After THE END

I felt great when I typed: THE END. These were the final words in the first draft of a much delayed and waylaid fifth in my Candy’s Monsters series. I’d started it a few years ago and only completed it after the deaths of both of my parents AND the completion of drafts of two full length, if imperfect, novels. In other words, it was a long haul to THE END and time to celebrate… But as soon as I’d acknowledged that I was a big step closer to a new Monster, a weird tickling feeling set in. It’s the
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Trapdoors in Dialog

Is eavesdropping wrong if you’re doing it for research? I don’t think so. Writing dialog is tough. Listening to your friends—really listening, to word choices and personality-revealing idiosyncrasies—will only take you so far. You have to listen to strangers, too. Listening has led me to the idea that there are common ‘trapdoors’ in conversations that can be helpful when writing dialog. These ‘trapdoors’ might be challenging in real life but they are useful for writers. Typical ‘trap doors’ include: We have to talk. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. You said something last night (last week, last
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A Mysterious Woman

“You know what the biggest problem is with American women?” Kevin posed the question as the opening line of tonight’s rant. He was well into his second Guinness and was eyeing the Jameson on the shelf behind the bartender’s back. “The biggest problem with American women is that none of you understand the value of mystery.” Kevin’s purring brogue cloaked his contempt in an almost musical disguise. It had been that accent—along with his rugged build and dark blue eyes—that had invited Agatha to ignore Kevin’s habit of denigrating everything and everyone that was not Irish. Local craft beers, tipping
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In Vino Veritas

In vino veritas—in wine there is truth. Is it true? Do inebriated people tell the truth? It’s a cliché in literature that tipsy, drunk, drugged or otherwise inebriated characters reveal secrets, telling the truth when dissembling is the norm. In mystery fiction, the lapse of judgment that leads one character to drop a “truth bomb” into a story might get the character killed or help the detective solve the crime with a critical piece of information. But I’ve often wondered if wine really “loosens” otherwise reticent tongues. Do you say more than you should when you’ve had a few? Maybe
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No Relation…

Naming characters is one of those hoops all fiction writers must jump. In my current first draft project, I relied on a mix of appropriate ethnicity and my address book to give names to the various characters. It works, but it’s far from perfect. I read the text the other day and I realized I had two characters named HENRY. This is not good. I fixed it. (I should tell my friend Henry about his strange popularity.) I’ve also taken heat from preliminary manuscript readers about characters with similar names. Sometimes this is a conscious choice as a member of
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Real Fear & Inspiration

I once went to a museum with the bravest person I’ve ever met. Why do I think she was so brave? When I met her she was a forensic pathologist working for New York City in the coroner’s office and this was after a stint as a doctor in the Navy. I’d say that’s pretty brave. By this time she’d moved out of the city and I’d gone to visit her in a bucolic community up the Hudson River. We went to a famous museum but she demurred when it came to going to the Louise Bourgeois exhibit. I remember
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Period Detail Accuracy

I read both vintage novels and novels set in various historical periods. The latter depend on historical verisimilitude and it’s all in the details. I’m not a professional historian, but when an anachronism crops up it makes me jump a little. And the easy to check, minor details make me jump the highest. Obviously when the novel is Steampunk or Fantasy, all bets are off. The anachronisms are part of the game. Dates and facts aren’t important, but… for regular historical settings, it’s best to double-check the details that bring the backdrop of a story to life. I was watching
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Hollywood Romance

I’m definitely not the first person to notice that there’s a huge difference between romance in movies and love in real life. It is as if the two are entirely different, distant cousins. Yes, it’s true that in real life people do ‘meet cute’ on occasion. Yes, it’s true that there can be a spark of flirtatious, antagonistic energy flying between two ‘opposites as they attract.’ And yes, once is a while, after years of friendship, two best friends look into each other’s eyes and find LOVE. But… In real life meeting rarely nets a great story to share with
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I Know this to be True

Sometimes just flipping around the channels sparks ideas. Good ideas? Maybe, but definitely strange thoughts… In my effort to keep up with the news and NOT drown in it, I read a little of this and that including both the New York Times and the Washington Post, watch a range of TV news shows, and listen to various shows on NPR. So when I scrolled from MSNBC to CNN and then on to some morning talk show on ABC, I caught a few choice words from everyone’s favorite—Oprah Winfrey. Am I being sarcastic about one of the most influential women
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Mom’s Coat

Zelda was dreaming. Deep inside the dream’s universe she had a vague awareness of the real world beyond and outside the dream. “Come on girls. Your dad is waiting in the car?” Her mother was young and strong and Zelda felt tiny. “That coat?” Her old sister shook her head. “Mom you can’t wear that coat.” “And why not?” Sylvia replied. “You know why… The fur collar, the…” The skinny ten-year-old Zelda listened to her fourteen-year-old sister whine and argue with their mother. The car horn put an end to the discussion. It was time to go to the synagogue.
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