The Trials Of A Crime Writer: Balancing The Light & Dark

THE TRIALS OF A CRIME WRITER: BALANCING THE LIGHT & DARK

I've always been someone who is more attracted to some dark aspects of fiction. While there are whole romance genres that deal with that side of things, for me it's more about the crime element. As in I prefer to read dark, girtty crime and mystery. I also love to read the cozy kind too, but I digress. As a writer, I've never shied away from the dark aspects of some of the stories I tell. From murder scenes to death visions, to battles and war, and all of that wrapped up in some parts of the world that are just not light hearted.

But I've always also been someone who likes to have some elements of the light in there too. Like I said, I like both dark crime, but also the light kind too. I want to be able to give my readers the best of both worlds, with some things that are dark and disturbing, and others that are sweet and light. It can be hard to strike the right kind of balance between the two because they can be seen to cancel each other out. On top of which, if you hit the notes right with one, the other might be to jarring to the reader, and that's why it's so important that you find that balance, and make sure it's reflected in your stories.

So here are some of my tips about how to keep that balance just right, with the caveat that for some readers will want more of one than the other, and you cannot ever please everyone, so keep that in mind!

#1 NAVIGATING THE PEAKS AND LOWS
I'm sure you've all seen that one plot outline that looks like a graph, it has highs, it has lows, and when you're trying to work out where your story should be, it can be really useful. The same applies to dark and light. If you call the dark the lows, and the light the peaks, then you need to make sure that they complement each other. For example, if you've had a very dark section, right down in the lows of the graph, then it might be a way to give your characters, and the reader, a break with a small peak. 

By this I don't mean shoot it right up to the top of the graph because that is going to be super jarring, but just enough that there's that tension release, and gives everyone a chance to breathe before going back into the rest of the story. I've done this in a lot of my dark books, one that springs to mind is the Lights Out trilogy where you're dealing with a dystopian hellscape and Lock, the main character, is dealing with a lot of darkness. I've sprinkled in some lightness to help break that tension, and allow Lock to see that things will get better. You can do this however you please, but just remember to keep them complementing each other.

#2 DON'T EVER GO TOO DARK/LIGHT
If your story is one that deals with the dark side of humanity, then make sure you have some idea of how dark you want this to get. The same applies to the lightness in a book with both. You don't want to, going back to that graph I mentioned, have a really really raw and deep low that seems out of place, and you don't want a peak of light that kinda makes the reader think: what the heck is this?

Obviously you know your story and characters best, but it's something to keep in mind, because if you cross this line, you might end up losing some of your readers for it. If they signed up for a dark gritty crime and you're also giving them such big peaks that it's kinda jarring, it's not gonna be the experience they were looking for.

Overall, just remember that when using both, and you will, to some degree, need both, you have to keep them on the same level, and make sure they mesh and blend together well, otherwise your graph is going to look like someone running a marathon.

However you go about it, good luck!

Any questions? Lemme know in the comments! 

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The Trials Of An Indie Author: Writing For You

THE TRIALS OF AN INDIE AUTHOR: WRITING FOR YOU

I've heard the phrase that you should write the book you want to read, and I agree with it, mostly. I've been writing since I was 19, and at 44, I am still finding books to write that I wanted or needed when I was a teenager and trying to find my way in the world. Of course everyone writes for different reasons and a lot of the time, it can be both personal and also just because you know there's a market for that kind of story.

Having said that, as a chronically ill and disabled woman, I found that a lot of the stories that I wanted to tell were ones that, at the start of my career, I couldn't see myself managing to pull off. It was really only once I got older, and started to realise that I could manage to do this that I delved head first into writing disabled characters, telling stories of fantasy and dystopian and even just plain old contemporary and mystery. I wanted to put those characters out into the world and I wanted readers who had been like me as a teen to find themselves in my fiction. 

Every writer has different ideas of the stories they should tell. Every writer will write the same story differently, and because of that when it comes to working out what stories you want to tell, you have to kind of look deep, and also really think about it. There will be times when you lean more one way than the other, as in, if you're a writer like me who switches genres, you'll do heavy on one before moving and changing to another. If you're always in the same genre, the style of stories might change, the sub-genre might switch. All of that is normal, and it's just about finding that sweet spot, that place where you've found your genre for the moment, and leaning into it and writing all the stories you want.

For example, when I first really worked on a story that I wanted to publish, it was a YA thriller that I'd been brewing in my head for a time. It became my focus and my drive, but the next story I really got lost in after that was paranormal/mystery. I think the reason that I switch genres, while sticking to a myriad of them, is because as a reader, I will read pretty much anything. There are a few genres that generally don't appeal to me, but usually if I like the blurb, then I'll pick it up and give it a go. Sometimes I fall in love with a new genre, and sometimes I don't jive with it. But it's reflected in my writing because I know that there are other people like me out there, teens and older, who also jump around genres and just want to read good stories.

So when it comes to writing for myself, or even my younger self, I'm writing crime, I'm writing dystopian, I'm giving urban fantasy a go, I've got the paranormal in there too. It's all about me both exploring things as a writer, but also allowing that imagination that got me in loads of trouble as a teen, to grow and bloom and become something bigger, become stories that other people can read, fall in love with, and maybe one day move on to writing their own. 

Some writers will focused on one genre because that, for them, is the stories they want to read, and it's a good thing for them to explore those same kinds of stories that maybe they also adore, and want to pass onto the next generation. After all, even when we, as authors, are no longer here, our books can still remain, our stories can still be here to show the kind of writers we were and our legacy of stories. I think that's a really cool thing, especially as someone who has a future that is limited.

So no matter what genres or stories appeal to you, write for yourself yes, but also remember that these stories have a greater reach than we ever could. I always leave part of myself in my work and I know a lot of writers and authors who do the same. Writing for yourself is powerful, and so is making sure those stories, the ones you needed to tell, have outlasted you. Who knows where that may lead in the future?

Whatever genre, whatever stories, keep writing, because the world needs your stories. 

Any questions? Lemme know in the comments! 

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