17 April 2021

Choices and Changes


  

The other day, in a rare fit of office-cleaning, I found an old box of magazines containing my earliest published short stories--this was back in the mid- to late 1990s. Most of those stories, believe it or not, I still like. A few of them, not so much. The point is, the more I sorted through those publications, the more I thought about writing-related things I used to do that I don't do now, and vice versa.

Not that it matters, here are ten things that I noticed and/or remembered:


1. My stories used to be shorter. There were some long ones, too--one of my earliest, a 10,000-word story called "Midnight," remains one of my favorites--but a lot of my stories back then were between maybe 1000 and 4000 words. I've found that most of them now run between 3000 and 8000 or so, and I suspect one reason is that my recent plots seem a little more involved and complex than they used to be.

2. I rarely used first-person POV. I'm not sure why I didn't, because I'm fairly pleased with the way those few first-person stories turned out--but the fact is, for most of my early stories I used either (1) third-person limited (which is, admittedly, almost the same as first-person), (2) third-person multiple (especially when that was needed to build suspense), or, less often, (3) third-person detached (if I didn't want to get into any one person's thoughts, maybe for a surprise ending). These days I probably still use third more than first, but I do write a lot of first-person stories now, and I've found I enjoy it.

3. I didn't write "series" stories. At least not until after I'd been spinning tales for five or six years. I now write seven different series (which include more than 200 stories so far), and I've found them to be both fun and profitable. I still write far more standalones than series installments, but I think it's convenient to always have the possibility of using some well-known (at least to me) characters and settings, if they fit.

4. I wrote stories with no market in mind and only then tried to find places to submit them. Now I find myself writing more stories targeted for particular markets. This is something I think most writers do, as time passes and as they acquire more writing experience. And this kind of tailored writing doesn't make the stories any less fun to create.

5. I didn't write many stories for anthologies. Back then it was mostly magazines. One reason I write a lot for anthologies now is that I've been fortunate enough to get more antho invitations these past few years, and another is that I believe there are just more of those antho markets out there than before.

6. My settings were rarely "local." I wrote more stories set in other states or countries or far-flung fictional locations. Now, a bigger percentage of my stores are set here in the southeastern U.S. Again, I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because I now write a lot of series stories, most of which have southern settings, maybe it's because I don't travel the world the way I used to, and maybe it's because I'm now too lazy to want to do a lot of research. Speaking of research, I almost never wrote historical mysteries or period pieces in my early publishing years, but I now find that I enjoy writing those as well. 

7. I used way too many semicolons. Sometimes one or more per page, and for fiction that might be too many. I don't think I used any that were grammatically incorrect, but they just popped up too often. These days I try not to use semicolons unless I think they're perfect for what's being written, and even then it's hard to find them in the toolbox. I now substitute more dashes and periods.

8. I submitted my stories very soon after finishing them--something I always told my writing students not to do. These days I try to let those completed stories sit there and cool off for a few days or maybe even weeks, and by doing so I hope I've given myself time to catch a few more errors that I would've otherwise missed. (I sometimes wonder, though, if that helps. I've found (too late) several mistakes in some of my recently published stories, mostly typos or inconsistency errors, that even managed to get past the editors and into print. But I try hard to avoid those careless mistakes.)

9. I wrote more twist-ending stories. I still like plot reversals in a story, whether at the end or in the middle, or both. But it doesn't bother me anymore if I don't include a "grabber" right at the very end.

10. I never typed stories straight into the computer. When I first started writing for publication--I used a PC then, but it was an early version, and huge--I always wrote my stories first in longhand and only later transcribed them into files on a diskette or my hard drive (a process that I sometimes called a second draft). Now I just type them in and rewrite onscreen, and when they're finished I submit them electronically. I seldom print copies of my stories at all anymore.


NOTE: I've noticed that some things about my writing have NOT changed. I still create more mystery/crime stories than anything else, I never use a pseudonym, I never write in present tense, I usually start with the plot, I try to put at least some humor into every story, I use a mix of real and fictional locations for my settings, I map my stories out in my head before I start writing, and I seldom "edit as I go"--I write a fast first draft instead and then go back and rewrite. And so forth.


The question is, do these things that I do differently mean I've learned something--or anything--about writing over the past 25 years? Have I gotten better at it? I honestly don't know. All it might mean is that I now just do some things differently. What about you? Is your process and content noticeably different now, from when you began? If so, how?


Oh. Almost forgot. The main thing that's stayed the same: I love fiction writing, absolutely love it, and I suspect I always will.


Thanks for reading my stories.



22 comments:

  1. Thank you for writing the stories, John! As for how my own writing has changed, in my writing a flash fiction piece every week I think the writing has become better and sometimes easier (not always!) I know I'm a lot more confident now, and my biggest flaw my lack of motivation and lack of discipline has cleared up a lot!

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    1. Jeff, I so admire you for writing a flash story every week. And I know what you mean about "easier but not always."

      The main thing is that you're more confident now, because that shows in the final result. As for lack of discipline, show me someone who doesn't suffer that.

      Keep up the good work. It was a lucky day for me when we met, years ago. Cleveland, right?--or was it Indianapolis? I can't keep my Bouchercons straight. Take care!

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  2. An interesting look back at your origins. What? No phone booth to turn into Super John? Phone booth. Ha. It's all hard work.

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    1. O'Neil, the only folks who thought I had superpowers were my grandkids, because I told them so. Now the youngest is five, though, so none of them believe it anymore.

      Yep, a lot of this seems easy at times, as Jeff said, but most of it truly is hard. It's the kind of work that's enjoyable, but still takes time and effort. My only regret is that I didn't start writing as a kid, as most of you did.

      Thanks as always!

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  3. Well, this is pretty "duh" obvious, John, but the biggest change I've noticed in my own writing over the last 50+ years is that I've gotten better at it, and that perception of mine is borne out by my ratio of acceptances to rejections. When I started out, I would sell perhaps one out of every ten stories I wrote, while now it's rare that a story of mine goes unsold. (It doesn't necessarily sell to the first place I send it, but it'll usually sell to the second or third....)

    The other big difference for me is that, unlike you, my stories have gotten noticeably shorter. I'm not sure if it's that I have less time for writing, or less patience, or that my mind is beginning to go and I just can't focus long enough to write a longer story. I'd like to think it's that I'm following Elmore Leonard's advice and leaving out the parts readers would skip, but that may just be wishful thinking....

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  4. John, I have no trouble believing your talent sprang full blown from the brow of Zeus, but I've definitely gotten MUCH better at it and humbly hope I will continue to improve. One of the main arguments for e-editions vs print is that e is editable!

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  5. Josh, I don't know what the percentage is, or was, for my sales vs. rejections, but--like you--I thankfully have gotten more successful in my marketing of stories. And it is indeed rare that one of my stories goes unsold for very long, although--again, as you said--it might not be to the first market it was submitted to.

    Maybe one reason my stories have gotten longer is that I'm retired now and have more time for writing--I never thought of it that way. I certainly doubt I have more patience, or more ability to focus.

    As for Elmore Leonard, I've read all his novels and have lately been re-reading his short stories (I have several collections of them). I love 'em. And yes, all of us could do well to follow some of his rules.

    Thanks for the thoughts, Josh. Keep writing!

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  6. Liz, I only just saw your note.

    GOOD POINT, about e-editions! I found myself wishing, while looking back over those first stories of mine, that I could have another swing at some of those. We do have that, of course, when we sell reprints--I've often reworked an old story, sold it again, and mentioned in the cover letter that "a modified version of this story first appeared in . . ." But yes, instant editing is certainly an advantage of the e-editions.

    I agree wholeheartedly that you're an even better writer now than you used to be. Take care, thank you for commenting, and keep me updated!

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  7. How interesting, to look back. I lost most of my early stories in a move, but from memory, I would say that probably I would find them overwrought now, just a little too exaggerated compared to how I write today (with more subtlety.) Now I'm anxious to see if I can find any of the old works! Thanks for the inspiration, John.

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    1. Hey Melodie. Overwrought is a good word, for what we're talking about. I too like to believe I write with a little more subtlety than I did at first.

      It's surprising how many of the markets back then have folded. I had some stories in the late 90s in AHMM, Strand, WW, etc., but so many of the mystery markets I sold to--Murderous Intent, Red Herring Mystery Magazine, Orchard Press Mysteries, Mystery Time, Just a Moment, Detective Mystery Stories, etc.--are no longer around. Then again, we have some new ones now, too.

      Thank you as always! Have a great weekend.

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  8. John, it's always fun following how your mind works. Guess I've long enjoyed trying to figure out how and why other people think the way they do. It's a habit that stood me well in my other occupation and is something I try to carry over into my stories.

    Keep on writin', bud.

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  9. I loved getting a view of your early writing efforts. It sounds like you began knowing how to construct a story; it was all natural for you. I have few stories from my early years, which is probably a good thing. Over the years I've certainly learned a lot and continue to learn from writing and reading others, yours especially.

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  10. Ha! RT, it's scary to follow how my mind works. Even for me.

    I too enjoy finding out more about the process my fellow writers use--and I often try to profit from it. Some things that they do I try out and find that I like them and use them from now on, but other things I've tried and found they just don't work for me: things like present-tense writing, second-person POV, seat-of-the-pants plotting, editing as you go, etc. Another thing I haven't been able to use is the practice of writing a story in both first-person and third, and alternating between the two, scene by scene. I've seen it done often in novels and even in a few shorts, and I'm just never confident that would work for me.

    The thing is, no matter how long we've done this, we can always learn from others, and I hope I never stop trying to do that.

    Thanks for note, old friend!

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  11. Thank you Susan, for your comment. I'm not sure much of this was/is natural to me, either now or early on, but I do think I've learned a lot more about how to do it (and constructing a story is one of those things) by writing more and more stories and--as we've mentioned--also reading a lot of stories and seeing how others handle some of these ways and methods of writing. I once heard someone say the two things you MUST do to be a good writer is write a lot AND read a lot--and I believe that.

    As always, I appreciate your stopping in here, with your thoughts. Take care!

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  12. Enjoyed the column as always, John. I found it particularly interesting that you were slow to come to series characters, because I'm just now starting to toy with a couple myself. Out of curiosity, was this a natural transition, or did editors start asking for more of certain characters?

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    1. It was a little of both, Joe. For several of those series, I just found that it was fun telling a story through the eyes of a particular character, and realized there could be a lot of future stories that character would "fit." (One was a rural sheriff whose lawyer girlfriend liked to help him solve crimes, one was a woman who owned and ran a voodoo shop in New Orleans, another was a private investigator in the Old West, etc.) But a couple of the series that were more lighthearted started getting the attention of readers who wrote to the editors asking for more (one of those great boosts that doesn't always happen), so the editors started asking me for more, and that's what drove to me to keep writing those. I've now sold 60 stories in one of those series and 170 in another. So the series stories have been good to me--I hope they work out well for you! Let me know if there's ever anything I can help out with, on that front.

      Thanks for the comment!

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  13. Years ago I thought I'd try writing a novel. I started one & it went from bad to worse, so I erased the hard drive it resided on & threw it in the trash. I mostly write flash fiction now, or short stories.

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    1. Elizabeth, sounds as if you figured out early what you like to write! I've written three novels, all of them unsold, and--like you--my true love is the shorts.

      Thanks for the thoughts!

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  14. Interesting column, John. My stories used to be much shorter. I remember early on writing a story for an anthology with a 3,000-word minimum, and I couldn't imagine how I'd write something so long. My characters weren't that complex back then, my voice not as well developed, and my writing was pretty spare, especially in regard to setting. But one thing hasn't changed, I still edit as I go. I'm too linear not to.

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    1. Barb, I too write longer stories now, for many reasons, but I envy you the practice of editing as you go. I like to get the whole thing out there on paper (or in 1s and 0s on the computer) and only then go back and edit/rewrite. Different strokes for different swimmers, right?

      Take care, and thanks!

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  15. John, your quality and output prove the soundness of your process improvements. You are our hero! Fascinating to read how your approach has changed over the years. I particularly like the shrug about hooks. Sometimes, inevitability and insight works fine on their own.

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    1. Thank you, Bob! One of the things that surprised me the most was the fact that a lot of things that I do in my writing (for better or worse) have NOT changed over the years. I hope the things that have changed are the ones that should've. As for the endings, I confess I still have a weakness for twist endings--when they're done well I love 'em--but I'm also thankful that I don't seem to depend on them the way I used to.

      Thanks as always for chiming in, here. And good luck, once again, with the Derringers!

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