Why Doubt is OK

I’m a plotter. Writing mysteries means that I need to know how my character is going to cross obstacles, find clues and get to the bottom of things, alive, and in one piece by the end of the story. Many times, during revision, after I’ve read or re-written a scene a creeper of doubt will start to grow. ‘Does this sound plausible?’ doubt will ask me. ‘Is it believable?’ it will nag at me. My first reaction is to dig up that creeper and chuck it as far away from me as possible. ‘Think positive’ I tell myself. Don’t second guess yourself. Doubt isn’t going to help you finish the story.

My second reaction is different. I wait. For that creeper to re-grow. It usually does. This time I don’t run away from that feeling of doubt. I look at it. While it grows I examine it. After the examination, I pat myself on the back. ‘I’ve faced doubt,’ I tell myself. ‘Now, time to move on to the next scene.’

But it doesn’t end there. If there is every even a niggling thought in the corner of my mind ‘does my character stay true to herself?’ ‘does the scene ring true to the story arc?’ ‘would someone really use feng shui to increase luck in her life?’ that creeper of doubt will return and re-grow until I face it square in the face and do a re-write.

Doubt keeps our compass pointing true. It allows us to move from one point of view to another and view the facts with truth. It’s uncomfortable! It’s painful! Doubt isn’t an easy emotion to allow yourself to feel, especially, when you’re trying to keep positive through a revision. Doubt, I’m constantly afraid, can lead me to a dead standstill. I may get the ‘I’m no good! Why am I even trying to write this story!? Let me pick another story’ feelings. But when I do allow doubt to linger, when I look at it without negative connotations and allow it to swim steady in my head I start to pick apart the various pieces in my scene. I examine each bit like a true Nancy Drew –clearly and without judgment. It gets me energized to re-think the scene from a different angle, to ask the what-if questions and then think up answers to write a stronger, better scene.

What do you think? Do you say ‘hello’ to doubt or ask it to take a hike?

What's in a Good Mystery?

This past month I read Perception by Kim Harrington. For those of you who haven’t heard about Perception, it’s the follow up to Harrington’s debut last year, Clarity.  I truly enjoyed both books. But, I don’t just enjoy books, I study them. I try to find why each of them stands out for me. And for me, Clarity and Perception stand out as perfect mysteries. Harrington does such an amazing job of giving out little bread crumbs, adding to the mystery, at all the right places. Not only that, everyone looks like a suspect. And I mean everyone. You’re not absolutely 100% sure who the guilty party is until Clarity herself knows at the very end of the novel.

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Of course, this got me thinking. What makes a great mystery novel? Especially if you’re not Kim Harrington, like me.

I came up with a short list based on what I learned from Harrington’s writing.

1 – Believable characters and world – the world and characters that Harrington delivers are not only believable, but it’s easy to like and relate to Clarity. Even if you don’t have psychic powers and have been bullied in high school because of who you are, you can still relate. Her setting is a place to get lost in and possibly add to your list of places to visit.

2 – Bread crumbs – Harrington gives the reader just enough bread crumbs to start making guesses. Then she gives more bread crumbs to make the reader doubt the first assumption and create another one. Harrington does this several times until the last couple chapters when Clarity herself figures it out on her own.

3 – Research – Harrington definitely did her research and it shows. Everything is believable through and through. She knew her stuff when it came to the types of stalkers. And she introduced it perfectly, rather than creating an info-dump session.

4 – Tension building – Harrington did so well building up the tension throughout both of her novels that it’s difficult to put the book down at all until the final page has been read.

5 – Bad guys are smart, but not smart enough – In both books the bad guy/gal was smart about how they committed their crimes. They covered their tracks extremely well, but not so good that they couldn’t get caught and the pieces couldn’t be put together. In Harrington’s novels the pieces don’t all get put together until the last two or three chapters.

Your turn -> What do you think makes a good mystery?

The Fearless Ones

  

I've wanted to blog for the past three years and every time I started the 'what ifs' got me. Followed by a bout of the 'crazies.' So whenever the idea lit up in my head I doused it with a super-efficient water hose.

Yup, I was afraid. Yup, I was a scaredy cat. Yup, I let my fear talk me out of writing in the public domain for years. I would see friends, acquaintances, classmates and workmates set up blogs, create conversations and post away. The fearless ones. That's what I called them.

A few years ago, I started working on my current story. My WIP's MC, Priscilla Mayfair, is a determined twelve year old who is facing all kinds of trouble. In my first draft, she surmounted every obstacle, figured out every clue and solved the causes of her problems. She was my ideal heroine. By the second draft I'd made her a little less perfect. She couldn't solve the mystery on her own and needed help from her friends.  Still, as I worked with my critique group on rewrites I could feel there was something missing. Even when Priscilla was facing a dark dead end she wasn’t afraid. I needed her to reach inside her as much as she was reaching outside herself to become who she was and solve the clues of the mystery.

So I weaved in the threads to make Priscilla three dimensional. Now, Priscilla was not only overcoming obstacles, she was also working her way through her fears and fighting her own uncertainties. Acknowledging and accepting her fears had made Priscilla a richer and more real character. She’d become one of the fearless.

My MC had taught me something about the world. (Isn’t it usually the other way round?) Being brave isn’t about not being afraid. It’s about being afraid and doing it any way. It’s about being a scaredy cat and fighting your way out of fear paralysis and doing what you want to do. So this time round when my friends suggested a blog I said yes! Yup, I was still afraid but this time I wasn't going to allow fear to stop me from doing what I wanted.

Hello world of writers! I’m so happy to be blogging with the fearless writers at the shore Toni, Kimmy and Heather and look forward to good conversations and making friends