A FLY ON THE WALL

THE ALGONQUIN ROUND TABLE

From a writer’s perspective, let me talk to you about feeling like an outsider.

Last Saturday, I attended the San Diego Writer’s Festival. Although there were several talks and booths to explore, I only attended three panels. Two of them were about mystery writing and one about historical fiction. Since I write both, they were the only subjects that interested me.

The second mystery panel was moderated by a thriller author, Matt Coyle. I met Matt several years ago when he came into the bookstore where I worked and handed me his debut novel and asked me to try it out. Since then, I went on to introduce him at a few of his signings and we always go out of our way to greet each other when we meet.

Because of my bookselling job, I’ve met many well known authors and have grown to know some of them on a first name basis. Luis Alberto Urrea is one of the sweetest guys that I’ve ever met and I love everything he puts his pen to. Jonathan Maberry is the kind of writer who believes in paying it forward and he’s a mentor and cheerleader to so many of us struggling beginners. Both, and Matt included, have always treated me like a member of the writing tribe. Whenever I speak to one of them, they go out of their way to ask about my writing as well.

And yet, I still feel like an outsider.

Maybe it’s because I came to the professional writing gig late in life. Or, maybe it’s because, all though I’ve written three novels and have an agent with a prestigious literary agency, I’ve only sold short stories to a few anthologies and won a couple of writing contests. Whatever the reason, when I’m around these wonderfully accepting people, I still feel like I’m an outsider.

It’s getting better though.

Over the past 12 years, my writing skills have developed to the point where I’m pretty proud of the stuff I put down on the page. And, I’ve read all of the stories about other authors that toiled for just as long or more before they had their first book sale. There are no overnight sensations. So, I’m gaining confidence. I push myself to talk to other writers at gatherings. I try not to be a fly on the wall, watching but not participating. And, if you’re like me, I encourage you to do the same. Because, I’ll tell you the secret that I learned by being around all of those great authors- they have the same doubts as we do.

Oh, and the photo above, that’s the Algonquin Round Table. It was a salon of writers, critics and actors that included such personalities as Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, Harold Ross, Robert Sherwood, Noel Coward, Harpo Marx, Tallulah Bankhead, and many more. 12 Years ago, I could never envision sitting at a table with them. Now, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Of course, they’re all dead. So, that’s easy to state. Anyway, you get the point.

Thanks for reading. Please leave a comment below. A writer likes to know that his words are at least hitting one pair of eyes.

WHAT ABOUT BOOK REVIEWS?

Books live and die by them. Authors both love and hate them. Yes, we’re talking about the book review. A review is simply when a writer or reader decides to praise or pan a book based on their subjective opinion of what they read. And that’s what it is, an opinion. And as my dad always colorfully stated it, “Opinons are like ass*****, everybody has one”.

Being a bookseller as well as a writer, I write reviews. I have a Twitter account just for reviews (@mini_bookreview). Although, I’m woefully behind on posting reviews there. Writing has been taking a front seat this year. Still, I do use that Twitter account to re-tweet other authors, publishers, and bookstores. Occasionally, I’ll have a short review posted in the bookseller review space in the San Diego Union Tribune newspaper.

Unlike some book reviewers, I don’t post bad reviews. As I mentioned at the start, a review is an opinion. Granted, it may be a learned opinion, but an opinion none the less. As such, I refuse to trash a writer’s work just because it didn’t fit my needs or expectations. There are too many good books to say good things about. So, I stay on the positive side. When I post a review, I tag the author as well as their publisher.

Now, remember, I’m a writer as well. So, I long to get a good review on what i’ve written. Don’t believe any author that says a bad review doesn’t affect them. Unless you’re an AI program, you care about what readers think about what you’ve written. Since I’ve only published two short stories in anthologies, my exposure to reviews is limited. Thankfully, I have not received a bad review. However, I’m sure when my novel finally gets published, there will be folks who don’t like it. They might not like it enough that they’ll even take time to write a bad review. It’s part of the game.

What I can’t abide are two types of reviews:

• THE HATCHET JOB REVIEW: This is the type of review where a person goes after an author simply because they don’t like them or what they’re writing about. Often, you can tell they haven’t even read the whole book. They’re just pissed at the world and want to take it out on a writer. You’ll often find them lurking in the shadows of Amazon or it’s subsidiary, Goodreads. They’ll toss out a 1 star review and state they wish that they could give it a negative 4 stars. Take these reviews with a grain of salt.

• THE MAMA REVIEW: This is the type of review that you would expect one’s mother to write. It has nothing to say except that the writing is the best thing out there and everyone should buy one for themselves and all of their friends and relatives. I dislike this kind of review because I can’t trust it. If the reviewer has the same last name as the author, beware. I get it. Everyone wants to help out their friend or family member get good reviews. But, if you’re not being honest, the reader that takes your advice and finds it was a whitewash, they’re going to be pissed at you and the writer. So much for more sales.

Listen, their are two important things that you can do for an author. First, buy their book. That’s right. Don’t ask them for a comp copy unless you’re a professional reviewer. Most writers are doing it for money. Yeah, we love the writing. However, we all want to get paid. The easiest and least expensive thing that you can do for a writer is to read their book and post a well-reasoned and honest review. It will make the writer believe that they’ve not wasted their time and it might get them some extra sales. And like I mentioned above, tag their publisher in the review as well. If their self-published, hashtag the genre in which they write.

So, please take the time to give writers some feedback. It means a lot. However, like your mama said, “If you can’t say something good about someone, keep your mouth shut.

Thanks for reading.

VIOLENCE OR "LIVE AND LET DIE"

When you write a mystery, the portrayal of violence is a given. How that violence is portrayed determines what kind of mystery you’re writing. Most of my favorite mysteries have fallen more towards the Cozy side. In such, the violence is discrete and easily covered up by the nearest sheet or oriental carpet. Agatha Christie was the Queen of the Cozy. Even modern writers like Louise Penny tend to keep the gore to a minimum.

That’s not to say I don’t like a gritty mystery/thriller. I enjoy Don Winslow, Carl Hiaasen, Elmore Leonard, and even the craziness of Tim Dorsey. I’ve read Thomas Harris and am amazed how he can even make Hannibal Lechter accessible as a human being.

Currently, I’m toeing the line between a Cozy and a Thriller. Since it involves smuggling in modern Florida, there’s bound to be violence of some sort. And yet, I find myself hesitating to step over the killing line. The people involved are seriously corrupt. However, are they corrupt enough to kill? I guess that depends on the motive. At this point, I only see them killing in self defense. Still, at least two of the minor characters are capable of killing without provocation. They’ve already threatened a kid’s life.

There’s a scene coming up where things are about to blow apart. I’m curious to see how each character reacts. They’ve thrown me some surprises so far. There are some hinted at background stories that I am just starting to explore. That’s one of the most pleasurable things about writing for me. I love watching the story play out in the theater of my mind.

I’ll let you know how it turns out later.

In the meantime, what are your thoughts on violence in books? Is there such a thing as too much? Where do you draw the line. If you’re a writer, tell me how you handle the subject.

As always, thanks for reading.

WRITER'S BLOCK (DOES IT EXIST?)

I’ll put it right out there. For me, there’s no such things as writer’s block. I’m never at a loss for ideas or projects. There’s not a minute in the day that I don’t wish I could be making stuff up.

There are, however, lots of things that get in the way of my writing.

• WORK - I work in a bookstore. Very few writers actually make a living as a writer. With a 50 minute commute both ways to work and 9 hours there, that’s 10 hours and 40 minutes that I can’t write. Add onto that the fatigue after working retail, and it’s hard to get motivated to put the butt in the chair.

• PROCRASTINATION - Even though I’m thinking about my stories and characters constantly, I often make up excuses to avoid actually sitting down to do the work. Creating something from nothing isn’t easy. Oh, it’s easy when it’s knocking around in my mind. But translating that into screen time takes discipline.

• LIFE - The world doesn’t stop so that you can sit down and create. There are bills to pay, family to keep in touch with, groceries to buy, meals to cook, etc. Every minute spent on the daily grind of life steals time from writing.

So, those are the three main things that I have to contend with while I try to write. None of them are writer’s block. They’re all just adjustments. I don’t have the magic key to solving them. Instead, I get up each day and try to do better.

The most important thing for a successful writer to do is to not give up. If you didn’t write today, then write tomorrow. If your story got rejected, tighten it up and send it out again. If you don’t know where your story is going, set it aside and work on something new. But above all, don’t stop.

If you keep writing, you’ve done better than 90% of anyone who’s said they want to write. If you don’t write, 100% of the trash that gets published is better than your best intentions. Don’t compare your writing to anyone else. Write what makes you happy. If you keep working on it, there will be a reader for it. Hell, there may even be a market for it as well.

Tell me what you think. Do you believe in writer’s block? What keeps you from writing?

Thanks for reading. Have a great writing week.

-James

ORGANIZING A NOVEL

Since I write Historical Mysteries as well as horror, I belong to the class of fiction writers known as “plotters”. I want to have the framework in place before I let my detective work his way through the puzzle. I know where the beats need to hit and how the structure of the acts follows a classic detective narrative.

Now within that framework, my characters have full license to take me on surprising tangents and often do so without my knowing what they might say or do in a particular situation. So, in that part of the process, I become a bit of a “Pantser” (seat of your pants).

A couple of years ago, had the extreme privilege of spending a couple of hours with the late horror master, Dennis Etchison. Aside from being a little awestruck of being in the presence of a master story teller, it was a an unexpected pleasure to learn that we both received, “The Muse” in a similar way. We both described the experience of watching a movie play out in our minds and working like crazy to record those images on paper.

So, within the bare erector set of my novel, I record a movie that runs across the screen behind my eyes. As such, I’m never quite sure what my characters are going to say or do until it’s done.

I’ve attached a photo that shows a small part of the framework I use. I borrowed a lot of the elements from J.K. Rowling. With it, I’m able to know where each character is at any given time. Along with that paper, I also use Aeon Timeline 2.0 software to maintain a proper chronology. It syncs perfectly with my Scrivener writing program.

Please let me know what works for you in the comments. If you’re in the mood for a free scary story, check out my Southern Gothic Horror, Haunting Annabelle, over on Wattpad https://my.w.tt/YIQ0icvCJY.

Have a great week of writing and thanks for reading.

Time Off For Comic-Con

Last year, I attended my first Comic-Con. Thanks to a short story I published, I was granted a Professional badge. I went all four days, including preview night. At the end, I was exhausted and wondering if I wanted to ever do that craziness again.

This year, I mainly focused on making the most of Comic-Con as a professional. The panels I attended were mostly related to writing. I also allowed myself to relax and try not to do everything. I even took off Friday and didn’t go back on Sunday. As a result, I got more out of my effort this year.

Fiction writing is a lonely art. Most of my time is spent with the characters running around in my head or down some rabbit hole of research. It’s good for the filling of the creative well to get out amongst other creative people. Any time I attend a writers meeting or workshop, I come away reinvigorated and renewed in purpose.

I’m very much the introvert. However, I need to be around other writers from time to time. I need the encouragement and also to the reality check. My advice to all writers is to push yourself to break out of your shell for at least short bursts. Writers need the company of other writers. Only we understand the madness. And to those extroverts among us, please help us out and pull us into the conversation once in a while. We have much to say on the paper. It’s just hard to speak it.

Have a great writing week.