NOTE: wrote this on Friday and never got a chance to post it. The weekend is gone and only a 3rd of what I set out to accomplish, was accomplished. Instead I watched "Bicentennial Man", "2012" and "Dick Tracey". I'm what's wrong with this country.
Oh, sweet cancer on a stick! Have you seen this? The photo montage on the front page is a hilariously, awful display of writing exhibitionism. I like how cutesy they make writing look. "Look at us! We're writers! And we have cute slippers." But they're housewives using their time productively, and I'm never against that.
The manuscript I was working on, has come to a screeching halt. There was a death in my family this week, so naturally my mind has been elsewhere. Or at least, that's what I keep telling myself. The reality is, I'm out of my depth. Despite having viewed five seasons of "The Wire" and "Dexter," plus a few James Ellroy novels under my belt, I have no idea how to write an interesting killer. I have no idea how to create intriguing clues that are gritty enough but aren't to campy. How do people do this?
I've decided to spend my moneyless weekend revising my novella, critiquing for Critters and researching detective stuff. Hopefully I can over come this stumbling block.
The funny thing is, I have another idea that I've been nursing for months that is a detective story, but it involves robots. I can see through that one as clear as day. It's an environment that I'm much more comfortable in, as well... THE FUTURE. When robots kill people, there's a lot more room for outlandish clues and to fudge police work/procedure, I guess.
1 comment:
Don’t beat yourself up too much; this writing thing ain’t for sissies. Murderer-wise, take a minute (and a sentence) to define what the foul fellow wants. Then make that sentence the through line; everything that ghastly guy or gal does in the story should be an attempt to fulfill that desire. Dexter is interesting because he needs to kill but wants to follow his father’s code. The need and the want are in conflict, which is what makes him worthy of a half-dozen books and a TV series. The want needs to be pretty specific, too.
As far as building the mystery, planting the clues … I’ll turn it over to an expert: http://soylentgreene.us/therulesofmysterywriting.htm
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