tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post1894997538355748260..comments2024-03-28T15:01:21.285-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: First Thoughts about Writing a StoryLeigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-57291788568360638742020-04-11T20:56:42.704-04:002020-04-11T20:56:42.704-04:00Well, Susan O, I think I might have also thought o...Well, Susan O, I think I might have also thought of a key element a few times (it's hard to remember what sparts each story, especially years later). The one I remember most clearly was after leaving a writer's group meeting, all jazzed up, driving down a narrow street in the dark and suddenly seeing a jogger. And I thought, oh, what is someone hit him? And put him in the trunk. I was off and running (pun intended). That's how "Why I Quit Jogging," still up on Mysterious-E, was born. But come to think of it, I really did start with a character thart time, too. Thanks for joining us!Jan Christensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02027877440748580764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-18467669477131383762020-04-11T20:49:26.694-04:002020-04-11T20:49:26.694-04:00Hi, John Lindermuth! Grea to see you here. Yes, ca...Hi, John Lindermuth! Grea to see you here. Yes, can't work without those character lists! And happy to know you use them, too.Jan Christensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02027877440748580764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-29184974408373970642020-04-11T20:46:59.192-04:002020-04-11T20:46:59.192-04:00Hi, Jacquie--yes indeed, and as I just said to Joh...Hi, Jacquie--yes indeed, and as I just said to John. Whatever works. Thanks for commenting.Jan Christensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02027877440748580764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-42496938097139710292020-04-11T20:45:18.749-04:002020-04-11T20:45:18.749-04:00Hi, John, and thanks for joining us. I can usually...Hi, John, and thanks for joining us. I can usually get to about a quarter of the way through a story without much trouble. But then I generally have to make conscious decisions. I've found that taking a walk helps me do that. It's better than staring at the screen, for sure. Obviously what we're both doing is getting the job done most of the time. And that's all that matters.Jan Christensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02027877440748580764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-55834987961344415382020-04-11T20:40:39.275-04:002020-04-11T20:40:39.275-04:00Hi Melodie. It's great that works for you. I&#...Hi Melodie. It's great that works for you. I'm a bit slower. I just know that usually, I need a character first, not the plot like so many others do. I also often have the setting next, then I figure out the rest. Thanks for commenting.Jan Christensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02027877440748580764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-71315995287766875142020-04-11T18:50:27.125-04:002020-04-11T18:50:27.125-04:00Eve, one of the main reasons I decided early on to...Eve, one of the main reasons I decided early on to write mysteries is because I found it easier to plot with a major crime at the center of each piece. So, thinking about this further, I'd say I usually think of a character (and probably their occupation), then setting--where they are when everything starts, and then some crime being committed, leading to plot. That all has just evolved as I've written more and more. I also make these decisions quickly. Maybe if you pull a few of those unfinished stories up and fixate on a crime that could be committed, you could finish some. Or not. Just a suggestion.Jan Christensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02027877440748580764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-15644183058131792142020-04-11T18:40:30.674-04:002020-04-11T18:40:30.674-04:00RT, that's interesting about your starting wit...RT, that's interesting about your starting with scene. I do the same thing you do with story starts. If I come up with something I think will make a good start, I imediately gie it a title, which I often change later, set it up into a Word doc and put it into a folder marked Short Stories Unfinished. I have another folder for novels, of course, and I jusr slip the much fewer unfinished ones into that. How many story starts do you have? I've never counted mine, butI plan to now. When I have time. Jan Christensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02027877440748580764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-28717110019988570142020-04-11T18:34:06.809-04:002020-04-11T18:34:06.809-04:00O'Neil, I'd be confused, too! Hey, whateve...O'Neil, I'd be confused, too! Hey, whatever works. Don't mess with it. I'm halfway ambidextrous because I swing a golf club and a baseball bat with my left arm and do most everything else with my right. And I can bowl with either. My mother was forced to give up her left-handedness in grammar school, so I probably got what I got partly from her. Keep on writing!Jan Christensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02027877440748580764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-84827764990142593382020-04-11T15:16:52.700-04:002020-04-11T15:16:52.700-04:00I'm impressed that you have such a clear under...I'm impressed that you have such a clear understanding of your process. Every time I think I understand how I do something, I write it out and it makes no sense to me. I don't outline but I need a sense of where I'm going even if I have no idea how I'm going to get there. A key element seems to get me started, such as a motive for a crime or a particular twist, but the rest is a discovery for me.Susan Oleksiwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02693057997469296068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-25198261920311872702020-04-11T14:35:57.709-04:002020-04-11T14:35:57.709-04:00Always interesting to see how another person devel...Always interesting to see how another person develops a story. I can't imagine how anyone who doesn't read can be a writer. Like you, Jan, I do the character lists. I feel they help bring the character alive and they me on focus with their individual quirks.jrlindermuthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09204855909246670628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-13402016085344910792020-04-11T13:31:03.607-04:002020-04-11T13:31:03.607-04:00Hi Jan,
I loved reading about your process. Most ...Hi Jan,<br /><br />I loved reading about your process. Most of the time I start with the characters but I do a rough outline of the plot before I start to write the initial draft. Hey, whatever works!Jacqueline Seewaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09177500620940251009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-12011220362055052032020-04-11T13:07:15.952-04:002020-04-11T13:07:15.952-04:00This is great, Jan! An in-depth look at the proce...This is great, Jan! An in-depth look at the process you use. I always find it interesting to learn not only what seems to work for writers in general, but what seems to work for particular stories--and sometimes it's not the same. Sounds like the only thing you and I really do a LOT differently is the outline vs. no-outline thing. I have to outline, at least in my head, before I start. I have to have that structure in place, in my mind, first--If I didn't, I'd never get anything worthwhile done. I admire those of you who don't have to restrict themselves that way.<br /><br />Again, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Thanks!John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-65391380985594041692020-04-11T12:52:23.071-04:002020-04-11T12:52:23.071-04:00For me, to say what comes first, character or plot...For me, to say what comes first, character or plot, is too simplistic. I can't separate them. If a novel is a character with a problem or goal and obstacles to that goal which are resolved by the end, then I need both the character and the problem! That said, I did come up with a mob goddaughter first, and then happily set about thinking what messed up crimes she could get into. Melodie Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07870938103759179132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-91398807534825751402020-04-11T12:36:07.745-04:002020-04-11T12:36:07.745-04:00Jan, 90% of the time I start with a character (or ...Jan, 90% of the time I start with a character (or characters) and a scene. Of that, 70% of the time I have no plot. So when one fizzles out (and they do, more often than I'd like to admit), I put it into a file like R.T.'s, but I just call it "Ideas" that I dive into whenever I'm in between jobs.<br />Thanks for the post!Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-51943028032038087542020-04-11T11:38:40.933-04:002020-04-11T11:38:40.933-04:00Jan, I usually start with a scene in my head where...Jan, I usually start with a scene in my head where some character has an unusual problem and then write that part down. Sometimes I know where it is going, but more often than not, that piece goes into a file called Story Starts. That way, on any given day, I can pick a Story Start that really interests me and write on that one. Like you, I see/hear/feel the story scenes from inside the character's head.<br /><br />Nice article. It always helps to be reminded about some parts of the writing craft.R.T. Lawtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15523486296396710227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-26433370346900967422020-04-11T08:04:39.679-04:002020-04-11T08:04:39.679-04:00Good posting.
I'm ambidextrous. Sometimes I st...Good posting.<br />I'm ambidextrous. Sometimes I start with a plot, sometimes a character, sometimes a title, sometimes an ending where I hand the ball to a character and see how he or she gets to the ending. Now I'm confused. How to I write these things?O'Neil De Nouxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03142721824657611738noreply@blogger.com