In my own writing, I try to tell stories from many different points of view, although I’ve been told by writing coaches that this is a no-no. I’ve heard from people whose opinions I respect that limiting storytelling to one or two or three points of view is generally preferred. I don’t necessarily agree with that for all types of stories, but I can see the merit in a well-crafted mystery.
In a mystery, I’m fine with knowing only what the main protagonist knows. That makes the story a journey of discovery for both of us. He or she gets the same clues I get, at the same points in the story. With any luck, we’ll come to the same conclusions about the unanswered questions at the same time.
If you’re reading this and thinking to yourself that I read too many Encyclopedia Brown books as a kid, then I would disagree with you. Because you can never read too many Encyclopedia Brown books.
Maybe the points I’ve asserted in this post will seem too formulaic or conventional to some. But I know what I like. And I know what kind of stories I’m going to buy.
Blake Fontenay spent more than 25 years as a reporter, columnist and editorial writer for metropolitan daily newspapers – including the Sacramento Bee, Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville), Orlando Sentinel, and Commercial Appeal (Memphis). He won several awards for editorial writing while at the Commercial Appeal. Since leaving the newspaper business, he has worked as the communications director for Tennessee’s Comptroller, Treasurer and Secretary of State. He is currently the coordinator for the Tri-Star Chronicles project at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. His debut novel, The Politics of Barbecue
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you. Thanks to Tom Wood, Maria Giordano, Will Chessor, Meaghan Hill, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog. And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.)
Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale.
Unlocking the Mystery / Blake Fontenay
What makes a mystery? Unanswered questions, of course. But aren’t there unanswered questions in other genres. Author and Killer Nashville Guest Blogger offers his take on what unanswered questions separate mysteries from all other genres.Enjoy! And read like someone is burning the books…because somewhere in the world, they are.Until next week!
Clay StaffordFounder Killer NashvillePublisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
Unlocking the Mystery
By Blake Fontenay
What makes a mystery novel mysterious?
The answer seems obvious. A mystery is a story in which major plot points are unknown to the protagonists — and readers as well. In a murder mystery, the main question to be answered usually is: Whodunnit? And quite often, why and how the murder was committed as well.
Now, there are some authors who give readers the answers to these questions fairly early in the story. Through an omniscient viewpoint, the reader learns who the good guys and the bad guys are — and the tension in the story comes from knowing that the good guys and bad guys will eventually clash.
To me, that kind of story doesn’t really qualify as a mystery. It might be classified as a thriller, provided the author does a good job of building and holding tension.
I consider my most recent novel, Scouts' Honor
By contrast, I consider my first book, The Politics of Barbecue
I suppose an argument can be made that any work of fiction will have unanswered questions. In the romance novel, for example, the unanswered question might be whether the lonely widow will choose the socially inept pool maintenance worker with a heart of gold or the slick stockbroker who’s kind of a jerk.
Virtually all stories have some unanswered questions. In a mystery, however, I think those unanswered questions take on greater importance than they do in other genres. Yes, it’s important for a mystery writer to have interesting characters who grow and change throughout the story. It’s important to have a compelling setting for the story. And it’s also great if a writer can educate his or her readers on one or more issues of social importance.
But for me, those unanswered questions — and how they ultimately are answered — are what make mystery novels special, provided the writer follows certain rules.
It’s important for a writer to play fair with readers. That means there have to be enough clues provided throughout the story to give readers the opportunity to figure out the answers to those questions before they are revealed in the story.
There’s nothing wrong with a writer creating some misdirection — clues that are intended to throw readers off a little bit. However, I find it very frustrating when all the clues point one direction and the answers to the story’s central questions aren’t related to any of those clues.
The element of surprise in a story is great. The element of surprise when it’s completely unsupported by anything that has preceded it in the story is not so great. I think the best mystery novels are the ones where the right clues are there, but they are so subtle that they only make sense in hindsight. My favorite mystery novels are the ones where, at the end, I’m asking myself: “Why didn’t I see that coming?”
I’m also a big fan of having multiple unanswered questions in the same story, some concerning major plot points and some concerning relatively minor issues. As a writer, this provides a measure of insurance. Say the writer’s clues to one of the unanswered questions aren’t subtle enough and readers are able to solve that part of the mystery. If there are other questions that remain unanswered, that’s an incentive for readers to keep reading. If there’s only that one unanswered question and the reader figures it out halfway through the book, he or she is likely to feel disappointed at the story’s end.
In my own writing, I try to tell stories from many different points of view, although I’ve been told by writing coaches that this is a no-no. I’ve heard from people whose opinions I respect that limiting storytelling to one or two or three points of view is generally preferred. I don’t necessarily agree with that for all types of stories, but I can see the merit in a well-crafted mystery.
In a mystery, I’m fine with knowing only what the main protagonist knows. That makes the story a journey of discovery for both of us. He or she gets the same clues I get, at the same points in the story. With any luck, we’ll come to the same conclusions about the unanswered questions at the same time.
If you’re reading this and thinking to yourself that I read too many Encyclopedia Brown books as a kid, then I would disagree with you. Because you can never read too many Encyclopedia Brown books.
Maybe the points I’ve asserted in this post will seem too formulaic or conventional to some. But I know what I like. And I know what kind of stories I’m going to buy.
Blake Fontenay spent more than 25 years as a reporter, columnist and editorial writer for metropolitan daily newspapers – including the Sacramento Bee, Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville), Orlando Sentinel, and Commercial Appeal (Memphis). He won several awards for editorial writing while at the Commercial Appeal. Since leaving the newspaper business, he has worked as the communications director for Tennessee’s Comptroller, Treasurer and Secretary of State. He is currently the coordinator for the Tri-Star Chronicles project at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. His debut novel, The Politics of Barbecue
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you. Thanks to Tom Wood, Maria Giordano, Will Chessor, Meaghan Hill, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog. And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.)
Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale.
What Makes a Thriller Paranoid? / Don Winston
In a traditional thriller, there’s a good guy and bad guy, and they both know about each other early on, even if they don’t yet know each other’s identity. In a paranoid thriller, the good guy doesn’t know if there’s a bad guy or not. In fact, the good guy doesn’t even realize he’s IN a thriller. Author Don Winston explains the differences in this week’s Killer Nashville guest blog.
Until next time, read like someone is burning the books…because — paranoid as I am — somewhere in the world, they are.
Happy Reading!
Clay Stafford
Founder Killer Nashville
Publisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
What Makes a Thriller Paranoid?
By Don Winston
As part of the promotional tour for my novels, I’m often asked, “What is a paranoid thriller?” It’s a logical question, as it’s the subtitle of my first book and a recurring theme in all my work. There’s a slight yet profound difference between a traditional thriller and its paranoid cousin, so I decided to think about it more and explain. Not only for others, but for myself, as well.
In a traditional thriller, there’s a good guy and bad guy, and they both know about each other early on, even if they don’t yet know each other’s identity. There’s a murder, or a tip from the CIA, or even a ghost knocking around, making the good guy’s life hell. So the good guy channels his energy and ingenuity to get rid of the villain, growing as a person in the process. That’s essentially the hero’s journey Joseph Campbell made such a wonderful contribution mining and explaining.
Almost every thriller or action story fits into that mold, from Stephen King to Tom Clancy to Agatha Christie. By the end, typically the good guy has captured or killed the bad guy, and order is restored to his world. Until the bad guy rebounds or a new one surfaces for the sequel, jumpstarting the nasty cycle all over. It’s what kept Harry Potter so busy in high school.
In a paranoid thriller, however, the good guy — usually an Average Joe — doesn’t know if there’s a bad guy or not. In fact, the good guy doesn’t even realize he’s IN a thriller. Childlike, he (or she) innocently pursues his life and dreams, with the increasing and unnerving and ultimately horrifying suspicion that someone means him great harm. Hence, the paranoia. As mystery expert Otto Penzler puts it in his foreword to Ira Levin’s A Kiss Before Dying: “They are essentially decent people caught up in a world not of their creation –– aliens in a terrifying environment without a map or compass...this terror is dramatically magnified when it involves people who did nothing deliberately to find themselves in positions of jeopardy.”
Alfred Hitchcock, Cornell Woolrich, and, more recently, Ira Levin were all masters of this genre. It’s a rare one, but pierces deep when done well. Think The Man Who Knew Too Much, Night Has a Thousand Eyes, and, most pointedly, Rosemary’s Baby.
Often in a paranoid thriller, the good guy is his own bad guy. The escape hatch is typically wide open for a big chunk of the story; if only he’d walk through it, he’d be free and safe. We the audience know this, and scream for him to run, but he doesn’t. This is also known as “dramatic irony” –– a situation understood by the reader or audience but not grasped by the characters. This can drive the reader mad, in a fun way. It’s what makes the story tick and terrify and, hopefully, keeps the pages turning.
At some point, usually late in the story and following a cascading series of very unfortunate events, the good guy snaps out of his denial and realizes his world is on fire. So insistent he’s been going on living a normal, happy life, he’s paid attention to all the wrong things, and now he’s surrounded by extremely malevolent forces, closing in fast. By this point, however, the escape hatch is closed, and he’s trapped, cornered, sucked down into the whirlpool without a paddle, whatever metaphor you like. He’s in big trouble.
Denial is the lynchpin of the paranoid thriller, and it usually costs the hero dearly.
As if that weren’t trouble enough, as the story unfolds and the noose tightens, the good guy’s final horror is that what he fears is happening is not nearly as ghastly as what is really happening. In his optimistic hope for the best, he grossly underestimates the evil that engulfs him. That gives the paranoid thriller its ultimate nightmarish charge.
In a paranoid thriller, the good guy doesn’t go looking for trouble. It finds him, sneaks up, and surrounds him. His last-gasp attempt to free himself is what hurls us toward the climax.
It’s a messy business, this paranoid thriller stuff. But when plotted right, when the clues drop correctly and the danger crests on cue, the horror overwhelms and gives us a visceral battle of good and evil.
This is what I’ve tried to accomplish with S'wanee, The Union Club, and my brand new thriller: The Gristmill Playhouse: A Nightmare in Three Acts. Whether or not I’ve succeeded is up to the reader. I hope you’ll check them out and let me know what you think.
Happy reading! And remember: Only the paranoid will survive…
Don Winston grew up in Nashville and graduated from Princeton University. After a stint at Ralph Lauren headquarters in New York, he moved to Los Angeles to work in entertainment as an actor, writer, and producer. S'wanee: A Paranoid Thriller was his debut novel and hit #3 in Kindle Suspense Fiction, followed by his second novel The Union Club: A Subversive Thriller. His new thriller The Gristmill Playhouse: A Nightmare in Three Acts will be released spring 2015. He lives in Hollywood. Visit his website at http://www.donwinston.com/
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you. Thanks to Tom Wood, Maria Giordano, Will Chessor, Meaghan Hill, and publisher Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog. And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.)
Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale.
What Makes a Thriller Paranoid? / Don Winston
In a traditional thriller, there’s a good guy and bad guy, and they both know about each other early on, even if they don’t yet know each other’s identity. In a paranoid thriller, the good guy doesn’t know if there’s a bad guy or not. In fact, the good guy doesn’t even realize he’s IN a thriller. Author Don Winston explains the differences in this week’s Killer Nashville guest blog.Until next time, read like someone is burning the books…because — paranoid as I am — somewhere in the world, they are.Happy Reading!Clay StaffordFounder Killer NashvillePublisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
What Makes a Thriller Paranoid?
By Don Winston
As part of the promotional tour for my novels, I’m often asked, “What is a paranoid thriller?” It’s a logical question, as it’s the subtitle of my first book and a recurring theme in all my work. There’s a slight yet profound difference between a traditional thriller and its paranoid cousin, so I decided to think about it more and explain. Not only for others, but for myself, as well.
In a traditional thriller, there’s a good guy and bad guy, and they both know about each other early on, even if they don’t yet know each other’s identity. There’s a murder, or a tip from the CIA, or even a ghost knocking around, making the good guy’s life hell. So the good guy channels his energy and ingenuity to get rid of the villain, growing as a person in the process. That’s essentially the hero’s journey Joseph Campbell made such a wonderful contribution mining and explaining.
Almost every thriller or action story fits into that mold, from Stephen King to Tom Clancy to Agatha Christie. By the end, typically the good guy has captured or killed the bad guy, and order is restored to his world. Until the bad guy rebounds or a new one surfaces for the sequel, jumpstarting the nasty cycle all over. It’s what kept Harry Potter so busy in high school.
In a paranoid thriller, however, the good guy — usually an Average Joe — doesn’t know if there’s a bad guy or not. In fact, the good guy doesn’t even realize he’s IN a thriller. Childlike, he (or she) innocently pursues his life and dreams, with the increasing and unnerving and ultimately horrifying suspicion that someone means him great harm. Hence, the paranoia. As mystery expert Otto Penzler puts it in his foreword to Ira Levin’s A Kiss Before Dying: “They are essentially decent people caught up in a world not of their creation –– aliens in a terrifying environment without a map or compass...this terror is dramatically magnified when it involves people who did nothing deliberately to find themselves in positions of jeopardy.”
Alfred Hitchcock, Cornell Woolrich, and, more recently, Ira Levin were all masters of this genre. It’s a rare one, but pierces deep when done well. Think The Man Who Knew Too Much, Night Has a Thousand Eyes, and, most pointedly, Rosemary’s Baby.
Often in a paranoid thriller, the good guy is his own bad guy. The escape hatch is typically wide open for a big chunk of the story; if only he’d walk through it, he’d be free and safe. We the audience know this, and scream for him to run, but he doesn’t. This is also known as “dramatic irony” –– a situation understood by the reader or audience but not grasped by the characters. This can drive the reader mad, in a fun way. It’s what makes the story tick and terrify and, hopefully, keeps the pages turning.
At some point, usually late in the story and following a cascading series of very unfortunate events, the good guy snaps out of his denial and realizes his world is on fire. So insistent he’s been going on living a normal, happy life, he’s paid attention to all the wrong things, and now he’s surrounded by extremely malevolent forces, closing in fast. By this point, however, the escape hatch is closed, and he’s trapped, cornered, sucked down into the whirlpool without a paddle, whatever metaphor you like. He’s in big trouble.
Denial is the lynchpin of the paranoid thriller, and it usually costs the hero dearly.
As if that weren’t trouble enough, as the story unfolds and the noose tightens, the good guy’s final horror is that what he fears is happening is not nearly as ghastly as what is really happening. In his optimistic hope for the best, he grossly underestimates the evil that engulfs him. That gives the paranoid thriller its ultimate nightmarish charge.
In a paranoid thriller, the good guy doesn’t go looking for trouble. It finds him, sneaks up, and surrounds him. His last-gasp attempt to free himself is what hurls us toward the climax.
It’s a messy business, this paranoid thriller stuff. But when plotted right, when the clues drop correctly and the danger crests on cue, the horror overwhelms and gives us a visceral battle of good and evil.
This is what I’ve tried to accomplish with S'wanee
Happy reading! And remember: Only the paranoid will survive…
Don Winston grew up in Nashville and graduated from Princeton University. After a stint at Ralph Lauren headquarters in New York, he moved to Los Angeles to work in entertainment as an actor, writer, and producer. S'wanee: A Paranoid Thriller was his debut novel and hit #3 in Kindle Suspense Fiction, followed by his second novel The Union Club: A Subversive Thriller. His new thriller The Gristmill Playhouse: A Nightmare in Three Acts
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you. Thanks to Tom Wood, Maria Giordano, Will Chessor, Meaghan Hill, and publisher Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog. And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.)
Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale.
What Makes a Thriller Paranoid? / Don Winston
In a traditional thriller, there’s a good guy and bad guy, and they both know about each other early on, even if they don’t yet know each other’s identity. In a paranoid thriller, the good guy doesn’t know if there’s a bad guy or not. In fact, the good guy doesn’t even realize he’s IN a thriller. Author Don Winston explains the differences in this week’s Killer Nashville guest blog.Until next time, read like someone is burning the books…because — paranoid as I am — somewhere in the world, they are.Happy Reading!Clay StaffordFounder Killer NashvillePublisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
What Makes a Thriller Paranoid?
By Don Winston
As part of the promotional tour for my novels, I’m often asked, “What is a paranoid thriller?” It’s a logical question, as it’s the subtitle of my first book and a recurring theme in all my work. There’s a slight yet profound difference between a traditional thriller and its paranoid cousin, so I decided to think about it more and explain. Not only for others, but for myself, as well.
In a traditional thriller, there’s a good guy and bad guy, and they both know about each other early on, even if they don’t yet know each other’s identity. There’s a murder, or a tip from the CIA, or even a ghost knocking around, making the good guy’s life hell. So the good guy channels his energy and ingenuity to get rid of the villain, growing as a person in the process. That’s essentially the hero’s journey Joseph Campbell made such a wonderful contribution mining and explaining.
Almost every thriller or action story fits into that mold, from Stephen King to Tom Clancy to Agatha Christie. By the end, typically the good guy has captured or killed the bad guy, and order is restored to his world. Until the bad guy rebounds or a new one surfaces for the sequel, jumpstarting the nasty cycle all over. It’s what kept Harry Potter so busy in high school.
In a paranoid thriller, however, the good guy — usually an Average Joe — doesn’t know if there’s a bad guy or not. In fact, the good guy doesn’t even realize he’s IN a thriller. Childlike, he (or she) innocently pursues his life and dreams, with the increasing and unnerving and ultimately horrifying suspicion that someone means him great harm. Hence, the paranoia. As mystery expert Otto Penzler puts it in his foreword to Ira Levin’s A Kiss Before Dying: “They are essentially decent people caught up in a world not of their creation –– aliens in a terrifying environment without a map or compass...this terror is dramatically magnified when it involves people who did nothing deliberately to find themselves in positions of jeopardy.”
Alfred Hitchcock, Cornell Woolrich, and, more recently, Ira Levin were all masters of this genre. It’s a rare one, but pierces deep when done well. Think The Man Who Knew Too Much, Night Has a Thousand Eyes, and, most pointedly, Rosemary’s Baby.
Often in a paranoid thriller, the good guy is his own bad guy. The escape hatch is typically wide open for a big chunk of the story; if only he’d walk through it, he’d be free and safe. We the audience know this, and scream for him to run, but he doesn’t. This is also known as “dramatic irony” –– a situation understood by the reader or audience but not grasped by the characters. This can drive the reader mad, in a fun way. It’s what makes the story tick and terrify and, hopefully, keeps the pages turning.
At some point, usually late in the story and following a cascading series of very unfortunate events, the good guy snaps out of his denial and realizes his world is on fire. So insistent he’s been going on living a normal, happy life, he’s paid attention to all the wrong things, and now he’s surrounded by extremely malevolent forces, closing in fast. By this point, however, the escape hatch is closed, and he’s trapped, cornered, sucked down into the whirlpool without a paddle, whatever metaphor you like. He’s in big trouble.
Denial is the lynchpin of the paranoid thriller, and it usually costs the hero dearly.
As if that weren’t trouble enough, as the story unfolds and the noose tightens, the good guy’s final horror is that what he fears is happening is not nearly as ghastly as what is really happening. In his optimistic hope for the best, he grossly underestimates the evil that engulfs him. That gives the paranoid thriller its ultimate nightmarish charge.
In a paranoid thriller, the good guy doesn’t go looking for trouble. It finds him, sneaks up, and surrounds him. His last-gasp attempt to free himself is what hurls us toward the climax.
It’s a messy business, this paranoid thriller stuff. But when plotted right, when the clues drop correctly and the danger crests on cue, the horror overwhelms and gives us a visceral battle of good and evil.
This is what I’ve tried to accomplish with S'wanee
Happy reading! And remember: Only the paranoid will survive…
Don Winston grew up in Nashville and graduated from Princeton University. After a stint at Ralph Lauren headquarters in New York, he moved to Los Angeles to work in entertainment as an actor, writer, and producer. S'wanee: A Paranoid Thriller was his debut novel and hit #3 in Kindle Suspense Fiction, followed by his second novel The Union Club: A Subversive Thriller. His new thriller The Gristmill Playhouse: A Nightmare in Three Acts
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you. Thanks to Tom Wood, Maria Giordano, Will Chessor, Meaghan Hill, and publisher Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog. And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.)
Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale.
A Checklist to Evaluate Your Story After You’ve Written It / Jodie Renner
There are two steps to writing the killer story. One is letting it flow. The other is assessing it critically. I’ve found many writers stop at the end of the first step. So what does a writer do if she wants to make sure each scene in a written story does what it was intended to do? Lucky for us, we don’t have to look any further than author/editor Jodie Renner’s checklist on post-writing evaluation. It’s a prompt and reminder you can even print and keep beside your keyboard.
Have your own checklist? Contact us and let us know your writing process.
Write, polish, repeat. For me, that’s the secret and Jodie helps us hit that one straight on.
Happy Reading!
Clay Stafford
Founder Killer Nashville
Publisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
A Checklist to Evaluate Your Story After You’ve Written It
By Jodie Renner
Once you’ve got the first draft of your short story or novel down, it’s time to go back and reassess each scene to make sure the characters are engaging and the scene is as compelling as it can be.
Besides advancing the storyline, every scene should:
Reveal and deepen characters and their relationships;
Show setting details;
Provide any necessary background info (in a natural way, organic to the story);
Add tension and conflict;
Hint at dangers and intrigue to come;
Enhance the overall tone and mood of your story.
Remember that every scene needs conflict and a change.
To bring your characters and story to life, heighten reader engagement, and pick up the pace, try to make your scenes do double or even triple duty – but subtly is almost always best.
For example, a scene with dialogue should have several layers, including:
The words being spoken;
The character’s real thoughts, opinions, emotions, and intentions;
The other speaker’s tone, word choice, attitude, body language, and facial expressions;
The outward actions, reactions, and attitudes of both.
Here are eight key ways you can intensify your writing and enhance the experience for readers:
1) When introducing characters, remember to show, rather than tell.
Reveal characters’ personalities, motives, goals, fears, and modus operandi not by telling the readers about them or their background, but by their actions, reactions, words, body language, facial expressions, tone, and attitude. Additionally, for a viewpoint character, show their thoughts, emotions, inner reactions, and physical sensations. Show characters’ reactions to each other, then let the readers draw their own conclusions about the players and their true intentions.
2)Use attitude when describing setting and characters.
Enhance your descriptions of the setting and other characters by filtering them through the observations, opinions, mood, attitude, and reactions of the viewpoint (observing) character for the scene. That way we’re not only witness to the most significant aspects of the surroundings and other characters, we also learn more about the POV character’s personality, tastes, preferences, and goals, and his agenda for the scene.
3) Show character sensations and reactions.
Bring the scene and character alive by showing us not only what the character is seeing, but also what she’s hearing, smelling, touching (and physical sensations like heat and cold), and even, where appropriate, tasting. Also, show sexual tension between love interests by revealing heightened sensory perceptions and physical reactions.
4) Reveal contradictory feelings.
To heighten tension and reader engagement, be sure to show the inner reactions and often-conflicted feelings of your point-of-view character. If your story isn’t in first person, use close third-person POV to show inner conflict, fears, objections, and doubts, and to illustrate how their true feelings contrast with their words and outward reactions. Increase conflict and tension between characters by showing opposing goals and values through dialogue, body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions.
5) Show subtext during dialogue.
A couple might be discussing something trivial or arguing about something minor, when inside, one or both are angry or resentful about deeper problems. You can hint at their real feelings by showing inner thought-reactions like As if, or Give me a break, or You wish, or In your dreams, or Yeah? Since when? Or use body language such as running hands through hair, brows furrowed, teeth clenching, or hands forming a fist, or inner sensations, such as tightening of the stomach, shortness of breath, or cold skin.
6) Make dialogue do double duty.
Dialogue should not only convey information, but also reveal character and personality and advance the storyline. Dialogue action tags like “He rubbed his eyes,” or “She paced the floor,” which can replace “he said” and “she said,” tell us both who’s speaking and what they’re doing, as well as often providing info on how they’re feeling and reacting. For example:
Chris stood up and ran his hand through his hair. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Jesse set his coffee down, determined to stay calm. “Hey, man, relax. I told you about it last week. Don’t you remember?”
7) Drop hints, but hold back information to foreshadow and add intrigue.
Introduce suspense or heighten anticipation through the use of hints and innuendos or snippets/fragments of critical information. These are especially effective when alluding briefly to your protagonist’s secrets, shames, regrets, or troubled childhood. Show brief flashbacks to reveal character secrets, regrets, and fears, little by little.
8) Stay out of the story.
Don’t interrupt the story as the author to explain, describe, clarify, reveal, or emphasize points to the readers. That’s heavy-handed, clunky, and intrusive. Stay behind the scenes and let the characters live the story. Keep even the narration in the POV character’s voice, rather than a neutral, authorial voice.
For more details on all of these points, with examples, see my books, Fire up Your Fiction and Captivate Your Readers.
Jodie Renner is a freelance fiction editor and the award-winning author of three craft-of-writing guides in her series “Fire up Your Fiction: An Editor's Guide to Writing Compelling Stories”, “Writing a Killer Thriller: An Editor's Guide to Writing Compelling Fiction”, and “Captivate Your Readers: An Editor's Guide to Writing Compelling Fiction”. She has also published two clickable timesaving e-resources to date: “Quick Clicks: Spelling List” and “Quick Clicks: Word Usage”. You can find Jodie at www.JodieRenner.com, www.JodieRennerEditing.com, at The Kill Zone blog alternate Mondays, and on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you. Thanks to Tom Wood, Maria Giordano, Will Chessor, Meaghan Hill, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog. And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.)
Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale.
A Checklist to Evaluate Your Story After You’ve Written It / Jodie Renner
There are two steps to writing the killer story. One is letting it flow. The other is assessing it critically. I’ve found many writers stop at the end of the first step. So what does a writer do if she wants to make sure each scene in a written story does what it was intended to do? Lucky for us, we don’t have to look any further than author/editor Jodie Renner’s checklist on post-writing evaluation. It’s a prompt and reminder you can even print and keep beside your keyboard.Have your own checklist? Contact us and let us know your writing process.Write, polish, repeat. For me, that’s the secret and Jodie helps us hit that one straight on.Happy Reading!Clay StaffordFounder Killer NashvillePublisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
A Checklist to Evaluate Your Story After You’ve Written It
By Jodie Renner
Once you’ve got the first draft of your short story or novel down, it’s time to go back and reassess each scene to make sure the characters are engaging and the scene is as compelling as it can be.
Besides advancing the storyline, every scene should:
- Reveal and deepen characters and their relationships;
- Show setting details;
- Provide any necessary background info (in a natural way, organic to the story);
- Add tension and conflict;
- Hint at dangers and intrigue to come;
- Enhance the overall tone and mood of your story.
Remember that every scene needs conflict and a change.
To bring your characters and story to life, heighten reader engagement, and pick up the pace, try to make your scenes do double or even triple duty – but subtly is almost always best.
For example, a scene with dialogue should have several layers, including:
- The words being spoken;
- The character’s real thoughts, opinions, emotions, and intentions;
- The other speaker’s tone, word choice, attitude, body language, and facial expressions;
- The outward actions, reactions, and attitudes of both.
Here are eight key ways you can intensify your writing and enhance the experience for readers:
- When introducing characters, remember to show, rather than tell.
Reveal characters’ personalities, motives, goals, fears, and modus operandi not by telling the readers about them or their background, but by their actions, reactions, words, body language, facial expressions, tone, and attitude. Additionally, for a viewpoint character, show their thoughts, emotions, inner reactions, and physical sensations. Show characters’ reactions to each other, then let the readers draw their own conclusions about the players and their true intentions.
- Use attitude when describing setting and characters.
Enhance your descriptions of the setting and other characters by filtering them through the observations, opinions, mood, attitude, and reactions of the viewpoint (observing) character for the scene. That way we’re not only witness to the most significant aspects of the surroundings and other characters, we also learn more about the POV character’s personality, tastes, preferences, and goals, and his agenda for the scene.
- Show character sensations and reactions.
Bring the scene and character alive by showing us not only what the character is seeing, but also what she’s hearing, smelling, touching (and physical sensations like heat and cold), and even, where appropriate, tasting. Also, show sexual tension between love interests by revealing heightened sensory perceptions and physical reactions.
-
Reveal contradictory feelings.
To heighten tension and reader engagement, be sure to show the inner reactions and often-conflicted feelings of your point-of-view character. If your story isn’t in first person, use close third-person POV to show inner conflict, fears, objections, and doubts, and to illustrate how their true feelings contrast with their words and outward reactions. Increase conflict and tension between characters by showing opposing goals and values through dialogue, body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions.
- Show subtext during dialogue.
A couple might be discussing something trivial or arguing about something minor, when inside, one or both are angry or resentful about deeper problems. You can hint at their real feelings by showing inner thought-reactions like As if, or Give me a break, or You wish, or In your dreams, or Yeah? Since when? Or use body language such as running hands through hair, brows furrowed, teeth clenching, or hands forming a fist, or inner sensations, such as tightening of the stomach, shortness of breath, or cold skin.
- Make dialogue do double duty.
Dialogue should not only convey information, but also reveal character and personality and advance the storyline. Dialogue action tags like “He rubbed his eyes,” or “She paced the floor,” which can replace “he said” and “she said,” tell us both who’s speaking and what they’re doing, as well as often providing info on how they’re feeling and reacting. For example:
Chris stood up and ran his hand through his hair. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Jesse set his coffee down, determined to stay calm. “Hey, man, relax. I told you about it last week. Don’t you remember?”
- Drop hints, but hold back information to foreshadow and add intrigue.
Introduce suspense or heighten anticipation through the use of hints and innuendos or snippets/fragments of critical information. These are especially effective when alluding briefly to your protagonist’s secrets, shames, regrets, or troubled childhood. Show brief flashbacks to reveal character secrets, regrets, and fears, little by little.
- Stay out of the story.
Don’t interrupt the story as the author to explain, describe, clarify, reveal, or emphasize points to the readers. That’s heavy-handed, clunky, and intrusive. Stay behind the scenes and let the characters live the story. Keep even the narration in the POV character’s voice, rather than a neutral, authorial voice.
For more details on all of these points, with examples, see my books, Fire up Your Fiction and Captivate Your Readers.
Jodie Renner is a freelance fiction editor and the award-winning author of three craft-of-writing guides in her series “Fire up Your Fiction: An Editor's Guide to Writing Compelling Stories
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you. Thanks to Tom Wood, Maria Giordano, Will Chessor, Meaghan Hill, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog. And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.)
Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale.
A Checklist to Evaluate Your Story After You’ve Written It / Jodie Renner
There are two steps to writing the killer story. One is letting it flow. The other is assessing it critically. I’ve found many writers stop at the end of the first step. So what does a writer do if she wants to make sure each scene in a written story does what it was intended to do? Lucky for us, we don’t have to look any further than author/editor Jodie Renner’s checklist on post-writing evaluation. It’s a prompt and reminder you can even print and keep beside your keyboard.Have your own checklist? Contact us and let us know your writing process.Write, polish, repeat. For me, that’s the secret and Jodie helps us hit that one straight on.Happy Reading!Clay StaffordFounder Killer NashvillePublisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
A Checklist to Evaluate Your Story After You’ve Written It
By Jodie Renner
Once you’ve got the first draft of your short story or novel down, it’s time to go back and reassess each scene to make sure the characters are engaging and the scene is as compelling as it can be.
Besides advancing the storyline, every scene should:
- Reveal and deepen characters and their relationships;
- Show setting details;
- Provide any necessary background info (in a natural way, organic to the story);
- Add tension and conflict;
- Hint at dangers and intrigue to come;
- Enhance the overall tone and mood of your story.
Remember that every scene needs conflict and a change.
To bring your characters and story to life, heighten reader engagement, and pick up the pace, try to make your scenes do double or even triple duty – but subtly is almost always best.
For example, a scene with dialogue should have several layers, including:
- The words being spoken;
- The character’s real thoughts, opinions, emotions, and intentions;
- The other speaker’s tone, word choice, attitude, body language, and facial expressions;
- The outward actions, reactions, and attitudes of both.
Here are eight key ways you can intensify your writing and enhance the experience for readers:
- When introducing characters, remember to show, rather than tell.
Reveal characters’ personalities, motives, goals, fears, and modus operandi not by telling the readers about them or their background, but by their actions, reactions, words, body language, facial expressions, tone, and attitude. Additionally, for a viewpoint character, show their thoughts, emotions, inner reactions, and physical sensations. Show characters’ reactions to each other, then let the readers draw their own conclusions about the players and their true intentions.
- Use attitude when describing setting and characters.
Enhance your descriptions of the setting and other characters by filtering them through the observations, opinions, mood, attitude, and reactions of the viewpoint (observing) character for the scene. That way we’re not only witness to the most significant aspects of the surroundings and other characters, we also learn more about the POV character’s personality, tastes, preferences, and goals, and his agenda for the scene.
- Show character sensations and reactions.
Bring the scene and character alive by showing us not only what the character is seeing, but also what she’s hearing, smelling, touching (and physical sensations like heat and cold), and even, where appropriate, tasting. Also, show sexual tension between love interests by revealing heightened sensory perceptions and physical reactions.
-
Reveal contradictory feelings.
To heighten tension and reader engagement, be sure to show the inner reactions and often-conflicted feelings of your point-of-view character. If your story isn’t in first person, use close third-person POV to show inner conflict, fears, objections, and doubts, and to illustrate how their true feelings contrast with their words and outward reactions. Increase conflict and tension between characters by showing opposing goals and values through dialogue, body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions.
- Show subtext during dialogue.
A couple might be discussing something trivial or arguing about something minor, when inside, one or both are angry or resentful about deeper problems. You can hint at their real feelings by showing inner thought-reactions like As if, or Give me a break, or You wish, or In your dreams, or Yeah? Since when? Or use body language such as running hands through hair, brows furrowed, teeth clenching, or hands forming a fist, or inner sensations, such as tightening of the stomach, shortness of breath, or cold skin.
- Make dialogue do double duty.
Dialogue should not only convey information, but also reveal character and personality and advance the storyline. Dialogue action tags like “He rubbed his eyes,” or “She paced the floor,” which can replace “he said” and “she said,” tell us both who’s speaking and what they’re doing, as well as often providing info on how they’re feeling and reacting. For example:
Chris stood up and ran his hand through his hair. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Jesse set his coffee down, determined to stay calm. “Hey, man, relax. I told you about it last week. Don’t you remember?”
- Drop hints, but hold back information to foreshadow and add intrigue.
Introduce suspense or heighten anticipation through the use of hints and innuendos or snippets/fragments of critical information. These are especially effective when alluding briefly to your protagonist’s secrets, shames, regrets, or troubled childhood. Show brief flashbacks to reveal character secrets, regrets, and fears, little by little.
- Stay out of the story.
Don’t interrupt the story as the author to explain, describe, clarify, reveal, or emphasize points to the readers. That’s heavy-handed, clunky, and intrusive. Stay behind the scenes and let the characters live the story. Keep even the narration in the POV character’s voice, rather than a neutral, authorial voice.
For more details on all of these points, with examples, see my books, Fire up Your Fiction and Captivate Your Readers.
Jodie Renner is a freelance fiction editor and the award-winning author of three craft-of-writing guides in her series “Fire up Your Fiction: An Editor's Guide to Writing Compelling Stories
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you. Thanks to Tom Wood, Maria Giordano, Will Chessor, Meaghan Hill, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog. And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.)
Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale.
How to Read a Critique without Crying / Suzanne Webb Brunson
Criticism is meant to help you grow as a writer. But sometimes emotional attachment and fear can stand in the way. In this week’s blog, author Suzanne Webb Brunson gets to the heart of what it means to trust those giving the criticism, the best ways to deliver, and how to check that ego at the door.
Until next week, write with your heart, critique someone else as though they were you, and read like someone is burning the books!
Happy reading!
Clay Stafford,
Founder Killer Nashville,
Publisher Killer Nashville Magazine
How to Read a Critique without Crying
By Suzanne Webb Brunson
A notable moment for me, a would-be author, occurred once at a writing seminar. A publishing professional asked students to write a scene. We all turned in our one-page submissions. I recognized my notebook paper as the group leader looked at it, she shook her head, and dropped it onto the desk behind her. She could have been suffering a migraine, but I was too busy thinking the worst, and working on my own death by humiliation. I learned nothing.
It was an innocuous moment that occurred at a time when I was beginning to feel some self-confidence. I am a former newspaper editor and reporter. I’ve written for everything from a daily newspaper to a church bulletin. I’ve had good experiences. This was one subjective moment.
Why would I throw my hand over my forehead and want to weep uncontrollably over a piece of paper? The worst thing you can say to a reporter-turned-author is that you are a hack. You can’t cut it. I had been praised by people I trusted, but let this one person defeat me with a casual gesture.
Was this a wasted opportunity, or the foreshadowing of my literary career? It took some thinking, some self-evaluation and I finally understood how personal it becomes when you share your thoughts and your writing style with strangers. I’d done it for years as a reporter, but now I was creating the story. Psychologically, there was a vast difference. I had to learn the basics and gained something else — a savvy critique group.
How do you give and receive a credible critique? Some people are diplomats who know how to give constructive criticism. They are tactful. Others are straightforward and candid. A three star sentence is high praise in my group.
A few basics evolved as we became more familiar. There are devices that work for us. We critique with Microsoft Word. The ‘Review’ section on the toolbar includes a yellow folder marked ‘new comment.’ That feature is golden. Those word balloons can break or bolster a person’s spirit. Others print the double-spaced submission and critique with a pencil.
We know that the The Chicago Manual of Style and The Elements of Style are essential. When the guideline basics are mastered, you write faster and concentrate on your storyline. You will learn how to point out errors or suggest improvements. You can proof a submission, but talk about the editorial content.
Recently, I began reading a huge piece of historical fiction about New York City. I’m puttering along, underlining, and stopped. The words written by this New York Times bestselling author were similar to what I put on that sheet of notebook paper. It was better than what I submitted, but I was on the right track. My experience, seeing similar words, cleared the fog.
While we know there are no new ideas, there are new ways to write. The recent lawsuit by the family of the late Marvin Gaye illustrates something we have talked about in critique. We tend to use the same phrases we read in someone else’s work. We try to go with the attitude that it is flattering and if not brazen copying, just move along.
Storylines can be similar to things we read a decade ago, but if it is your story, it’s not necessarily theft. It is a fine line and one of the things that should be addressed by a group. You write what you know, including what you read two weeks ago and critiqued. We follow fashion. We choose certain car models. Copying is the sincerest form of flattery, unless it costs someone $7.5 million in royalties. Is it plagiarism or is it first amendment writing? Write it better and clear the boards.
I have learned something new at every critique meeting. One person in eight sees one thing no one else finds. You can’t have too many eyes on your copy. Several members have told me repeatedly that they look at all the suggestions on their submission and then use what they think is best. Trust yourself. There is no one else like you. You are learning.
Look at all those setbacks as your future material. If you are fast and prolific, Godspeed. If you aren’t, take that cleansing breath. It is business, but your words are personal. They are yours alone, your gift. Close your eyes. Dream.
Then, play nice.
Suzanne Webb Brunson, a native of Maryland, has lived in New Jersey, Georgia and Tennessee, where she has learned about country stores, local politics, and strawberry festivals. A former newspaper reporter and editor, she earned a journalism degree from the University of Georgia. Widowed with two young children, she became a freelance writer for newspapers, magazines, and other news outlets. She is now writing short stories and a novel. These things she can control with the luxury of imagination. Her latest short stories will appear in a family anthology to be published this summer by Troy D. Smith of Cane Hollow Press. Her writing has also appeared in the anthology, "Gathering: Writers of Williamson County", and the online e-zine, Muscadine Lines, A Southern Journal. Visit her website at http://suzannewebbbrunson.homestead.com
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you. Thanks to Tom Wood, Maria Giordano, Will Chessor, Meaghan Hill, and publisher Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog. And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.)
Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale.
How to Read a Critique without Crying / Suzanne Webb Brunson
Criticism is meant to help you grow as a writer. But sometimes emotional attachment and fear can stand in the way. In this week’s blog, author Suzanne Webb Brunson gets to the heart of what it means to trust those giving the criticism, the best ways to deliver, and how to check that ego at the door.Until next week, write with your heart, critique someone else as though they were you, and read like someone is burning the books!Happy reading!Clay Stafford,Founder Killer Nashville,Publisher Killer Nashville Magazine
How to Read a Critique without Crying
By Suzanne Webb Brunson
A notable moment for me, a would-be author, occurred once at a writing seminar. A publishing professional asked students to write a scene. We all turned in our one-page submissions. I recognized my notebook paper as the group leader looked at it, she shook her head, and dropped it onto the desk behind her. She could have been suffering a migraine, but I was too busy thinking the worst, and working on my own death by humiliation. I learned nothing.
It was an innocuous moment that occurred at a time when I was beginning to feel some self-confidence. I am a former newspaper editor and reporter. I’ve written for everything from a daily newspaper to a church bulletin. I’ve had good experiences. This was one subjective moment.
Why would I throw my hand over my forehead and want to weep uncontrollably over a piece of paper? The worst thing you can say to a reporter-turned-author is that you are a hack. You can’t cut it. I had been praised by people I trusted, but let this one person defeat me with a casual gesture.
Was this a wasted opportunity, or the foreshadowing of my literary career? It took some thinking, some self-evaluation and I finally understood how personal it becomes when you share your thoughts and your writing style with strangers. I’d done it for years as a reporter, but now I was creating the story. Psychologically, there was a vast difference. I had to learn the basics and gained something else — a savvy critique group.
How do you give and receive a credible critique? Some people are diplomats who know how to give constructive criticism. They are tactful. Others are straightforward and candid. A three star sentence is high praise in my group.
A few basics evolved as we became more familiar. There are devices that work for us. We critique with Microsoft Word. The ‘Review’ section on the toolbar includes a yellow folder marked ‘new comment.’ That feature is golden. Those word balloons can break or bolster a person’s spirit. Others print the double-spaced submission and critique with a pencil.
We know that the The Chicago Manual of Style
Recently, I began reading a huge piece of historical fiction about New York City. I’m puttering along, underlining, and stopped. The words written by this New York Times bestselling author were similar to what I put on that sheet of notebook paper. It was better than what I submitted, but I was on the right track. My experience, seeing similar words, cleared the fog.
While we know there are no new ideas, there are new ways to write. The recent lawsuit by the family of the late Marvin Gaye illustrates something we have talked about in critique. We tend to use the same phrases we read in someone else’s work. We try to go with the attitude that it is flattering and if not brazen copying, just move along.
Storylines can be similar to things we read a decade ago, but if it is your story, it’s not necessarily theft. It is a fine line and one of the things that should be addressed by a group. You write what you know, including what you read two weeks ago and critiqued. We follow fashion. We choose certain car models. Copying is the sincerest form of flattery, unless it costs someone $7.5 million in royalties. Is it plagiarism or is it first amendment writing? Write it better and clear the boards.
I have learned something new at every critique meeting. One person in eight sees one thing no one else finds. You can’t have too many eyes on your copy. Several members have told me repeatedly that they look at all the suggestions on their submission and then use what they think is best. Trust yourself. There is no one else like you. You are learning.
Look at all those setbacks as your future material. If you are fast and prolific, Godspeed. If you aren’t, take that cleansing breath. It is business, but your words are personal. They are yours alone, your gift. Close your eyes. Dream.
Then, play nice.
Suzanne Webb Brunson, a native of Maryland, has lived in New Jersey, Georgia and Tennessee, where she has learned about country stores, local politics, and strawberry festivals. A former newspaper reporter and editor, she earned a journalism degree from the University of Georgia. Widowed with two young children, she became a freelance writer for newspapers, magazines, and other news outlets. She is now writing short stories and a novel. These things she can control with the luxury of imagination. Her latest short stories will appear in a family anthology to be published this summer by Troy D. Smith of Cane Hollow Press. Her writing has also appeared in the anthology, "Gathering: Writers of Williamson County"
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you. Thanks to Tom Wood, Maria Giordano, Will Chessor, Meaghan Hill, and publisher Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog. And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.)
Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale.
How to Read a Critique without Crying / Suzanne Webb Brunson
Criticism is meant to help you grow as a writer. But sometimes emotional attachment and fear can stand in the way. In this week’s blog, author Suzanne Webb Brunson gets to the heart of what it means to trust those giving the criticism, the best ways to deliver, and how to check that ego at the door.Until next week, write with your heart, critique someone else as though they were you, and read like someone is burning the books!Happy reading!Clay Stafford,Founder Killer Nashville,Publisher Killer Nashville Magazine
How to Read a Critique without Crying
By Suzanne Webb Brunson
A notable moment for me, a would-be author, occurred once at a writing seminar. A publishing professional asked students to write a scene. We all turned in our one-page submissions. I recognized my notebook paper as the group leader looked at it, she shook her head, and dropped it onto the desk behind her. She could have been suffering a migraine, but I was too busy thinking the worst, and working on my own death by humiliation. I learned nothing.
It was an innocuous moment that occurred at a time when I was beginning to feel some self-confidence. I am a former newspaper editor and reporter. I’ve written for everything from a daily newspaper to a church bulletin. I’ve had good experiences. This was one subjective moment.
Why would I throw my hand over my forehead and want to weep uncontrollably over a piece of paper? The worst thing you can say to a reporter-turned-author is that you are a hack. You can’t cut it. I had been praised by people I trusted, but let this one person defeat me with a casual gesture.
Was this a wasted opportunity, or the foreshadowing of my literary career? It took some thinking, some self-evaluation and I finally understood how personal it becomes when you share your thoughts and your writing style with strangers. I’d done it for years as a reporter, but now I was creating the story. Psychologically, there was a vast difference. I had to learn the basics and gained something else — a savvy critique group.
How do you give and receive a credible critique? Some people are diplomats who know how to give constructive criticism. They are tactful. Others are straightforward and candid. A three star sentence is high praise in my group.
A few basics evolved as we became more familiar. There are devices that work for us. We critique with Microsoft Word. The ‘Review’ section on the toolbar includes a yellow folder marked ‘new comment.’ That feature is golden. Those word balloons can break or bolster a person’s spirit. Others print the double-spaced submission and critique with a pencil.
We know that the The Chicago Manual of Style
Recently, I began reading a huge piece of historical fiction about New York City. I’m puttering along, underlining, and stopped. The words written by this New York Times bestselling author were similar to what I put on that sheet of notebook paper. It was better than what I submitted, but I was on the right track. My experience, seeing similar words, cleared the fog.
While we know there are no new ideas, there are new ways to write. The recent lawsuit by the family of the late Marvin Gaye illustrates something we have talked about in critique. We tend to use the same phrases we read in someone else’s work. We try to go with the attitude that it is flattering and if not brazen copying, just move along.
Storylines can be similar to things we read a decade ago, but if it is your story, it’s not necessarily theft. It is a fine line and one of the things that should be addressed by a group. You write what you know, including what you read two weeks ago and critiqued. We follow fashion. We choose certain car models. Copying is the sincerest form of flattery, unless it costs someone $7.5 million in royalties. Is it plagiarism or is it first amendment writing? Write it better and clear the boards.
I have learned something new at every critique meeting. One person in eight sees one thing no one else finds. You can’t have too many eyes on your copy. Several members have told me repeatedly that they look at all the suggestions on their submission and then use what they think is best. Trust yourself. There is no one else like you. You are learning.
Look at all those setbacks as your future material. If you are fast and prolific, Godspeed. If you aren’t, take that cleansing breath. It is business, but your words are personal. They are yours alone, your gift. Close your eyes. Dream.
Then, play nice.
Suzanne Webb Brunson, a native of Maryland, has lived in New Jersey, Georgia and Tennessee, where she has learned about country stores, local politics, and strawberry festivals. A former newspaper reporter and editor, she earned a journalism degree from the University of Georgia. Widowed with two young children, she became a freelance writer for newspapers, magazines, and other news outlets. She is now writing short stories and a novel. These things she can control with the luxury of imagination. Her latest short stories will appear in a family anthology to be published this summer by Troy D. Smith of Cane Hollow Press. Her writing has also appeared in the anthology, "Gathering: Writers of Williamson County"
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you. Thanks to Tom Wood, Maria Giordano, Will Chessor, Meaghan Hill, and publisher Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog. And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.)
Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale.
Ask Clay: Author Business Cards
Clay Stafford, founder Killer Nashville, publisher of Killer Nashville Magazine, and CEO of American Blackguard Inc., is regularly asked a range questions from writing techniques to publishing to marketing. And, they’re always good questions, he says. But often he feels he is unable to fully answer due to time constraints. Writing as a business is important stuff and demands reflection. In our “Ask Clay” column, he will share more than 30 years of experience in what he knows about the writing and entertainment businesses.
You can connect with Clay through www.ClayStafford.com, Twitter, or Facebook.
Author Business Cards
Question: Last month in your Ask Clay Column, you said there were items that should be included in an author’s business card. Could you be more specific?
Absolutely.
First of all, let me state the obvious as I said in last month’s column: authors are – for the most part – poor marketers.
One of the most basic things an author needs is a business card. Postcards and bookmarks are great things to lay out on a table at a writers’ conference, but they are not for introductions. An author needs something that the other person can slip into his/her pocket and reference later, not lay down on a table and forget.
Author business cards don’t have to be fancy. They just need to be well-thought-out. In general, they need to have the logical information the receiver would need to make an honest opinion on whether to reach out to the author or to purchase the author’s book.
As an author – unique as you are – you need to put some thought into your cards. You are the only person in your writing company (unless you are writing with someone else), but for the most part, even if you have staff, it is just you in the limelight. You are the brand. Luckily, you do not have to match any preconceived company logo or format as you might if you had a day job with another company with other employees and a distant board of directors. It’s just you and for your card, more specifically, it needs to express who you are. And I shouldn’t have to mention, don’t use your day job card as your writer business card. It tells the receiver that you have a day job, not that you are a professional author. If the latter is your goal, present yourself as such from the start.
Like your website, your postcards, your bookmarks, and any other promotional items you use, your business card first and foremost needs to look professional in terms of content, and it is worth the extra time and money to get it printed professionally. In the minds of those receiving your card, you are only as professional as the impression they have of you later when – alone and thinking – they reflect back on you by looking at your card. You want it to set you apart from everyone else.
As a writer, it is your job to get things right. Think about it. Who wants to work with a sloppy writer? If your card is sloppy, it says you are, too. Along the same lines, who wants to work with one overly verbose? Information-less? Disjointed? Misspelled? Illogical? Cheap? Smeared? Flimsy? You get the point.
I have heard authors say that because they have books, they do not need business cards. Wrong. A business card is a set professional convention and, unless you are planning on giving away books with all the contact info (email, phone, Facebook, Twitter, etc.), it is best to have a card. And you need a card, say, for a conference like Killer Nashville where the agents, editors, and publishers attending may see over 500+ people over the course of the weekend. You want to make it easy on those who might help your career. How do you do that? A card well designed. Bring cards with you everywhere you go, especially to conferences and book signings.
So what does a writer need to put on his/her card? Here are some elements for your checklist:
Color. The days of simple black-and-white are gone. With the other elements below, you’ll also see why color is so important.
Standard Size. Sure it is nice to stand out. Oddly square, round, extra large, extra small. But will it fit nicely in my wallet like a credit card so I won’t lose it? If you want to be innovative, save it for your writing and your marketing campaigns. In terms of the size and shape of your card, make it convenient to keep it, to pocket it, and to store it in a business card folder when the recipient gets home.
Name. Pretty obvious. And use your writer name if you use a pseudonym.
“Author”. Yep. Silly as it sounds, unless you are a recognizable name, it is always good to state what you are. Under your name, put Author. Or if you are a hyphenate, include: Author / Editor; Author / Filmmaker; Author / Screenwriter; Author / Journalist. And if you tend to write articles rather than books, or you are a minimalist, you might want to just be really simple: Writer.
Contact Info. Authors tend to leave out the right kind of info and put in the wrong kind. Here’s a checklist:
INCLUDE
Website URL. Authors need websites. If you don’t have a website, fix that before you fix your card. When you write it out, you also don’t need to include all the http://www.ClayStafford.com hyperlink info general understood by default browsers anyway. Just include the URL in as simple and concise terms as you can: ClayStafford.com. And look at the lettering: ClayStafford.com is much easier to read than claystafford.com. Make it easy for the person to remember your name.
Email address. Your personal email? No. You don’t know what kind of crazy is going to eventually get this card if someone sets it down. So what do you need? That generic and consistent one on your website that usually reads contact@ YourDomainName.com or yourname@YourDomainName.com, but not your personal Gmail account you use with close friends and family.
DO NOT INCLUDE
Mailing Address. You are not IBM. You don’t want people stopping by. And the more famous you are, the more likely you are not going to want someone to just show up at your doorstep. If you do want to get together with someone you’ve just met, I would suggest you meet at a coffee shop anyway, not your house.
Phone. Optional. If you want. But these days, who calls? Someone can always email your generic and public account and – if you want to get together – you can give the person the phone number. Remember, you don’t know who is going to get this card.
Social Security Number. I’m serious. I’ve seen it more than you think.
Picture. Most people can’t remember names, but they are visual. If someone meets 500+ individuals over the course of the weekend, they need to be able to see your face to re-spark that conversation in their heads. And it needs to be a picture of how you really look regardless of how ugly or fat you think you are. How you look is how you look. Using an airbrushed shot or one of you from 20 years ago is nice for your Glamour interview, but it will work against you if someone is trying to remember who you are by studying your face. I’ve taken cards, gotten home, looked at the picture, and can’t remember ever seeing this person before. I later find out why. The picture on their card and promotional material looks nothing like who they are. Does the picture have to be the usual square or rectangle shot with borders? No. It can be a picture of you, maybe cut out in Photoshop, imposed over the halftone background. But it needs to be prominent. Can it just be your book cover? No, but we’ll get to that in a moment. With a business card (and your career), you are not selling your latest book; you are selling YOU, which includes your latest book, as well as all your backlist and books that appear in the future. The brand is YOU, not the individual book. Use your picture.
Background. You can always include a tag line such as “mystery author”, “thriller author”, “suspense author”, etc., but wouldn’t it be better to make the person feel that rather than be told? That’s where the background of your color cards come in. When someone looks at the card they can immediately see elements of mystery, horror, or thriller if you have chosen your background – maybe in halftones – so clearly that the feeling and quick-first-impression image portrayed immediately sets the feel, creating the market for your demographics. By not using a tag, you are also saving surface space for the information that really matters.
Cover of Your Latest Book. You want a halftone background picture to set the mood. You want the picture of you to help the receiver remember who you are, and you want it to look realistic. But what are you really wanting? In addition to remembering you, you want them to buy a copy of your latest book. Put the cover on there (once again visual) and make sure the title is easily seen. It’s an expense, but each time you release a new book, update your cards. In terms of sales, presentation, and professionalism, it is worth it. Do you need to put ISBN info or publisher’s name? No. Takes up too much space. Just put the cover. If they want your book they will find it easily at the physical bookstore or online with the title of the book (from the picture of the cover) and your name alone. What if you don’t have a book published yet? Don’t include anything.
Catchphrase, blurb, or quote. If you’ve got it, it is always nice to flaunt it. “Mesmerizing” – New York Times will go a long way in saying everything you need to say without you saying it. If the NYT hasn’t reviewed your book, but a fellow author has, ask for a blurb and include that along with their solid title: “A irresistible read.” – Michael Connelly, New York Times Bestselling Author. And if you don’t know any famous authors (or even semi-famous ones), create your own tag: Mesmerizing. A thriller for the dead. This phrase should be what sets you apart from all the other people someone might meet.
And that’s it. That’s all you need.
Social Media Sites. No. Too many. The person receiving your card can get all that from your website. Don’t clutter the card.
The main thing is to look at – and then evaluate – your presentation and information on your card through a stranger’s eyes. Being a writer is a little different than being a CEO. Have fun with your card. Make it as much emotional as informational. Share the nuances of your personality through the visual feel of the card itself. Sell the image (YOU), the brand (YOU), the uniqueness of the product (YOU).
What about the back? Leave it blank and white. Why? That’s where you will personally write your cell phone number, your hotel room number, or maybe even your agent’s name and contact info. And make sure the texture of the card allows you to easily write with a pen; the back surface may be different than the front; you want a back surface that won’t smear regardless of the writing utensil. And – being the busy author you are – you don’t want to waste that extra 15 seconds shaking the card to dry it.
You need to be signing that next book.
Having worked in film, television, radio, and publishing as both a buyer and a seller, Clay Stafford is happy to take your questions regarding the publishing / entertainment industry.
Clay Stafford has had an eclectic career. Not only did he found Killer Nashville in 2006 and Killer Nashville Magazine in 2015, but he has also been an industry executive (PBS, Universal Studios, others), author (over 1.5 million copies of his books in print), a filmmaker (work in 14 languages), university professor (several universities including University of Miami and University of Tennessee), and a much-sought-after public speaker (U.S. Department of Defense, Miami International Press Club, more).
Send your questions here.
Dying for Dinner: Spinach Quiche and Florida Pie
Dying For Dinner
When newspaper columnist and critic Harriet van Horne said, “Cooking is like love: It should be entered into with abandon or not at all,” we have to agree. Otherwise, time in the kitchen is monotony, and who wants that? Here are a couple of recipes that are simple, yummy, and will leave plenty of time for writing.
Spinach Quiche
By Stacy Allen
In “Spark of Silver, Flash of Gold”, the second in my Riley Cooper Series
Ingredients:
3 cups raw spinach
3 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 medium white onion, finely chopped (can use ¼ c. shallots or 1 large leek, minced)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, muddled in a mortar and pestle
1 (9 inch) unbaked deep-dish piecrust
4 eggs, beaten (can use egg beaters if preferred)
16 oz heavy cream (can use light or even half and half if you prefer)
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground white pepper
1 cup shredded provolone cheese
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bake the piecrust blind, and set aside to cool. (Blind baking simply means giving the empty crust a head start in the oven before filling it. Do not bake it until golden brown. It will continue to bake when you return it to the oven with the filling.)
2. Heat olive oil in a deep, French sauté pan or wok, and over medium heat sauté onion for a few minutes until tender. Mix in the spinach, and toss with two wooden spoons, for 1 to 2 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, and toss and sauté for another minute or two, until spinach is mostly wilted. Transfer to the piecrust.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and heavy cream. Pour over the spinach mixture in the piecrust. Season with salt and pepper. Top with Provolone.
Bake 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Maggie's Florida Pie (aka Orange Chocolate Coconut Pie)
By Kathleen Cosgrove
Maggie Finn craves pie, and her desires to get a slice are thwarted through most of Kathleen’s novel, “Entangled”. Here’s an excerpt: “A side dish of pretzels sat near me while I watched a documentary on the history of pie. I developed a craving for one and looked in my refrigerator in case there was some in the back I had forgotten. Since I couldn't remember purchasing any pie the entire time I lived here, not surprisingly, there was none to be found.”
Ingredients:
1 package Orange Jell-O mix
1 package Jell-O Coconut Cream pudding mix
1 package Jell-O Vanilla pudding mix
3-ounces semisweet chocolate morsels
¼-cup condensed milk
1 graham cracker pie shell
Cool Whip
Directions:
- First, make the filling by combining all the Jell-O mixes into two cups boiling water. Stir constantly until it boils again. Cool in the refrigerator for about two hours.
- While the filling is chilling, melt the chocolate morsels and mix with the condensed milk. Pour into the graham cracker pie shell.
- Pour in the orange filling and top with Cool Whip. (Optional: Mix 1 tbsp orange rum or Kahlua into the Cool Whip.)
- Garnish with orange rind around outer edges and chocolate morsels in center.
Stacy Allen holds an advanced open water diver certificate, with specialties in night, cave and wreck diving. She is also certified in enriched air nitrox. Her passion for adventure has taken her to five continents to explore over sixty countries. She is the author of “Expedition Indigo”, the first in a new series featuring Dr. Riley Cooper, an archaeology professor from Boston who goes to Italy with a team of researchers to find and excavate the Indigo, a cargo ship full of treasures that sank in the 800s off the coast of Italy.
Kathleen Cosgrove is a writer living in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, just a stone's throw from Nashville. Rubbing shoulders with some of the most creative and talented people on earth has nourished and helped her grow as a writer. She is best known for the unique voice she brings to all her writing. Her style of wit and humor along with snappy dialogue and offbeat characters has reviewers comparing her work to the likes of Janet Evanovich and Carl Hiaasen. She can also be found on-stage in venues in and around Nashville reading her always funny and sometimes touching memoirs.
These recipes are so good they should be a crime. If you concoct either of these great recipes, let us know what you think and send us a picture. We may include it here with a link to your website.
What are you cooking? Submit your favorite recipes. They can be based on your favorite literary character, your Aunt Clara’s, or some amalgamation of ingredients you’ve discovered that makes life worth living (nothing with arsenic seasoning, please). Make sure to include your contact information and explanation of the origin of the recipe. Send your submissions (to which you avow in a court of law that you have all rights to and are granting the nonexclusive rights to Killer Nashville to use in any form and at any time) with subject line “Dying For Dinner” to contact@KillerNashville.com.
Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale.
The Writer's Life: Desires, Drives, Obstacles, and Conflicts
To learn, one needs to be ready to receive…and have a mentor like Beth Terrell. Her passion for helping beginning writers shines in this column about developing three-dimensional characters, or those who feel like real people.
Last month, Beth, who writes novels under the name Jaden Terrell, discussed what kinds of questions you need to ask yourself to create your main character. This month it’s about what makes them tick.
Why do your characters do the things they do?
Desires, Drives, Obstacles, and Conflicts
By Jaden (Beth) Terrell
Last month, you learned a lot about your main character, from physical appearance to habits and preferences. You thought about strengths and weaknesses. You may have explored some of his or her defining moments. Now let’s go deeper. Let’s find out what really makes your character tick, and then talk about how to use what you’ve learned to give your story more power and depth.
A character’s conscious desires and unconscious drives work together to determine his or her actions in the face of obstacles and conflicts. These four elements—desires, drives, obstacles, and conflicts—can help shape your plot and determine the course of your story.
To make sure we’re all on the same page, let’s talk about what those terms mean. For simplicity’s sake, I’ll alternate masculine and feminine pronouns.
Desires
Desires are those things we’re consciously aware that we want. Kurt Vonnegut said, “Every character should want something, even if it’s just a glass of water.” Why? Because tension is created when something stands between the character and the thing she wants, and it’s tension that keeps readers turning pages.
Based on what you’ve learned about your protagonist, what are her conscious desires? What does she want? Are her short term or immediate desires in line with her long-term goals? What does she value most?
Drives
Some neuroscientists believe that 95-99% of human behavior is determined by unconscious processes. The mind is like an iceberg, with the tip made up of conscious thoughts and awareness and the rest—by far the largest part—beneath the surface.
We don’t see it, but it’s the foundation that holds everything else up. Some say the unconscious mind is like a computer or a tape recorder, playing back the same old messages over and over. Others say it’s roiling, chaotic. Primordial soup. Whichever image you prefer, this much we know is true: it remembers everything we’ve ever experienced and everything we ever felt about those experiences.
When new situations arise, it sifts through those old experiences, finds something similar to this new situation, and uses that past experience to tell us what to think and feel about what’s happening now. We make decisions based on thoughts and emotions lurking down there in the primordial ooze. Then we justify them based on rational thoughts and logic.
Imagine Little Teddy, five years old. He marches off to kindergarten, where he learns the alphabet and how those 26 letters are magically transformed into words. One afternoon, sitting at the kitchen table, he writes a story about a squirrel and a spaceship. His brother looks over his shoulder and laughs. “That’s the stupidest thing I ever read. Squirrels can’t drive spaceships. Plus, you can’t even spell.” Teddy crumples his story and throws it in the trash. Why did he ever think Squirrels in Space was a good idea?
Grade 3, and his teacher posts everyone’s essay on the wall outside the classroom. Teddy is so proud he can hardly breathe—until he hears the snickers. “Look at this one. He spelled ‘ammunition’ wrong. And look at that handwriting. Are you sure he’s not still in kindergarten?”
And so it goes. Teddy grows up to be Ted. He hates his English classes, says they’re boring and stupid. Instead, he gets a degree in business, lands a terrific job he’s good at, becomes a rising star in his company. Then his supervisor offers him a promotion. It’s a great opportunity. Lots more money, better benefits, but he’ll have to write copy for clients. His unconscious mind knows this a bad idea. He doesn’t consciously think about the Squirrels in Space incident, but deep inside, his unconscious mind knows writing hurts. It’s already decided that this is a dangerous situation that Ted must be protected from at all costs.
Ted goes home to think it over. Maybe he makes a list of pros and cons. He thinks of all the rational reasons why the cons carry more weight than the pros. On Monday, he goes into the office and says, “Sam, I appreciate the opportunity, but…”
His decision to turn down the promotion is based, not on his carefully constructed list of pros and cons, but on an inner drive to avoid the kind of pain he felt the day his brother laughed at Squirrels in Space.
Drives are our unconscious motivations, the thoughts and emotions that churn around in that primordial soup we talked about earlier. They’re the reasons we want what we want and fear what we fear. They might drive us to enter a marathon and push on until we drop, even when common sense says it’s time to stop. The conscious desire is to win a medal, get in shape, make Dad proud.
The unconscious drive is the fear of not being good enough (because Dad, who was a track star in high school, always let you know when you fell short, but never once expressed his approval); a hunger for attention (because when you were small, everyone you knew praised you for your athletic prowess, and that felt good); or the need for validation (because your older sister was a star athlete who got all the accolades while you were the clumsy one who sat in the bleachers and pretended to cheer).
What are your character’s unconscious drives and motivations? What influences are working on him that he isn’t even aware of?
Obstacles and Conflicts
Obstacles and conflicts are the things that come between your character and what she wants. For the purposes of this lesson, obstacles are external forces (like poverty, natural disasters, physical disabilities or limitations, or an antagonist with opposing drives and desires), while conflicts are internal or interpersonal.
With internal conflict, your character feels opposing emotions (like the desire to win a show jumping competition with a $10,000 prize versus a fear of riding developed after a bad fall from her horse) or is torn between two equally attractive but mutually exclusive options (think of Stephanie Plum’s ongoing flirtations with Joe Morelli and Ranger).
Let’s go back to that show jumping competition. If your character—let’s call her Molly—wants to win the competition, has the means to enter, and has no doubts about either entering the competition or about her ability to win, then you have no conflict. Tension is low because nothing is keeping her from getting what she wants.
But let’s say she needs the $10,000 to help pay her way to the college of her dreams, and let’s say her best friend, Pia, is also entering the competition. Pia is riding a horse she loves, but the owner (their trainer) is about to sell him, and her foster parents either can’t afford or aren’t willing to buy him for her. Pia is a lonely girl whose only friends are Molly and this horse. Losing him will break her heart. That $10,000 would be enough to buy him. If Molly were to withdraw, Pia would be a shoo-in. Does Molly choose college for herself or happiness for her friend?
Now you have conflict.
Interpersonal conflict occurs when two characters have opposing desires. Some writers think that, to have conflict, the characters have to bicker throughout the story, but that’s not the case.
Imagine a mother and son. The son wants to go to college, but he knows his widowed mother can’t afford to pay for it and needs him at home to work in the family business. She has health problems, medical bills. If he leaves, she’ll lose the business and probably her home. He tells her he’s decided to forget about college.
Mom wants him to go away to school. She thinks it’s his best chance for a good future doing work he loves. She’ll sell the business, she says. Sell the house. Get a smaller place or even go live in a retirement home. No, he says, she loves this house. He wants her to be able to keep it.
There is conflict, because their desires are in opposition. Each wants the other to be happy and is willing to sacrifice much to achieve that end. Neither wants the other to make that sacrifice. Can you see how a conversation between these two, in which she tries to convince him to leave despite his determination to stay, could be infused with tension, even though these people aren’t angry, or even annoyed with each other? Even though they’re coming from a place of love and mutual respect, their conflicting desires create tension.
Some situations serve as both obstacles and conflicts. Antagonism or rivalry between two characters could be an obstacle (if it results in one keeping the other from a desired outcome), an internal conflict (if it causes emotional turmoil), and an interpersonal conflict (if one confronts the other).
Whether internal or interpersonal, conflicts are emotionally charged. As a result, they can create powerful moments in your novel.
Putting it all Together
In your character’s pursuit of her desires, what obstacles stand in the way? What internal conflicts does he have?
Is he comfortable with his current life? Happy? If so, what might happen to threaten that comfort or happiness? If not, what has kept him from acting to change the situation, and what might happen to make him finally take action?
What does your character actually need, and does this need conflict with his conscious desires? What does he value most and why? Is it a belief? A loved one? An object, homestead, piece of property? What might threaten this person or thing, and what will he risk to protect it? What is something your character would never do? Based on what you know about his motivations and desires, what would make him do that thing? Is there a way to work this into the book?
The mistake I made when I first tried to answer these last two questions (which I got from a Donald Maass workshop) was to go with the easy, obvious thing: my character would never rape a woman, murder a child, torture an infant. So when I asked myself what might make him do those things, the answer was always so extreme it would simply not believably happen.
If you’re having the same problem, back away from these most extreme circumstances. If your character is afraid of heights, maybe the thing she would never do would be to cross a suspension bridge over a canyon. What would make her do that? If your answer is, “She would never torture anyone,” can you think of a circumstance where she might? What if the villain has buried her spouse alive, the clock is ticking, and the captured villain refuses to reveal the spouse’s location? Maybe she would, in fact, resist the temptation to torture the information out of the villain, but the conflict between her moral decision not to torture and her desire to save a loved one could make for a powerful scene.
As you develop scenes and plot points, ask yourself how one or more of these elements might add tension and propel the action. Whatever your plotline, the interplay between desires, drives, obstacles, and conflicts can add depth and dimension to your story.
Jaden Terrell (Beth Terrell) is a Shamus Award finalist, a contributor to “Now Write! Mysteries” (a collection of writing exercises by Tarcher/Penguin), and the author of the Jared McKean private detective novels “Racing The Devil”, “A Cup Full of Midnight”, and “River of Glass”. Terrell is the special programs coordinator for the Killer Nashville conference and the winner of the 2009 Magnolia Award for service to the Southeastern Chapter of Mystery Writers of America (SEMWA). A former special education teacher, Terrell is now a writing coach and developmental editor whose leisure activities include ballroom dancing and equine massage therapy. www.jadenterrell.com
Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale.
State of the Industry: Technology Double-Edged for Writers
By Maria Giordano
Killer Nashville Staff
For better or worse, the last ten years has been tough on the media industry.
Newspapers and magazines have withered under the weight of new digital platforms with the publishing industry facing its own similar battles with technology.
It’s been only in the last year that print sales numbers have appeared to veer from their downward spiral when eBooks exploded onto the market in 2010-2011, said Jim Milliot, editorial director of Publishers Weekly. For the first time in a while, digital sales enjoyed only a slight rise in 2014 based on preliminary numbers, giving print a chance to stabilize.
In the balance, though, seems to be the writers. It’s no secret that droves of journalists have been released into the wild, and – now more than ever – big businesses such as Amazon and Google have stepped into the publishing game, creating a new, uncharted publishing world for writers.
Authors Guild President Roxanna Robinson perhaps said it best in a letter to the Guild membership of about 9,000 that these are interesting times for writers. Indeed, today there are more choices for writers than ever before, but there is a caveat, she says. Writers need to be more aware than ever before particularly because of the rise of companies like Amazon and Google.
Publishing has never been easy whether a writer goes the traditional route or self-publishes, Robinson told me in a phone conversation. Nevertheless, authors continue to reap fewer benefits from their hard work. They are losing control. Particularly with self-publishing “you have to understand the percentages and be willing to engage in heavy promotion. You must expect to be aware. It better suits those with the entrepreneurial spirit.”
In addition, Amazon has exerted a lot of power over independent bookstores, Robinson said. Mostly this is because Amazon is an easier source and can offer lower prices. This has changed the market in a dramatic way, she added. This power has driven bookstores out of business and damaged book sales, including those sales made by libraries.
“Here’s the problem: people like books,” Robinson said. “They like to look at books and feel them. They go look at the books and sometimes walk right outside and buy the books online. Writers should be conscious of this. Amazon is in the business of shipping. Your local independent bookseller is there for you.”
The Authors Guild has a history of being a vocal advocate for writers. Most recently, the Guild is taking steps to appeal their ongoing case against Google for what they view is the theft of copyrighted materials, basically using the intellectual property without paying for it, Robinson said. The case was dismissed in 2013, which was viewed as support of Google’s agreement with five large libraries to digitize materials for its Google Book Search database and taking possession of these texts through the process, Robinson said.
Under the Microscope with D.P. Lyle: Time of Death Part 2
Welcome to “Under the Microscope,” Killer Nashville’s very own exclusive Forensics Corner. We will unearth, demystify, and bring you interesting, factual information about the world of forensics from experts in various fields. From dead bodies, to suspicious substances, to computers with a mind of their own, this column will explore the macabre, gory, and unexplainable with the truth in scientific terms for writers to use at their will.
This is the final installment in a three-part series by physician, author, and former Killer Nashville Guest of Honor Dr. D.P. Lyle. Through the imagined lens of a coroner, he shares critical information about the business of death and the elements of a great investigation.
The Coroner’s Most Important Determinations: Part 3
In this third and final installment in this series I will continue the discussion of “Time of Death.”
Time of Death, Part 2
Last time we looked at body temperature, rigor mortis, and lividity as methods for determining the time of death. In this article, we will look at several other tools at the Medical Examiner’s disposal:
Degree of Putrefaction
Stomach Contents
Corneal Cloudiness
Vitreous Potassium Level
Insect Activity
Scene Markers
Rate of Body Decay: Putrefaction is the term used for decay or decomposition of a body. Under normal circumstances it follows a predictable pattern, which the Medical Examiner, or ME, can use in his estimation of the time of death. During the first 24 hours, the abdomen takes on a greenish discoloration, which spreads to the neck, shoulders, and head. Bloating, due to the accumulation of gas, a byproduct of the action of bacteria, within the body’s cavities and skin, soon follows. This swelling begins in the face where the features swell and the eyes and tongue protrude. The skin will then begin to marble in a greenish-black web-like pattern over the face, chest, abdomen, and extremities. This marbling occurs within the blood vessels and is due to the reaction of the blood’s hemoglobin with hydrogen sulfide. As gasses continue to accumulate, the abdomen swells and the skin begins to blister. Soon, skin and hair slippage occur and the fingernails begin to slough off. By this stage, the body has taken on a greenish-black color.
The fluids of decomposition (purge fluid) will begin to drain from nose and mouth. To the untrained eye this might look like bleeding from trauma, but is due to extensive breakdown of the body’s tissues. This process is highly dependent on temperature. In a warm garage in Texas it will occur much more rapidly than it will in a cold stream in the Rockies.
The onset and progression of decay is highly temperature dependent. A body in a Louisiana swamp might completely decay in a week or two while one in the Colorado mountains in February might not even begin its decay until the spring thaw.
Stomach Contents: After a meal, the stomach empties in approximately 2 hours and the small intestines in approximately 12 hours, depending on the type and amount of food ingested. If a victim’s stomach contains largely undigested food, then the death likely occurred within an hour or two of the meal. If the stomach is empty, the death likely occurred more than four hours after eating. If the small intestine is also empty, death probably occurred 12 hours or more after the last meal. If the ME can determine through witness statements when the last meal was consumed, he can use this to time the death.
Let’s say a man is found dead in a hotel room and the ME determines that his stomach is full of undigested food. If he had dinner with a business associate from 8 until 10 p.m., the finding of a full stomach would indicate that the death occurred shortly after he returned to his room. The ME might place the time of death between 10:00 p.m. and midnight.
The Corneas and the Vitreous of the Eyes: The clear covering over our pupils are called corneas. At death they become cloudy and opaque in a very few hours if the eyes are open at death or may take up to 24 hours if they are closed. The vitreous humor is the liquid substance that fills our eyeballs. After death the concentration of potassium within the vitreous increases at a constant rate over the first few days. Measuring the potassium level can give a general estimate of the time of death.
Insects: A dead body attracts numerous insects. These are typically flies, beetles, and other insects that feed off the corpse’s flesh. They tend to appear at predictable times and in a predictable sequence, and the ME will use this to aid in his determination of the time of death. For example, blowflies appear early, often within the first hour after death, and immediately begin to lay eggs. The eggs hatch to larvae (maggots) within hours. Over the next 10 days the larvae feed, grow, and repeatedly molt. There are tables that show the growth rate of these larvae so that the ME can compare those found at the scene with the tables of length and estimate the age of the larvae. After the larval stage the maturing flies become pupae, when their outer covering hardens. Approximately 12 days later adult flies emerge. So, this entire cycle takes from about 18 to 22 days. The mature flies will then lay eggs and the cycle repeats.
Unfortunately, these patterns vary greatly, depending upon geographic region, specific locale, time of day, weather and temperature patterns, and the season. Because of the complex nature of the bug world, the ME will often request the assistance of a forensic entomologist, a professional who studies the insects that populate a dead body. This is an extremely complex subject and can’t be adequately covered here.
Scene Markers: Scene markers are any information at the scene, or from witnesses or family and friends. Missed appointments or work, missed daily walks or visits to the coffee shop, uncollected mail or newspapers, and dated sales receipts can be useful. Even the victim’s clothing might be helpful. For example, if the victim has missed work for two days and is found near the front door of his home, dressed in work attire, and carrying his car keys, it is logical to assume that he was headed to work at the time of his death.
As you can see the determination of the time of death is complex and always a best guess. Experience and keen observation are critically important.
D. P. Lyle is the Macavity and Benjamin Franklin Silver Award winning and Edgar, Agatha, Anthony, Scribe, and USA Best Book Award nominated author of many non-fiction books (Murder & Mayhem; Forensics For Dummies; Forensics & Fiction; More Forensics & Fiction; Howdunnit: Forensics; and ABA Fundamentals: Understanding Forensic Science) as well as numerous works of fiction, including the Samantha Cody thriller series (Devil’s Playground, Double Blind, and Original Sin); the Dub Walker Thriller series (Stress Fracture; Hot Lights, Cold Steel, and Run To Ground); and the Royal Pains media tie-in novels (Royal Pains: First, Do No Harm and Royal Pains: Sick Rich). His essay on Jules Verne’s The Mysterious Island appears in Thrillers: 100 Must Readsand his short story “Even Steven” in ITW’s anthology Thriller 3: Love Is Murder.
Along with Jan Burke, he is the co-host of Crime and Science Radio. He has worked with many novelists and with the writers of popular television shows such as Law & Order, CSI: Miami, Diagnosis Murder, Monk, Judging Amy, Peacemakers, Cold Case, House, Medium, Women’s Murder Club, 1-800-Missing, The Glades, and Pretty Little Liars.
Visit D.P. Lyle's: Website | Blog | Crime and Science Radio
D.P. Lyle has become a regular feature at Killer Nashville. Join us and learn more.
Live From Thailand: The Life of a Crime Novelist in Bangkok
Being a writer in the U.S. is one thing, but being an American writing in far-off lands is quite another. We’ve heard from C.J. Daugherty, who left her Texas roots for the English countryside and found a niche in the European Young Adult market, and now, we bring you Jake Needham, who moved a little further away to Thailand.Jake, like C.J., found himself in a place where the stories flow, and his readers are anywhere but the U.S. In the first of two columns, Jake, who writes contemporary crime novels, shares his journey to Bangkok, including some excerpts from his works that best describe his adopted home. Next month, Jake will tell us about what it’s like to publish in Thailand.
The Life of a Crime Novelist in Bangkok
(Probably isn’t what you think)
By Jake Needham
A little over twenty-five years ago, I was living in Los Angeles and earning a reasonable living writing and producing crap movies for American cable television. Then, out of that proverbial clear blue sky, HBO got interested in a script I had written a couple of years earlier and my life spun off in an entirely unanticipated direction. The script was for a political thriller set in Asia, and it was making that film that resulted in me living for more than two decades in what is surely the world's most notorious city.This is how it came about. The production company thought it would be cool to shoot the film in Bangkok so they figured they ought to put at least one producer on the project who had some idea where Bangkok actually is. I raised my hand. Looking back, if I had known then what I was getting myself into with the movie business, I probably would have kept my hand in my pocket.The good news is that while we were in production in Bangkok I was lucky enough to meet the saintly woman who has been my wife for the last twenty-three years. She was born in Thailand, went to boarding school in the UK from the age of ten, and graduated from Oxford, and then she had been lured back to Bangkok to become the editor of the Thai edition of Tatler Magazine. She came out to the set one day with a writer who was interviewing me for a profile in Tatler. I think she was mostly curious to see what an American film producer actually looked like. I gather I passed inspection because a year later, to the complete horror of her prominent and respected Thai parents, we were married. We have lived in Bangkok for at a good part of every year ever since.These days, I am a novelist rather than a screenwriter, having come to the realization fifteen or so years ago that I really didn’t like movies all that much. I've published eight contemporary crime novels set in Asia so far and the ninth will be published later this year.The biggest advantage to living and writing crime novels in Asia, I suppose, is that I certainly never lack for inspiration. As I wrote in my Jack Shepherd novels Killing Plato and Laundry Man: Bangkok is an enigmatic city at the best of times, a place where the mystery of what you can't see is surpassed only by the ambiguity of what you can; but it is also a place of sensual immediacy, and lush, transporting power. Something magical always seems to be dangling just out of reach. Living in Bangkok, I sometimes feel as if I am playing out a scene from ‘The Third Man.’ Lurking warily in the shadows. Picking my way through markets, temples, and bars. Dodging gangsters, con men, and killers. Trolling the streets of the city like Holly Martins searching the back alleys of Vienna in 1945 looking for Harry Lime.
In narrow back streets, mysterious buildings lurk behind walls topped with broken glass. Uniformed guards pace in front of tightly closed gates, suggesting dark and mysterious doings within. Embassy compounds look like fortresses or perhaps prosperous prisons: all blast-hardened concrete, slit windows, high walls, and iron gates. They bristle with radio towers and satellite dishes, and flat-eyed men with automatic weapons track anyone who ventures near.
All over town you see them and wonder who they really are. Beefy, crew cut Caucasians, big men wearing big wristwatches. They sit in darkened corners of grimy bars watching the girls, sucking down cold beers, and talking in low voices to swarthy, Middle Eastern men who watch the door as they listen. Bangkok is a wide-open frontier town. You can get drunk on the intrigue.
On the other hand, there’s at least one big disadvantage to living in Bangkok. A lot people have strong preconceptions about westerners who live in Asia and their assumptions frequently make for somewhat weighty baggage as I wrote in The Big Mango:
Americans have always been keenly suspicious of other Americans who voluntarily chose to live in another country. After all, half the population of the world seems to be clamoring to move to California and work in a 7-Eleven. So what the hell was with this guy who wanted to live in Bangkok? He must have done something. Yeah, that was it. Committed a crime or something. If he wasn't a drug dealer, he had to be a tax dodger or maybe he owed child support to a penniless ex-wife in St. Louis. Bastard. Low-life. Had to be. Otherwise he'd want to live in America like everyone else.
The reaction I typically get back here in the U.S. when people find I am living in Bangkok inevitably goes something like this. Oh, the place is no doubt exotic and interesting, they murmur, but…well, it's a city where a lot of people go who aren't particularly nice, isn't it?
Sadly, I’ve never found a way to deny that with a straight face.
I have always thought there must be some kind of international network devoted to coaxing social misfits and dropout cases worldwide into coming to Bangkok, because come they do and by the thousands. They walk away from third-shift jobs in places like Los Angeles, London, Sydney, Berlin, and Toronto, buy a cheap airline ticket, and make their way to the Land of Smiles.
Some are looking for a cheap tropical paradise. Others think they've found Sodom and Gomorrah. But every one of them is hoping in some way or another to make a fresh start on a life that probably has had up until then very little to recommend it. Many of these refugees from reality probably couldn't locate the city on a map before they decided it was the place for them. Maybe they still can't, but now Bangkok is their last, perhaps their only hope. They are all there. The lonely, the frightened, the guilty, the depressed, and the psychotic. Soaked with sweat, they rush from one bar to another, reeking of that peculiarly sour, metallic odor habitually given off by the emotionally overmatched and underachieving.
After midnight, it is this floodtide of the lost and misbegotten that owns Bangkok. At its most benign, Bangkok is part Miami and part Beirut. But at midnight on the fault line, Bangkok is anything but benign.
When you’re a novelist who lives in Bangkok, a lot of people take for granted you’re one of those guys. They assume you're writing books, likely very bad ones, only because you're on the lam from the cops or maybe from another life you would rather forget, and they figure the books you write must be about the ocean of cheap hookers and crappy beer in which most people are absolutely certain all western men living in Bangkok constantly wallow.
So, please, allow me to take this opportunity to set the record straight.
I write crime novels that are set largely in contemporary Asian cities. My books are about people who live along the margins of society and work the netherworld of Asia.
My Jack Shepherds series series focuses on a high-flying American lawyer who has swapped the intrigues of Washington politics for the backwater of academic life in Bangkok. Now he’s just an unremarkable professor at an unknown university in an unimportant city, or at least that’s how the people he left back in Washington think of him. The truth is Shepherd’s anything but that. He’s a lawyer for clients who laugh at the law, a friend in a land where today’s allies are tomorrow’s fugitives, and a man perpetually assailed by the moral labyrinth that bedevils all western expatriates in Asia.
My Inspector Samuel Tay series is about a detective in the Criminal Investigation Division of the Singapore police who is a bit of a reluctant policeman. He is a little overweight, a little lonely, a little cranky, and he smokes way too much. When Tay thinks back, he can't even remember why he became a cop in the first place. All he knows is that he is very, very good at what he does, and probably not much good at anything else.
Shockingly, there's not a single sex tourist or hooker to be found in the books of either series.
Sorry.
I hope you're not too disappointed in me.
Jake Needham is the author of eight contemporary crime novels set in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Bangkok. Called "Michael Connelly with steamed rice" by the Bangkok Post, and “Asia’s most stylish and atmospheric writer of crime fiction” by the Singapore Straits Times, his books have sold hundreds of thousands of copies in those Asian and European countries where they have been distributed. Sadly, none of Jake’s books have ever been sold in the United States except in their e-book editions. You can learn more about Jake at www.JakeNeedham.com
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March Photo Prompt Contest Winner
"The Chicken Coop" by Katherine Bonnie Bailey
Wilbur worked at a dirty chicken shack off I-65. Except he didn’t. His name wasn’t Wilbur, that’s just what his nametag said, and “The Chicken Coop” didn’t serve fried chicken, that’s just what the sign advertised.
He was only ‘Wilbur’ the first time I met him, but, for me, it stuck. The next time, he was ‘Dave’. The time after, ‘John’. It was odd, but he could fry up a mean batch of Jo Jo taters- thick cut, seasoned magnificently, and crisped to perfection – so I ignored it.
He cooked customer favorites behind the counter while Joyce and Sharon, two elderly waitresses, shuffled around the little hole-in-the-wall scrubbing tables and mopping floors, their arthritic knees creaking.
It couldn’t have been a profitable business. It was rumored Wilbur’s brother financed it to keep him occupied, and I believed it.
Wilbur liked to talk, and over batches of potatoes I learned about my strange friend. In July, that he’d never been in love. In October, that he hated Halloween. In January, that he was ready for a new start. In April, that he’d murdered his brother the previous week.
I listened to his matter-of-fact reasoning while I ate my last three taters, then I wiped my mouth with a napkin and settled my bill. My hand on the doorknob, I paused and asked Wilbur a question, which seemed to surprise him. To my disappointment, he wasn’t able to answer.
I was a good mile down the road when I dialed 911.
Killer Cocktails: The Rye Catcher
This month’s exclusive Killer Nashville Killer Cocktail: The Rye Catcher
The thing about coming of age, or bildungsroman books, is that they may actually be lost on those that are coming of age!
Take The Catcher in the Rye. It is without a doubt one of those coming-of-age books that packs an adolescent wallop. At 16 or 17, when English teachers oblige students to read J.D. Salinger’s classic, it may not be wholly understandable what in fact is going on.
Cynical and jaded, is Holden Caulfield just screwing around? After all, he’s failing out of his fourth school, and he’s running around Manhattan buying booze and having questionable encounters.
Perhaps it is time and age that helps in asking the real questions like, why does Holden keep asking about the Central Park ducks, and why is he so sad and angry? Why is he having a hard time growing up?
These are the questions Mark “Spaz” Morris believes you might ponder with his literary-themed drink, “The Rye Catcher”. A lighter version of an Old Fashioned, this drink will take you into the summer with much to think about.
The Rye Catcher
Ingredients:
½ ounce Eli Mason Old Fashion Cocktail Mix
2 ounces Rittenhouse Rye Whiskey
1 ounce Club Soda
A couple of dashes of Scrappy’s Bitters Orange
Orange slices
Cherries
Handful of ice cubes
Directions:
In a cocktail glass, throw in a slice of orange and a cherry, squirting a couple of dashes of bitters on top of the fruit.
Using a muddler mash the fruit until you see pieces of fruit and juices fill the bottom of the glass. (Spaz says it’s okay to take out your angst with the muddler.)
Add ice cubes and the Eli Mason Old Fashion Cocktail Mix.
Add the Rye whiskey.
Top it off with Club Soda.
Spaz recommends tumbling the mixture from the glass to a shaker. Don’t shake, just pour gently back and forth to get a good mix.
Garnish with more fruit.
Cheers!
Send us pictures and comments of you and Killer Nashville’s The Rye Catcher. We’ll share them here along with a link back to you.
About Spaz:
Spaz started in the restaurant/bar business back in 1984 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana when he was a student at Louisiana State University. Instead of becoming a chemical engineer, he became a social legend instead, he says jokingly. He later transferred to Knoxville, Tennessee, and received a Bachelor’s in marketing from the University of Tennessee in 1989. He has worked in biker bars to 4-fork-setting restaurants. An avid traveler, he has lived in 13 states and visited 40, so far. He enjoys reading sci-fi and sci-fantasy books. He currently holds court at Red Dog Wine and Spirits in Franklin, Tennessee. Check out the store: www.reddogwineandspirits.com.
The Rye Catcher™ and © 2015 Killer Nashville. Killer Nashville is a ® Federally Registered Trademark. All rights reserved.
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