The Trials Of A Crime Writer: How Many Ways Can You Kill Someone?

The Trials Of A Crime Writer: How Many Ways Can You Kill Someone?

I was thinking about this today as I wrote one of Tara's many visions. I was also thinking about it as I wrote the piece about my search history (found here) and the one about the things I really shouldn't know (found here). As a crime writer, there are some things that cross both of those subjects and then there's others than come into their own little bubble. Working out a myriad of different ways to kill someone is one of those things.

I wasn't always someone who would look at a case on TV and wonder how to describe that kind of murder. I was always someone who liked crime and mystery media - both books and TV shows - but I like to think that I didn't always wonder about death and destruction and the many different ways you could inflict harm upon a person. Of course, my parents would probably disagree as I was always kinda fascinated by death. I would probably have called it childhood intrigue, but it was rather unhealthy.

So, I decided that when it came to writing my own books, I would delve into the dark recesses of my mind and exploit my own little "hobby" and start to put fictional characters through these things. I know that makes it sound like I'm both a psychopath and a sociopath in that I'm admitting that I enjoy putting people through pain and eventually killing them. I'm not, and I can assure you that I'd never actually do this to a living soul.

My biggest problem now is not that I can't get creative with death, murder and all other kinds of grisly things, more that while I am creative, I have my limits. There is only so much torment a human body can bear and bringing someone to the brink of death and then pulling them back is something that you can only do a handful of times before it starts to get a bit ridiculous. I know that when writing the DYING THOUGHTS series, I have sometimes found myself struggling to make Tara's cases both unique yet believable. I don't like to repeat myself too much, but at the same time, these are generally cases that I'm saying regular people in the police force would see and sometimes, let's face it, murder repeats.

For me it's not just about finding a new way to kill someone, but it's also about the killer's motives behind choosing that manner of death. Is it revenge? Spur of the moment? Are they actually a serial killer who has chosen their own mode of operations and stuck to it? How much forensic evidence are they leaving? Why is Mike calling on Tara? Is there another way it could have happened? What would the victim feel and see at this point? These are all valid questions that I have to answer on a case by case basis and sometimes, it's hard to know the answers until you're actually writing the story.

That said, when it comes to the regular cases that Tara works, I usually have them all planned out before I even put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard in my case). I'm a meticulous planner as mentioned before (a piece about my planning can be found here) and so once I've done the chapter plan and know exactly how many "normal" cases she'll work, I make a note card with all the details about it there ready to be used when I come to that point in the story. However, like I said, some details about it all don't come to me until I've got to the point writing where she's about to have the vision (and sometimes it's WHILE she has the vision) and for those things, it's back to my old friend - Google.

Of course though, there are only a limited number of ways to kill someone even when you do get creative. Shooting, stabbing, poisoning, bludgeoning and suffocation are just a small selection of the ways a person can be killed, but if you're going to do all of those things, pretty soon you'll have a dead person with whom you're just going through the motions. As Tara's gift only works until the person expires, I find that there is little need for me to work out all the details of the crime. Mike's job is to find all of that and mine is to plant the seed, which I have to admit is one of the perks of the job.

When it comes to the overall plot and "case of the book" as it were, that's when things can start to get creative. It's not always a murder that runs through the book and sometimes it's not even a crime that Tara can solve on her own with her visions. As she's developed as a character, I've found other ways to keep her focused on what matters - catching the bad guy without getting killed herself. If you look at some of my other books, BLACKOUT or LYNNE & HOPE for example, they both have crimes that would have been outside of Tara's purview and so while I like to give Tara a good murder or two to work through, I also enjoy putting other characters in situations that don't involve blood and gore.

I think it was a friend of mine who said that one of the perks of being a crime writer is getting to kill people for a living...I don't disagree, it's just that with me writing young adult fiction, people kinda look at you sideways when you say you enjoy torturing teenagers! Can you really blame them?

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The Trials Of A Crime Writer: Things I Shouldn't Know

The Trials of a Cirme Writer: Things I Shouldn't Know

As with my last piece on this subject about my internet search history (found here), there are things about certain topics that I shouldn't have any knowledge of. I mean, the average crime reader these days has some idea about Forensics - even someone who casually watches something like CSI or NCIS knows that too. People often say that criminals are getting smarter, but I think it has more to do with the fact that there is often a play book on the TV or online that shows how to do certain things and not get caught.

Now the majority of my books that deal with crime have a murder plot. It's rare that I deal with any other kinds of crime, other than in passing. My latest book, WAITING ON YOU, is one of the exceptions to that rule. While I wouldn't class it as a crime or mystery book at all, it does include some aspects of criminal behaviour, which of course means that you have to either have watched enough of CASTLE or THE BILL to have some idea about what the police would do in those circumstances. It's not all blood, guts and gore.

However, there are some things that I have no business knowing. I touched on it slightly when writing the other piece in this series about search histories. I shouldn't know that there may not be something called the "perfect" crime, but there are possibilities that come pretty damn close. I am an avid consumer of procedural crime show - I love NCIS and CASTLE and will pretty much give anything a watch a few times if it's crime related and has piqued my interest. I also have numerous books on the subject - both fact and fiction and use those to plot murders (I'll have another piece talking about that) as well as what kind of things police look for when they arrive at the scene of a crime.

Due to the fact that the DYING THOUGHTS series focuses on Tara's ability to see the last moments of someone's life, I do deal a lot with the grisly details of death. I have a pretty good idea how long it would take to alert passers-by to a body on a hot summer day. I know the various stages of decomp, and while I'm nowhere near ready to start separating DNA samples and comparing them to suspects, I also have some idea how a crime lab works from my book, LYNNE & HOPE. These are all things that interest me, and are relevant to my job, but still, I wonder how much of it I just shouldn't know!

In one of the books I'm working on now, there have been a string of violent assaults and deaths. While the deaths are pretty straight forward, the beatings and violence have needed a creative mind. I didn't want the attackers to have a plan. I wanted them to try new things and use different weapons, so at one point they will have used bleach to blind and chemically burn someone, another time they will have just kicked, hit and slashed until they were happy with the damage caused. In another work in progress, I am dealing with a series of violent sexual assaults and murders. Whilst I did want an MO for these attacks, I also wanted them to escalate, starting with just kidnappings, moving onto violent rape, and then onto murder.

These are subjects that require a lot of creative thought and I don't know whether to be proud or horrified that I haven't really struggled to think up new scenarios for each of these pieces. There are some parts of the job that make me question the state of my own mind and staring at bodies in different states of decomposition is one of them. I guess you could say that I've always been rather morbid and at least I'm only killing people in print. Still, you do have to wonder. As they say in CASTLE, there are two kinds of people who sit around thinking up ways to kill people: Mystery writers and psychopaths. I think to think I'm the first.

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Author Blog Tour: The Writing Process

 

(Image found here)

Firstly I'd like to thank Kerry Kijewski who invited me to join her on this blog hop. She introduced me last week on her blog here. Here's some info about Kerry!

I was born blind, but have never allowed anything to stop me from doing what I love. I love to write. It is how I express myself and attempt to make sense of the world around me.
I have a Certificate in Creative Writing. I participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and am working on my first book. I also write short stories, memoir, and a blog. My motto has always been to share my view of the world with others through my writing. You can find Kerry on her blog or on Facebook, or Twitter.

Now onto the questions!

1) What am I working on?
Right now I'm working on two different books - approaching the end with both. One is a standalone about four teens looking to end a string of attacks and murders within the LGBTQIPA+ community and finding that they themselves may fall victim to them. The second is the sixth in the DYING THOUGHTS series. Tara, having recently gone through a trauma of her own is learning how life changes. She's out of school and in college with her dad rising back up to fame.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?
All of my books are young adult fiction and while they don't always stick to the same pattern, they do have their own uniqueness about them. One reviewer of my work has likened me to Judy Blume, where another says my books are little snippets of teenage life. I feel that I have a different perspective to bring to young adult crime and paranormal fiction. I like to go different places than other writers.

3) Why do I write what I do?
I write YA because I love the period in life when you're faced with all these different opportunities but don't have the know how or life experience to make them and know they are the right ones for you. I love being able to send young teens on an adventure and allow them to get to know where they draw the line between right and wrong. How much is too much? When do the risks stop outweighing the benefits? I've always also been interested in some aspects of the paranormal and my writing allows me to explore some of that.

4) How does your writing process work?
My writing process is complicated and easy at the same time. I don't have any set days where I write, I am a uni student as well and that always takes precedence. Some days I'll write for hours, others I'll sit and type a bit here and a bit there. I set myself four chapters a fortnight - two of each book - and sometimes I'll manage them as well as bonus ones, other times it's like pulling teeth to get the words onto the page. I write because I love it, I love creating and I love knowing that people read and enjoy my work. Some days I just have to remind myself to breath, that the words will come and the story will be told. It just takes time.

Now, I've passed the torch to three other talented authors. Their profiles are below.

First we have Amber Skye Forbes, author of "WHEN STARS DIE"

Amber is a dancing writer who prefers pointe shoes over street shoes, leotards over skirts, and ballet buns over hairstyles. She loves striped tights and bows and will edit your face with a Sharpie if she doesn't like your attitude. She lives in Augusta, Georgia where she writes dark fiction that will one day put her in a psychiatric ward...again. But she doesn't care because her cat is a super hero who will break her out.  Check out her website, her blog, on Tumblr, or follow her on Facebook. You can also add her book on Goodreads here.

Second is Erin Rycer, author of "MARKED FILE"

E.J. Rycer lives north of Boston in Massachusetts’ Merrimack Valley with her husband. With his support and the support of her close friends and family, E.J. finally decided to follow her life-long dream of becoming an author.

For updates on upcoming work and to follow E.J.’s continuing journey as an author you can find her online in the following places: Facebook, her blog, and Goodreads 

And finally is Angella Graff, author of the "JUDAS CURSE" series, as well as the "ALEXANDRA FRY: PRIVATE EYE" series. Her books can be found on Amazon here.

Angella Graff was born and raised in the desert city of Tucson, Arizona. She married and became a mother very young, and after getting started with her family, began her University studies where she found her passion for creative writing, history and theology.

She now resides in Tucson with her husband Joshua, three children, Christian, Isabella and Adia, and their two cats, Archive (Ivy), and Lasciel. She prefers to spend her days writing, gardening, and reading non-fiction theology theory books. Angella is also an avid, if not fanatic fan of Doctor Who and BBC Sherlock, which tend to dominate her dry, sarcastic humor, a lot of which is apparent in her writing.

Currently Angella is working on an Urban Fantasy series called The Judas Curse, involving extensive research into Mythos, Christianity and history.

You can follow Angella on Facebook, her blog, or her official website.

Remember to check out these three awesome writers next Monday for their own pieces on their writing process!

The Trials Of A Crime Writer: Search History

The Trials Of A Crime Writer: Search History

I often wonder what would happen if I were to be suspected of a crime, and the police were to seize my computer and check what I'd been looking at. Is the fact that I'm a crime writer really going to answer to their queries as to why I was wondering how much damage industrial strength bleach could do to a person? What about when they discover the pages I looked at telling me what happens in the moments after death? Or the ones about how much acid would be needing to dissolve a body? Or even the ones looking for answers as to whether there is such as thing as a perfect murder?

Sure, I write YA fiction, but that doesn't mean the facts have to be any less accurate! I do wonder though, if I became famous, would I get away with killing a few people and claiming my search history was research? I'm not a psychopath, officer, I was just checking for my latest novel! I also wonder about the times that I've tested a theory. I'm sure those who have written their own crime novels have done something similar. They've handcuffed themselves and worked out how easy it would be to pick the lock, or they've put a tight zip tie binding their wrists and have to stay sat down whilst they slowly saw their way out with a pen knife...or is that just me?

It's all part of the learning curve and while it does take some time, you eventually start to realise that if you were to go on a murder spree, you would probably have a better idea about what to do with the body or bodies than the average person. I won't give you my perfect murder because I might need to use it one day and I find that putting these things online make the lawyers start the throw around the word "premeditated"!

Then again, it's not just the grisly crime stuff that litters my bookmarked pages and recently viewed history. I also have a pretty good idea about how an autopsy is performed, the manner of a corner's inquest in the UK and the pecking order in the CID branch of a police station. I also know, after years of wondering, what CID actually stands for: Criminal Investigative Division, though technically, isn't that the job of every police
officer?

I know where to hide a body to aid decomp, I know how to estimate time of death and I know various other tests to work out drug levels and other interesting facts once someone has died. I know how to hide the taste of certain poisons, or how to make a murder look accidental and I also know that if I keep going, then one day I may end up regretting posting this piece on the internet for all the world to see.

So, let's be honest. I could probably pick my way out of handcuffs and I know how a lock works, but at the same time, it's purely research. I don't intend to break into someone's house and commit the perfect crime. For one, I think it would be a lot more effort than just writing about it. I've seen a lot of quotes about crime writers and their search histories. One that springs to mind is this: "I became a writer because kidnapping people and forcing them to act out your plots is technically illegal". Only technically because if done right, no one would ever have to know!

I've killed a lot of people, all in print, all in various different ways. I have another piece planned about how many different ways you can kill someone. It's rather interesting when I'm writing the case details for Tara in the DYING THOUGHTS series because I don't like to repeat too many scenarios, I like to keep people guessing, which means that I have to go on the internet and search - or at least I do for the ones I haven't already thought of. Be warned though, I may not be a danger in person, but in print? My keyboard is loaded
and I'm not afraid to use it.

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Why Is Representation Important? - The Creative Process

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Why is Representation Important?

If I'm only able to achieve one thing with my writing, I would be happy for it to be the opportunity to show people that they can see themselves in my characters. One thing that's important for all forms of media is that they portray everyday people. Whether they are disabled or able bodied; black or white; religious or not; gay, straight, transgendered or bisexual; man, woman or gender-queer; from all different ethnicities. It's important for people of all ages to be able to read, watch and play media that allows them to see themselves in the story. Representation in the media is important for everyone.

There has been a lot of discussion in recent years about how few female characters there are that are anything but white. Of how many disabled people are equally represented in the films they see, the games they play and the books they read. I could go on and list all the minorities in the world who face oppression and erasure from these platforms, but I think you can tell who I'm talking about. As a white, bisexual, disabled female, I have experienced some of that erasure. While I cannot and will not talk for those who are not me, I can say that in general terms, there is a need to be recognised as a person. That means that there is a need for people reading books to be able to see their own struggles and achievements shown in their genre of choice.

I recently wrote a piece on being a disabled writer (found here) and have spoken somewhat about how young disabled adults and children need to see that just because you have a disability, it doesn't mean your life is over and that you will never amount to anything. As a young adult author, it is important to me that I am able to share characters who have disabilities. As a bisexual woman, I need to be able to do the same there as well. Diversity in fiction is not a bad thing. Why should the default character be a white man or woman? A young black teenager should be able to read a book and not have to accept that they will always be a background character, nor should a gender-queer teenager, or a disabled teenager. I'm not saying that all my characters are from minority groups, but I like to think that there is a mixture of them. I know that one of the books I am working on at the moment has people from a whole array of different ethnicities, religions, and sexual orientations. I can't speak for people from ethnic minorities using my own voice, as that is not my story to tell, but that doesn't mean I should ignore their oppression when I write about these characters and so there has been a lot of research involved, including a large amount of discussion with people from minority groups.

I am disabled though, and I do see a minor amount of disabled characters who don't fit a certain stereotype. I can think of three or four of my books that either have a major character who has a disability of some kind and I know that I will continue to write those characters because I feel that it is my duty to show the young disabled people of this generation that there are people like them who achieve greatness and that with a disability, you are not always condemned to living in the background, out of the limelight. I'm not saying all of this to toot my own horn and collect my trophy for making some of my characters deal with disability. I'm saying this because it's high time that the number of main characters in fiction reflect the number of disabled people in real life. The same goes for those who are a part of any other minority.

Representation matters and it's down to people in charge of the flow of media, such as writers, artists, record labels, toy companies, game designers and so on to start realising that it's no longer acceptable to push people from minority groups into the background, to make them 'redshirts', loveless extras, or the butt of jokes. The young people growing up now need to be able to see a character on the screen at the cinema or on the TV or in their favourite book or even simply in magazine adverts and think "that person's just like me!"

It is 2014, the twenty-first century, and racism is still rampant, gay rights are still being fought for, transgendered and gender-queer people are still scared for their lives, are still abused and ignored, and there is still a wage gap between men and woman. Isn't it time we took a step back and thought about all of this? Realised what we are telling the next generation? That unless they are a white, Western man, then they don't matter. Their needs are not important. They don't need role models because they're always going to be "background" characters. Is that really what we should be telling our children? I, for one, don't think so.

So, yes, representation is very important. The internet is full of places to research and opportunities to talk to people from minority groups, and while it is not their job to educate us just because we demand they do, there are still numerous resources to access to be able to write these characters realistically and give the next generation a chance to realise that yes, they are different, but they are not any less important or any less awesome. That's why representation matters to me.

Follow Joey on Facebook or here on her blog to be kept up to date with the latest news regarding Joey and her books.

Being A Disabled Writer - The Creative Process

Being a disabled writer

I don't really talk much about being disabled in regards to my writing. I have done some posts on having a chronic illness (found here and here) as well as having chronic pain (found here). It's not that I don't like to talk about it, just that I write a lot of pieces and don't want to be seen as going on about the fact that I am also disabled.

There is a lot of negativity surrounding disability in the media. Whether it's books, TV shows or films, usually the disabled person is either a minor character or they're the villain, turned bad when their life was destroyed because of an accident/illness that caused them to become disabled. There's a big need for disabled characters who are shown not just in a positive light, but in a general every day one. Disabled people exist and children and young people facing any kind of disability need to be able to find themselves in fiction. They also need to know that just because you're disabled, doesn't mean that you will rot away in a cupboard somewhere and never amount to anything. We need to remove the stigma of disability and show people that we are just as normal as everyone else. We just have additional needs.

I know that in the chronic illness community, there is a lot of talk about how you shouldn't let your condition "define" you, that you should overcome them and be who you are in spite of it. While that is true, there is also nothing wrong with identifying as disabled and not hiding it from people. As you all know, I have several chronic conditions and all of them effect my life, from the amount of sleep I get to the level of pain I am in, and while I do not think that I am my disease, I also see nothing wrong with saying that I am a disabled person; a writer, a student, an amateur musician, but also disabled.

In my uni courses I have done a lot of reading about what makes up a person's self identity. My last course had a whole section on it and the one I am doing right now does as well. I choose to see myself as disabled, but that doesn't mean that it's a bad thing. We should be removing the taboo from the word and we should be allowed to be proud of both what we've accomplished in life - as a student or a singer or a doctor or whatever - but also not be scared to add the words "I'm disabled" into any of that.

I have written a handful of disabled characters, some as main ones and others as minor characters. I have included disabilities that affect mobility as well as other conditions, such as blindness or mental illness. These are all things that affect everyday people and sometimes just looking at a person will not tell you that they are disabled. There is nothing wrong with not wanting to identify as having a disability, but the opposite it true as well. There are writer's in the Young Adult genre such as John Green, who have written disabled characters and written them well. However, for the number of people affected by a chronic illness or disability in the UK alone (over 11 million according to the Fair Treatment at Work survey in 2008), there are surprisingly few disabled characters in young adult or even adult fiction and those who are often have their disabilities hidden or erased. For example, as great as The Hunger Games books are, it's very easy to forget that Peeta has a prosthetic leg after the first book and it's not even mentioned in the movies.

So yes, I am both chronically ill and disabled. I'm not ashamed of it and while at times, I wish for some aspects of my life to be different (who doesn't?), I'm not going to deny it either. I am proud to say that along with being a published author, I am also living with a disability, there's nothing wrong with that.

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Writing In Pain: How Chronic Pain Affects My Work - The Creative Process

Writing In Pain: How Chronic Pain Affects My Work

It doesn't take a genius to work out that when you're in pain, it's going to have a knock on effect on everything you try to do. Usually when someone is in pain, it's a short term thing. They've broken a limb, or had an operation, or something else. The answer is to work when you can and wait until you're better to really push yourself back into the job. My problem is that I am always in pain and I will not simply "get better". So, I can't just wait around for never to arrive before I go back to writing. I have to find a way to work with my pain and my career, and it hasn't been easy.

As those of you who follow my blog and Facebook page will know, I am a chronic illness sufferer. Among other conditions, I also have M.E and Fibromyalgia. Both of these cause a myriad of symptoms, two of which are the focus of this piece. One in a big way - the chronic pain, and the other as more of a mention - the fatigue. I was diagnosed with both in 2001 and it is because of these conditions that I had the light bulb moment that told me I could actually be a writer. I had been retired from my working life on medical grounds and had been told that I would probably never work a traditional job again. After finally stabilising in regards to my health, I started my career as a writer. I haven't looked back since.

So, how does having two chronic pain conditions affect my work? Add to that the fatigue that comes from both M.E and Fibro and you have to wonder how that affects what I am able to do and when I'm able to do it. I have already written about how I juggle being chronically ill and being a writer (you can find it here), but when we take just one symptom that seems to have a lot of power over me, what do we see? Pain is hard to work through and even for someone like me, who has a high tolerance for pain, and is, in a way, used to feeling it daily, then you have to realise that with that comes the ability to work through the majority of it.

However, that's not to suggest that I am superwoman, I still have bad days when I can't even put myself into my wheelchair and I just stay still for fear of movement jarring a new pain. I still have days when I have the best ideas ever, but getting out of bed is impossible. So, on those days I am limited in what I can do. That doesn't mean I don't work, just that there are times when no matter how much the brain is willing, the body is far from able. However, I do have my tablet and a great writing app. I also have a number of adaptations round the house that allow for me to write in bed, or at my desk easily in my chair and I can even write whilst lying down flat to keep the pain happy.

That's what it's about really though, isn't it? I talk of gremlins called Neil and muses that zoom around the desk, but what we're talking about now is a monster. The Fibro monster who causes so much pain and cries with glee whenever I try to move because it means that it can always cause me more pain. It's about learning to factor in that monster's presence so that I can have some semblance of a life, a job, a career. The long and short of it is simple. Some days I win and a chapter or two is written and life is all okay. Other days, the monster wins and it sits with a smirk on its face as the pain chases away my ideas and ability to think straight. Some days it's a mix of both and on those days I am never sure if what I have done is an accomplishment or if I was foolish to have tried, because that monster wants to win and will always come back for more. It loves to get payback.

I learnt early on in both my writing career and my battle with M.E and Fibro that I had to pace myself. People diagnosed with some kind of chronic illness will be nodding their heads, we have to learn that even though we will have bad days and accomplish little or nothing at all, we will also have good days and the trick is to not fill your good days with so much stuff that you end up with a run of bad days as payback. The Fibro monster just loves to get payback in whatever form it can. Take today for example, it's past midnight and I have been fighting with the Fibro monster for the past week. Two nights I have seen the wee hours, and tonight may not be any different. It's a long battle and although I may occasionally declare victory, it is not long before the monster starts fighting anew.

When I have an idea for a piece, I try to write as much as I can. There are always the annoying times when I'm desperate to write, but am stuck in bed because that monster has shown its face and is taunting me with cramps and other various methods of pain. That's when having a tablet comes in, along with the other adaptations in my house that allow me to write from bed if need be. I know I say this a lot, but it's a point I need to hammer home more with this topic. It is a delicate balancing act of doing enough to satisfy my muse and desire to write, whilst not doing too much that would upset the monster within me. Some days I win and balance perfectly, other days I fall flat on my face and have to declare defeat, retreating to my bed to rest, because the pain monster brings its friend - fatigue.

Both of these work against me. If it's not the monster causing me to spend time I could be writing in agony, then it's the fatigue causing me to need to sleep, rest, or just do nothing too taxing for a little while. Sometimes they even tag team me and before I know it I've lost two days to a combination of sleep, pain meds and too much brain fog to construct any kind of sentence. It's frustrating and there are many choice phrases I would use to describe those days, but I won't. The point of this piece is to tell you that being a writer who is also a chronic pain sufferer has its impact on my work. Even when I don't want it to.

I identify as disabled, and call myself a disabled writer. Some people in the chronic illness community and the writing community see this as a flaw because they say that I should not define myself by my conditions, that I shouldn't "let" them define me. They have a point. I am not Fibromyalgia, just like I am not my lung condition. I am me, and I am many things other than disabled and a writer. However, by acknowledging that whilst being a writer, I am also disabled and a chronic pain patient, I'm saying it's not a weakness. I'm saying that it's who I am and I'll be damned if someone is going to make me feel bad about that. I'm not for one moment suggesting that others should identify the same way. Your self-image and self-identity are very personal things and no one should tell you how view yourself. I'm just saying that for me my self-identity is that I am a disabled writer who lives and works with the conditions that I have and I'm in no way ashamed of that. Your mileage may, of course, vary.

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Reading: Does It Help You As A Writer?

(Both found here)

Reading: Does It Help You As A Writer?

When I was a kid, I was tested, as were the majority of children back then (and still are now), to see where my reading level was. I wasn't told of the results until I was older because my parents didn't want me to get picked on or for me to think I was better than the people in my class. My reading age at seven was that of a nine year old, as was my writing age. Since then, it kept on getting better. By the time I was fourteen, I was going with my best friend to the local library every Friday, where we'd check out sixteen books to read during the week. I'd devour them all, young adult, adult, crime, mystery, drama, whatever they were I would read them and adore everything I could find.

My life has changed a lot since then. I don't go to the library as much, but books are still a BIG part of my every day life and I don't see that ever stopping. I own a Kindle and can usually be found in the evenings, curled up in bed, reading a good book while I wait for my pain meds to kick in. Or a bad book. To be honest, I'll probably read anything once just to see what I think. As a writer, reading is important and sometimes you can get just as much information on what you want to write from a bad book as you can from a good one. It's all subjective anyway, but you see what I'm saying.

I'm sure you've probably guessed by now that I like crime and mystery books, but I like romance too, as well as other genres. I'll read adult books or young adult books. I'm not too fussed, so long as the content is enjoyable, then I don't care who has written it and what the reviews are. I just have to read. I have to have a book to sit down with - on Kindle or in paperback - to spend time away from the worlds I've created and immerse myself in someone else's worlds and creations. I personally don't think there is anything much better than a book, a cat to curl up with and a nice cup of tea and if I wasn't also driven to write, then I'd probably spend my days doing just that.

But I do have an urge to write. So, how does being an avid reader help me as a writer? After all, isn't the point of fiction writing to spend time creating your own characters, your own plot lines, and your own worlds? Why do you want to spend valuable writing time hanging around with someone else's work? The answer is simple. To learn. To be inspired. To enjoy and grow as both a reader AND a writer. I'm not for one moment suggesting taking someone else's plot, characters and work and passing it off as your own, or even dabbling in their sandbox without permission, because that's not what original writing is about.

Putting it simply, when you want to draw a fruit bowl or take a certain picture, you'll look at the way other people have drawn them, you'll look at the way they've used lighting and the materials they've used to bring out the best image. You won't just take what they've drawn and write your name at the bottom, but you will, in a way, imitate as you learn to find your own footing in that work. The same can be said about reading and writing. You're not reading and then typing out the work letter by letter, you're reading to give you some idea how you can create a scene in that manner, and the way you can bring about tension without anyone speaking. You're using what you read to help you to find a way to tell your own story in your own way.

For that reason, being an avid reader will only go on to help you write. It will inspire you when you read a scene and think, "I like it, but what if this happened instead, what would that character's reaction be?" or "No, I'd do it like this because this character would be thinking a different thought" or "You can tell from the way they look at each other, the very words the author has used to show how they feel without either of them having to say anything." It will help you grow as a writer, as you find your own footing and move onto your own work. Reading is a great tool and something that all writers should use to help them create in their own way. Who knows, maybe one day it'll be your work that an aspiring writer reads that sparks their own ideas and starts them on the journey to being a writer.

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GUEST BLOGGER: Linda Bolton - My Writing Journey

LINDA BOLTON - GUEST BLOG POST

Meet Linda, a contemporary romance writer. She's joining Joey today to talk about her writing journey. Read ahead to see what she has to say!

Joey, Thank you so much for having me on your blog.

So, you wanted to know how I got started writing. I’m sure I’m about like everyone else - I have been writing in some way for as far back as I can remember. In high school I was on the school literary magazine and wrote poetry with teen angst - typical high schooler. In college, I wrote research papers which caused me to swear off writing until I was in my thirties. Nothing could dissuade a person more from writing than having to write about topics that are dull.

In my mid-thirties, I adopted an eleven year old girl from CPS when I lived in Georgia.  I started journalling my experiences with her and decided to write a book on adopting older children. There are so many children here in the US that end up aging-out of the system because families are afraid to adopt older kids. 

Life got me side-tracked and the book was put on hold. Twelve years ticked by and one evening I started writing Take 2, my first contemporary romance. I truly enjoyed writing. I suddenly noticed that everything around me gave me ideas for books - my friends, my day job, celebrities. The ideas are never-ending. I’ll eventually finish the adoption story, it is a priority, but until then... Incantation, my second novel,will be out in the late spring and Take 2 is available in ebook and paperback. 

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The Keyboard Is On Fire: Entering The "Zone" - The Creative Process

The Keyboard Is On Fire: Entering The "Zone"

I have a sign on my office door, a list of rules for people who have any kind of relationship with a writer. It has a list of ten rules and number five is: "Leave a writer alone when the writer is actually writing. You have no idea how difficult it is to enter the zone." It's true, we writers have a thing called the "zone" and once you go in there, God help anyone who pulls you out of it.

I mean, it's okay if it's an emergency like the house is on fire or someone fell down the stairs and broke their leg and needs medical attention. That's important stuff and it's fine to disturb the writer with them. But if we're talking about a phone call that isn't important or a certain nine year old who is desperate to know if she can have an extra five minutes on her computer? Nope, do not disturb me, I am in the zone and my keyboard is on fire. I will put whoever it is in my book and kill them off, or shout a lot, whichever works at the time.

Still, there are things that need attention, like certain nine year olds who have to be at Cubs at a certain time, or expect to be picked up from school (the entitlement of kids these days!) and for those reasons, it seems only fair that I should be disturbed because no one else drives and hey, these things have been planned already. It sucks when I'm at a point where I really don't want to stop because if I do, I'm afraid that my muse will bugger off and stop speaking to me. Usually though, I don't have a choice so I have to suck it up and break my concentration.

I don't know how to explain the zone to you, which is weird considering I usually have too much purple prose that my editor takes care of. However, it's this magical place where writer's get to go when they've beaten down the writer's block, locked the door, threatened fictional death to all who enter and have finally written something. It's full of characters and plot twists, new information and puzzle pieces that allow you to join one event to another without having to think about it for three days and worry yourself that you'll never make the connection. It's like a fantasy land for writer's, only instead of waterfalls and unicorns, it has words. Lots and lots of words running around free and you, as the writer, are able to catch them and make them stick to your page.

Basically, it's writer nirvana and once you get inside, you don't want to ever have to come out. Except, you do. This is real life and real life has responsibilities that mean you can't just sit and skip through the forest with the free range words, you have to do things like wash up, make food and ferry around children from place to place. Leaving the zone is awful, you feel like if you could just have one more minute, a second even, then you'd finally get to the point with your story when you'd never have to worry about writer's block again. You may even find the perfect ending!

Leaving the zone is like crashing back down to earth from a great height. It sucks and then you spend the next forty minutes next time you sit down to write trying to find the perfect sequence of events that lets you enter it again. You sit and groan as you struggle to find the right word and you try your hardest to just get the zone to open its doors so that you could have just a little, tiny peek inside. It's addictive too, it's like your own personal high as you rush around and pluck the words out of the zone and paste them onto the page and then when you leave, all you can think about is the next time you can enter the zone again.

So, when you're wondering why the writer in your life is happily typing away one minute and then snarling at you when you interrupt them the next, remember this post. The zone is highly sought after and so rarely achieved for some writers. For others it seems to be their permanent residence, and those are people I envy a lot. Personally, it takes a lot of tea to bribe entry into my office when I'm typing, especially when I haven't even acknowledged the request for tea in the first place. If that ever happens, you'll know I'm in the zone and John Barrowman could stride into my office naked and I probably wouldn't even look up.

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