As I've stated previously, I've been reading a lot of cozy mysteries lately. The problem I encountered is not exclusive to cozies specifically or to mysteries in general, but it has happened in every one. I think it's something that spans genres. And it drives me buggy.
What is this nefarious writing issue?
The use of present tense words in a past tense narrative.
You might be saying, "Huh?" An example: Betty pondered her relationship with Bill as she stared out the window. She wondered how things had gotten so far out of hand. Bill's phone call this morning upset her so badly, she didn't think she'd ever get over it. But today's blue sky helped cheer her up some. Maybe now she could think things through.
Past tense, right? Pondered, stared and wondered all indicate that we're reading about something that happened in the past. Then "this morning" crops up. Okay, if I'm reading this in the afternoon or evening, I guess "this morning" would be past tense. But it still jars, because I might be reading about that evening and the next day and even a month later within a few pages. The "this morning" I just read about will have happened quite a while ago in the context of the story. Same thing with "today's blue sky" and "now."
Most of the time, leaving out the time stamps can fix it. "Bill's phone call upset her . . ." If it's that important a phone call, you've shown it already, right? So we know where she is time-wise in relation to it. "But the blue sky . . ." "Maybe with a new attitude she could think things through." A little bigger change, but it conveys why she can think better.
It's perfectly fine in dialogue. For the character, it is today. Just not for the reader.
In the big scheme of writing, this probably isn't a huge faux pas. But it bugs me, and I can't be the only one. Do you want to take a chance that the agent or editor you submit to has the same pet peeve?
Friday, July 24, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
WPW: Plaid Skirts
Writing Prompt Wednesday entry:
"Does a plaid skirt make you dumber?"
"What do you mean?"
"Just what I said. Do you lose intelligence points whenever you see a girl in a plaid skirt?"
"Oh. Well. Yeah, kinda."
"And why is that?"
"Don't know. Must be something from my teens. Catholic school girls and all that."
"I guess I understand it when you're sixteen, but now . . .I don't know. Seems weird."
"Don't you still get kinda dumb around a guy in jeans and a white t-shirt?"
"Not dumb, exactly. Silly, maybe."
"Well, there you go. Hey, I have an idea."
"I don't own a plaid skirt."
"Does a plaid skirt make you dumber?"
"What do you mean?"
"Just what I said. Do you lose intelligence points whenever you see a girl in a plaid skirt?"
"Oh. Well. Yeah, kinda."
"And why is that?"
"Don't know. Must be something from my teens. Catholic school girls and all that."
"I guess I understand it when you're sixteen, but now . . .I don't know. Seems weird."
"Don't you still get kinda dumb around a guy in jeans and a white t-shirt?"
"Not dumb, exactly. Silly, maybe."
"Well, there you go. Hey, I have an idea."
"I don't own a plaid skirt."
Friday, July 17, 2009
Redemption
So last night I finished reading From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris. The one that set off my Serial Killer post. Dang it if she didn't pull it off.
After a start that had me worried, she threw a lot of new problems, twists, relatives and other people at Sookie. I won't post any spoilers, but our heroine seems to have made up her mind about all but one of the love interests in her life. I won't say which one, don't worry. She still hasn't addressed why there isn't any heightened senses, etc. after the last infusion of vamp blood, which is (IMHO) problematical. But the new situations have the potential to refresh the series and take it in whole new, and potentially exciting, direction.
Looks like she answered many of the questions she had me asking. Brava, Ms. Harris.
After a start that had me worried, she threw a lot of new problems, twists, relatives and other people at Sookie. I won't post any spoilers, but our heroine seems to have made up her mind about all but one of the love interests in her life. I won't say which one, don't worry. She still hasn't addressed why there isn't any heightened senses, etc. after the last infusion of vamp blood, which is (IMHO) problematical. But the new situations have the potential to refresh the series and take it in whole new, and potentially exciting, direction.
Looks like she answered many of the questions she had me asking. Brava, Ms. Harris.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
WPW: Enough Like Midnight
Writing Prompt Wednesday
Even now, nearly midnight, the ground is still very warm as I sink my fingers into the earth. The moon is out, just a sliver of it. My favorite to look at, but little help to work by. At least the dirt is soft and easy to grasp. Dark, loamy. Good for growing things. Rich enough.
A strand of hair slides in front of my left eye, and I swipe it back behind my ear, most likely smudging my cheek in the process. It'll wash off easily enough.
Sitting back on my heels, I survey my work. The hole is almost perfectly round; I'm tempted to go back in and find an old compass to check, but resist. The bottom is rounded like a bowl. Three inches should be deep enough.
I set the reason for the hole in it and look at it for a minute--two--three. Long enough.
The dirt sifts through my fingers back into the hole, exactly as it was before. Not exactly, I guess. But close enough.
The ring is out of sight. I couldn't sell it, but I don't want it either. This is a compromise. Unlike him, will it be good enough?
Even now, nearly midnight, the ground is still very warm as I sink my fingers into the earth. The moon is out, just a sliver of it. My favorite to look at, but little help to work by. At least the dirt is soft and easy to grasp. Dark, loamy. Good for growing things. Rich enough.
A strand of hair slides in front of my left eye, and I swipe it back behind my ear, most likely smudging my cheek in the process. It'll wash off easily enough.
Sitting back on my heels, I survey my work. The hole is almost perfectly round; I'm tempted to go back in and find an old compass to check, but resist. The bottom is rounded like a bowl. Three inches should be deep enough.
I set the reason for the hole in it and look at it for a minute--two--three. Long enough.
The dirt sifts through my fingers back into the hole, exactly as it was before. Not exactly, I guess. But close enough.
The ring is out of sight. I couldn't sell it, but I don't want it either. This is a compromise. Unlike him, will it be good enough?
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Serial Killers
Nope, not a post about Ted Bundy or John Wayne Gacy or the Zodiac Killer. Not even a post about my favorite fictional serial killer, Dexter Morgan. It's about a couple things I've run into recently that can kill a book series.
1) Too much success. This can happen with any author. Once they reach a certain level of success, it seems that editors hesitate to edit any longer. Suddenly, the characters act, well, out of character. Interesting secondary story arcs just disappear. Not to mention the typos and grammar errors that go unchallenged. In Book 7, Sookie gains a very handy new ability which is not mentioned at all in Book 8. She also does a lot of thinking that something someone says or does is significant but "can't think about that now, because I'm so busy/tired/angry/sad/you name it," which just feels like a cop out.
2) Overlapping two of the author's series. The appeal for the author, of course, is that it introduces the readers of one series to another series and, she hopes, causes the reader to buy the second one. But doing it wrong can backfire. In book 5 or 6 of the Sookie Stackhouse books, Lily Bard from one of Harris' other series shows up. Crossovers aren't new. They happen on television and in books all the time. However, Lily has undergone some major life changes since the first book in the four-book series. I've only read the first book of the Shakespeare series so it came as a big surprise. And has potentially spoiled my enjoyment of the other three books, because I know how she ends up.
3) The neverending story. Agatha Christie had Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot and the Tommy & Tuppence books. But they are each standalone books. It really doesn't impact the reader much if they start with the first book or the fifth. You might be slightly rewarded for knowing a little of the history of Miss Marple and her nephew or how often Poirot teases Captain Hastings for having a preference for redheads, but it doesn't take away from the story if you don't know that.
Enter the method of having a major arc that follows the character through all the books. In the Stackhouse books, the main one is "Who will Sookie end up with?" We have at least 5 possibilities as I'm well into Book 8, From Dead to Worse, which will be my last for a while until Dead and Gone (#9) comes out in paperback next April (or I grab a copy from the library). While it's kept me turning pages until this point, I'm starting to feel it's enough already. With each book, there's the potential for another love interest to show up and further cloud the issue. She needs to make up her mind. I don't buy the airhead who can't decide anymore. She's been through too much--usually because of those men--to not have made up her mind about them.
Television series offer some good examples of the problem. The X-Files should have ended in the fourth or fifth season. Instead, it limped on flipping the roles of believer and non-believer from one character to another and back again, contradicting past "truths" and generally mucking up the works. Lost got a bit lost during the second and third seasons, but has come back nicely now that there is an end in sight. Whereas a series like the various and sundry Law and Order franchises don't have that problem because they are fairly self-contained episodes each week with only minor bleedover from show to show. The CSIs are starting to suffer, because they let in the personal lives of their characters and introduced overarching arcs that are now getting old.
How does a writer deal with this? I asked DB if she had plans for overarching arcs in her series. She does. And she says she's a bit worried about that. She also thinks she might spin off her second and third series from HM when the time comes. Or possibly have crossover books. DB has planned a point for ending the HM series, but doesn't know about D&D or Benny.
I know a couple of you have a series planned. Are you planning an overaching arc? Have you thought about how you'll know when to end it? What will be the signal?
I'm just happy that I don't have to deal with that.
1) Too much success. This can happen with any author. Once they reach a certain level of success, it seems that editors hesitate to edit any longer. Suddenly, the characters act, well, out of character. Interesting secondary story arcs just disappear. Not to mention the typos and grammar errors that go unchallenged. In Book 7, Sookie gains a very handy new ability which is not mentioned at all in Book 8. She also does a lot of thinking that something someone says or does is significant but "can't think about that now, because I'm so busy/tired/angry/sad/you name it," which just feels like a cop out.
2) Overlapping two of the author's series. The appeal for the author, of course, is that it introduces the readers of one series to another series and, she hopes, causes the reader to buy the second one. But doing it wrong can backfire. In book 5 or 6 of the Sookie Stackhouse books, Lily Bard from one of Harris' other series shows up. Crossovers aren't new. They happen on television and in books all the time. However, Lily has undergone some major life changes since the first book in the four-book series. I've only read the first book of the Shakespeare series so it came as a big surprise. And has potentially spoiled my enjoyment of the other three books, because I know how she ends up.
3) The neverending story. Agatha Christie had Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot and the Tommy & Tuppence books. But they are each standalone books. It really doesn't impact the reader much if they start with the first book or the fifth. You might be slightly rewarded for knowing a little of the history of Miss Marple and her nephew or how often Poirot teases Captain Hastings for having a preference for redheads, but it doesn't take away from the story if you don't know that.
Enter the method of having a major arc that follows the character through all the books. In the Stackhouse books, the main one is "Who will Sookie end up with?" We have at least 5 possibilities as I'm well into Book 8, From Dead to Worse, which will be my last for a while until Dead and Gone (#9) comes out in paperback next April (or I grab a copy from the library). While it's kept me turning pages until this point, I'm starting to feel it's enough already. With each book, there's the potential for another love interest to show up and further cloud the issue. She needs to make up her mind. I don't buy the airhead who can't decide anymore. She's been through too much--usually because of those men--to not have made up her mind about them.
Television series offer some good examples of the problem. The X-Files should have ended in the fourth or fifth season. Instead, it limped on flipping the roles of believer and non-believer from one character to another and back again, contradicting past "truths" and generally mucking up the works. Lost got a bit lost during the second and third seasons, but has come back nicely now that there is an end in sight. Whereas a series like the various and sundry Law and Order franchises don't have that problem because they are fairly self-contained episodes each week with only minor bleedover from show to show. The CSIs are starting to suffer, because they let in the personal lives of their characters and introduced overarching arcs that are now getting old.
How does a writer deal with this? I asked DB if she had plans for overarching arcs in her series. She does. And she says she's a bit worried about that. She also thinks she might spin off her second and third series from HM when the time comes. Or possibly have crossover books. DB has planned a point for ending the HM series, but doesn't know about D&D or Benny.
I know a couple of you have a series planned. Are you planning an overaching arc? Have you thought about how you'll know when to end it? What will be the signal?
I'm just happy that I don't have to deal with that.
Monday, July 6, 2009
The Big Picture
If you're keeping track of my reading this year, you've noticed a lot of books by Charlaine Harris. I used to read a lot of mysteries. A lot of mysteries. Then I took a couple college English classes and fell in love with more literary style fiction. I enjoy the character development and the "pretty" language. Plot isn't as important in lit-fic, and I'm okay with that.
I'd love to say I'm a lit-fic writer. But, realistically, I know I fit more toward mainstream than literary. And that requires a stronger plot. D.B. loaned me a stack of the mysteries she's reading for research purposes. Mysteries are all about the plot. If the plot doesn't work, the big reveal doesn't make sense and the mystery fails. One could argue that the Sookie Stackhouse books are fantasy and not mystery. One could, but one would be wrong. I don't care that they're in the fantasy section at B&N. I don't care that they're full of vampires, witches, were-folk and faires. There is always a mystery to solve. Her other series are more definitely mysteries.
Between reading more plot-heavy books and using some of the planning/plotting tools I've found over the years (including the ones on edittorent and red pencil), I'm getting a better handle on the big picture of my stories. That overall story arc. That can get lost when you write the way I do by coming up with an interesting character, having just a vague idea of what happens and then winging it. I've been trying to do more pre-plotting. Using index cards and such to keep a map of where I want it to go.
My hope is that for future projects, I won't have such a huge rewrite job after the first run through CWC. We'll see. It does seem to be helping with the rewrites I'm working on.
I'd love to say I'm a lit-fic writer. But, realistically, I know I fit more toward mainstream than literary. And that requires a stronger plot. D.B. loaned me a stack of the mysteries she's reading for research purposes. Mysteries are all about the plot. If the plot doesn't work, the big reveal doesn't make sense and the mystery fails. One could argue that the Sookie Stackhouse books are fantasy and not mystery. One could, but one would be wrong. I don't care that they're in the fantasy section at B&N. I don't care that they're full of vampires, witches, were-folk and faires. There is always a mystery to solve. Her other series are more definitely mysteries.
Between reading more plot-heavy books and using some of the planning/plotting tools I've found over the years (including the ones on edittorent and red pencil), I'm getting a better handle on the big picture of my stories. That overall story arc. That can get lost when you write the way I do by coming up with an interesting character, having just a vague idea of what happens and then winging it. I've been trying to do more pre-plotting. Using index cards and such to keep a map of where I want it to go.
My hope is that for future projects, I won't have such a huge rewrite job after the first run through CWC. We'll see. It does seem to be helping with the rewrites I'm working on.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
July Goals
Get me--updating so much lately. Feels pretty good really.
In June I didn't meet most of my goals, although I was close on a couple and did get all my critiques done. This month we don't have any submissions to critique for CWC. I'm going to take it a bit easier on myself, calling it summer break.
So for July I have:
--Rewrite of MMG with new-old structure
--Finish writing room makeover
--Do bio for CWC website
--Look up agents
--Write query letter
In June I didn't meet most of my goals, although I was close on a couple and did get all my critiques done. This month we don't have any submissions to critique for CWC. I'm going to take it a bit easier on myself, calling it summer break.
So for July I have:
--Rewrite of MMG with new-old structure
--Finish writing room makeover
--Do bio for CWC website
--Look up agents
--Write query letter
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