There are several reasons for my post today. One was the release of a new crime anthology this past Tuesday; the second was a SleuthSayers column about that anthology posted the same day by my fellow SleuthSayer Barb Goffman; and the third was my belief that it's never a bad idea for a writer to copy Barb Goffman.
The anthology is Wish Upon a Crime: Crime Fiction Inspired by Fairy Tales, edited by Michael Bracken and Stacy Woodson, and my story in the anthology is "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." I might point out that the title of today's post is different from the title of my story--but hold on: it does name four of the characters in my story. Goldie Johnson Locke is a competent but bored police officer in a small town in south Alabama, and the three Barretts (Grennen, Sugar, and Teddy) are fairly new residents of the town. But there's been some suspicious activity at the Barrett home, and Goldie is asked by a colleague (who is also the Barretts' next-door neighbor) to unofficially investigate it. This turns out to be less than wise in terms of safety to Goldie's body and her job, but it does lead to a bit of mystery and fun and suspense (I hope) for the reader.
I should also mention that the other three active characters in this story have, alas, names that are also a little odd, though more normal than those of Goldie and the Barrett family. One is Goldie's partner, Officer Joe Bob Finkter; the second is one of her friends at the police station, file clerk Precious Everett; and the third is the police chief, the stonefaced Captain Stonecipher. (I used to work at IBM with a Doug Stonecipher--a truly nice guy--and I've been intending for years to use his cool last name in one of my stories.)
A lot of the fun in writing this goofy story came from the fact that it is goofy, and also from the theme of the anthology--fairy tales are great sources of inspiration. I also enjoyed the process of working the main points of the classic Goldilocks tale directly into the plot, while also putting together a fair-play mystery about what possible illegal activity these three Barretts are up to. I've often said, about several of my favorite novels--The Stand, Pillars of the Earth, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lonesome Dove--that I hated to read the final page because I loved the characters and wanted the story to go on and on--and while I don't mean to compare my writing to that of those novels, I did wind up feeling the same way when I wrote the final page of this story. I didn't want to stop. If you read it, I hope you'll get half as much pleasure out of it as I did.
I suspect that many of the contributors to Wish Upon a Crime had the same feelings as I had, when writing their stories. This stuff can be fun. I look forward to reading the whole book.
Now, since I seldom write a SleuthSayers post without asking a question or two, here are today's:
To those of you who have written for anthologies . . . what are some of the themes that you found to be the most fun, and maybe the most challenging? Do you find that writing to those themes is easier than writing a story from your own idea(s)?
Personally, I've had a change of heart, on that final question. I used to always prefer to come up with my own ideas for my stories, and found it hard to do otherwise. The change in my way of thinking happened several years ago, when the aforementioned Barb Goffman edited a Wildside Press anthology about time travel, called (appropriately) Crime Travel. I had such a good time coming up with and writing my story for that book, I found myself looking forward to the occasional invitation to contribute to, or just to submit to, a themed anthology. I won't name them now, but there are several of those scheduled to be published soon that I greatly enjoyed writing for, and that I'm sure I'll enjoy reading.
So, one more time: Do you share my enthusiasm for writing for themed anthologies, or would you rather stick to stories that don't come from such specific outside inspiration?
Whatever the case, keep writing, and have a great June! I'll be back here on the 20th.
I like both. Michael Bracken's "Janie's Got a Gun Anthology" gave me a chance to write a ghost story set in prison. Huzzah! But I've come up with all the Crow Woman stories independently. There's a lot of fun in both!
ReplyDeleteI do too, Eve.
DeleteI remember that Janie story of yours! That anthology was a good one--I think my story in there got more feedback from readers than any I'd written in a long time. (As for Crow Woman, keep writing those!)
John, I just plunked down my virtual money for Wish Upon A Crime. I can't remember when I last looked forward so much to reading an anthology in which I didn't have a story. The anthology I loved contributing to the most was Jewish Noir II, edited by Ken Wishnia and Chantelle Aimée Osman. "The Cost of Something Priceless" is a terrific story that (unusually for me) got a helluva pro edit, three rounds, from Ken and Chantelle, and also a boost from my sometime crit partner Bill McCormick. You'll remember you and I first met when you accepted my story, "Death Will Trim Your Tree," for The Gift of Murder without changing so much as a comma, bless you. The anthology I least liked writing to theme for was our own SleuthSayers anthology, Murder, Neat, about bars and drinking. But I did have fun going back in time to a cool, cool village in the South of France when I was too young to find drinking too much anything but funny—until the murder.
ReplyDeleteLiz, "Trim Your Tree" was a neat story--I still remember that one--and I was lucky to get it for the anthology. (Whoa, that was a long time ago!) And I too had a hard time coming up with an idea for a story for the Murder, Neat anthology, but when I did I truly enjoyed writing it. It had a giant plot twist right in the middle, and I love that kind of thing.
DeleteSure hope you'll like Wish Upon a Crime--and especially hope you'll like my story. Let me know!
It's ironic that you set your story in South Alabama, since I'm from there, originally. When I'd submit to anthologies, the only challenge for me wasn't necessarily writing to a themeso much as making sure it fit a short story. That being said, the novelettes and novelettes I've been writing offered more freedom. Although I embraced a rewrite suggestion for a possible anthology that allowed me to bring certain intentions to fruition in a way I didn't expect.
ReplyDeleteHey, if those stories written for the purpose of anthology submission happen to turn into novelettes, Justin, I guess it's not necessarily a bad thing. Maybe you can then sell them elsewhere.
DeleteThe big problem seems to be that, like it or not, novelettes and novellas just aren't as easily marketable as either shorts or novels. But at least they're not the no-man's-land that they once were, before electronic publications came along.
Thanks as always for your thoughts!
I enjoy both writing to a theme 9though my record there is only so - so) and writing where my mind takes me. But my happiest times are when a themed anthology call comes up and I have a previously written story that fits the theme. That has worked out pretty well for me. (Maybe I'm psychic and am reading the mind of editors??)
ReplyDeleteHey, that's a talent I wish I had!
DeleteYes, I understand that situation--it's happened to me too. (And sometimes your story turns out to be a perfect match.) It just doesn't happen often enough!
I don't favor writing toward a theme versus coming up with my own ideas out of nowhere. I do prefer writing fun and funny stories over serious ones. Some of the stories I loved writing were ”Bug Appetit" and "Dear Emily Etiquette" because I love making others (and myself) laugh and I love writing the precise moments I anticipate will inspire laughter. I have another story coming out later this year that falls into this same category: "Into the Woods " in the anthology Hooked on Urban Legends--and Murder. I had such fun writing that one. And thank you for the shout-outs, John. It is always a pleasure to work with you and to read your work.
ReplyDeleteBarb, I loved those two stores of yours, and I look forward to reading the one you mentioned that's upcoming.
DeleteYES, I agree that the fun and funny stories are far more enjoyable to write than our typical mystery stories. In my opinion, injecting at least some humor into almost ANY story makes it more fun to write AND to read.
I haven't been invited to contribute to a themed anthology yet, but many of my stories started out as responses to the prompts given by my writing group. I find it fun to both come up with my own ideas and build off of a prompt.
ReplyDelete