Revisiting Character &Getting Unstuck in my Cozy Mystery

Revisiting Character

I am a writer, and often the words flow seamlessly from my thoughts to the paper. I am also a writer who does a lot of thinking before a word appears on the page. I am both inherently a writer and a student of the craft of writing, and I understand my writing journey is yet another combination of nature and nurture.

I have the nature to write, to enjoy it and to want to write, write, write and write some more. I am good at writing. I have always been good at writing.

I am constantly aware of the importance of nurture in my writing. I see my writing as a craft in which I can learn and grow. I need to develop my craft so I can take the good and turn to the great.

This is why I am using this blog to reflect on each of the elements of my craft. Today, I look at character. Developing characters is an area in which I want and need to grow and to improve.

I found an interesting website -  https://careerauthors.com/ - in which talented and successful authors give their thoughts and advice on characters. I chose six of these that speak to me to share here with you. Here is the link:

https:/careerauthors.ccharacter-101-a-round-up-of-advice-from-bestselling-authors-on-creating-compelling-characters-from-isabel-allende-to-august-wilson/

1. “Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them — so that the reader may see what they are made of.”― Kurt Vonnegut

Oh my, I haven’t thought this through in the cozy mystery I’m writing. I will add this to my plan for my main character and decide where it goes, and then I will go back and see how this works for my other characters. I am excited to think about this and make it happen.

 2. “The character that lasts is an ordinary guy with some extraordinary qualities.”― Raymond Chandler

Guilty again. I need one or more extraordinary qualities for my character.

3. “Action is character.”― F. Scott Fitzgerald

I think I have this one as I learned so much about writing scenes where the character is the action in my coursework at U of T and in the editing of my book. Now I have to go back to my cozy mystery and see where I am with this and where I need to go.

4. “I try to create sympathy for my characters, then turn the monsters loose.”― Stephen King

Gotta love King’s succinct, powerful wisdom. Okay, Stephen, I am ready to let the monster loose. Which character, when, how… time for me to have a master plan.

5.  “Respect your characters, even the ­minor ones. In art, as in life, everyone is the hero of their own particular story; it is worth thinking about what your minor characters’ stories are, even though they may intersect only slightly with your protagonist’s.”― Sarah Waters

One of the courses I took was the Part 1 course on novel writing. One assignment was to write a back story for my main character that may or may not actually be used in the novel. I wrote a story about her childhood experience on the Toronto Island Ferry and how that led to a lifelong fear of large boats, ferries, ocean liners, etc. I haven’t used this story in my novel yet, not sure where I would, but the references to her fear will come through.

6. “Don’t write about a character. Become that character, and then write your story.”― Ethan Cani

This is, at first consideration, obvious and easy to accomplish. I need this reminder, and that is why I have included it in my advice from successful authors list.

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I think learning from other authors is invaluable. I still miss my Zoom writing group, where we shared stories and provided each other feedback. I would welcome another such group.

 I also always go back to two or three books that speak to both the art and the craft of writing. Here are the two that I went back to today to read their chapters on Character.

• Bird by Bird by Jane Lamont

• Fiction Writer’s Workshop by Josip Novakovich

  
  

I think pausing in my writing to go back and revisit and rethink the elements of the craft helps me to go forward and achieve my best efforts. I hope that may be helpful to you, too.

Stuck in the Middle of My Cozy Mystery.

Certainly, my exploration of character is going to help me get unstuck, but I need more. At first, I didn’t know what more would be. I recently attended a presentation by Canadian author Terry Fallis. In his discussion of the writing life, Terry spoke of the two ends of a spectrum. One end being the writer who is a “planner”, Terry stated that he is a planner and spends as many as 14 to 18 months laying out the plan of his novel. At the other end of the spectrum are the “pantsers”. These writers can be expressed as flying by the seat of their pants. They sit at the computer with one or more ideas in mind, and start writing and see where it goes. Terry is on Substack if you are interested in following him. I have read several of his books and still smile and laugh when I think of his first book, Best Laid Plans. I think writing humour is a very unique talent

When I write short stories, I am mostly a “pantser” and I was trying to go with this when I started writing my novel. It works for short stories, but in the novel, I got stuck. I need to be a planner, so I sat down and made some point-form notes on where I might go. It is not enough. I need to do better planning. I am getting out my whiteboard, buying large sticky noted and getting down to it. My whole life and in my career as an educator, and in various community volunteer roles,  I have always been a planner and often created detailed plans. So, why has it taken me so long to apply those skills and understanding to writing the novel? I think I thought writing the novel would be the same as writing a short story, only longer. It isn’t. It seems a bit onerous to apply such planning to my novel, but I know it’s what I need to do. I am starting this week. I will take a picture of my storyboard and share it in a subsequent Gates Open Blog.

I also decided to check the internet for suggestions on how to get unstuck. I found lots of tips. I have highlighted a few here and given the source if you want more information. There were others that I haven’t included, as I was already doing them, or I felt it wouldn’t work for me.

• Start with the End: If you are stuck, look at the final revelation. Work backward from the killer to the clues to ensure your plot makes sense and is compelling. 

• Reddit

  
  

   +1

• Check the Timeline: Shorten the time frame (e.g., to a few days) to increase urgency and focus the action. 

• Blogger.com

  
  

   +2

• Develop Subplots: Use subplots to flesh out secondary characters, which can provide a break from the main murder plot while adding depth to the town community. 

• Elizabeth Spann Craig

  
  

   +3

• Introduce a New Character: If the middle of the book is sagging, bring in an interesting new character to shake up the existing dynamics. 

• Gotham Writers

  
  

• Raise the Stakes: Ask "what is the absolute worst thing that could happen to my character right now?" and make it happen.

Finally, I watched a video I saw advertised by Udemy on Facebook about writing cozy mysteries. I wasn’t very useful as it was an overview of the basic elements of a cozy mystery, and I already knew these,  but it’s good for beginners. It cost about $20 Canadian.

I will stop here. I was going to include an update on my book, but this blog is long. I will leave that for next time. I am also going to find out more about Spaces for Wix, so we can share if you so wish.

I hope you have a great two weeks in writing and in life. Thank you for reading Gates Open;)

take care

gail