24 November 2012
The Next Big Thing
by John Floyd
16 October 2019
Ten Things I Learned Writing Short Stories
Photo by Michael Fowles |
1. Editors don't reject you. They reject words you have written. So don't take it personally, and try again. I was rejected by Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine 76 times before they bought a story.
2. When in doubt, don't throw it out. If a story doesn't sell does it mean that it stinks? No, it means that on a given day it didn't meet that market's needs. Really. So tuck it away and see what happens.
I wrote a story about a TV actor who kills a rival. All my favorite magazines rejected it. Years later the Mystery Writers of America announced an anthology to be titled Show Business is Murder. "On The Bubble" found a happy home.
3. Flattery and bribery are good for you. I don't mean that you should apply them to your editors, reviewers, or even readers. I am talking about the Miner, which is what I call the part of the brain that comes up with story ideas. (The other creative part of your brain is the Jeweler, which turns the raw material into something pretty and publishable. When an author says "I don't even remember writing it!" that means the Miner did ninety percent of the work.
Most people have trained the Miner to be lazy. How do you that? By ignoring the ideas he offers you. You can flatter him by taking those ideas seriously. Even if you don't have time to start that novel today, write down the concept. Spend five minutes brainstorming the idea. Don't in short, look a gift horse in the mouth.
And how do you bribe the miner? Spend money on him! Buy a writing text, get that new desk chair, go to a writing conference. Convince him that you are taking your writing career (yes, let's use that word) seriously. Who knows? Maybe you'll convince the rest of your brain as well.
(Interesting example: I gave this talk on Saturday. Monday morning I woke up with two new ideas for short stories. The Miner obviously liked the attention.)
4. It's okay to plagiarize. Sometimes. I'm talking about what Lawrence Block called "Creative plagiarism." That's when you take someone else's idea and use it differently.
Many years ago Fletcher Flora wrote a short story called "The Seasons Come, The Seasons Go." It appeared in Ellery Queen in 1966. The plot involved a wealthy man, his useless nephew (who narrated), an attractive young woman, and a plot to kill someone in the family.
The first story I ever sold to Alfred Hitchcock was originally called "My Life as a Ghost," but they changed it to "The Dear Departed." (The only time one of my stories was retitled, so far.) My story involved a wealthy man, his useless nephew (who narrated), an attractive young woman, and a plot to kill a family member. It also featured a similar twist ending.
Stop thief, I hear you cry. But the truth is, my version is completely legitimate. The murder and motive are quite different, and my victim is a person with no parallel in the original. If you read the two in quick succession you would probably have a suspicion about how the second story would end, but that happens all the time. There are only so many possible endings.
5. Self-publishing doesn't work. Unless it does. Since no one seemed to be clamoring to publish a collection of my short stories I did it myself. Shanks on Crime includes 13 stories about mystery writer Leopold Longshanks, most of which had already appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. I hired a professional book designer and produced it both as a paperback and an ebook.
How did I do? I lost a couple of hundred bucks on the deal. Nothing that would keep me from buying dinner or make me lose sleep, so I was fine with it.
Then I received an email from a literary agent asking if I would like to sell the Japanese rights to Tokyo Sogen, the oldest mystery publisher in that country. I said, why sure. The amount they paid me would be less than a rounding error for, say, James Patterson, but it is the most money I have ever made on a piece of writing. And they were so happy with sales that they just published a collection of some of my otherwise uncollected stories later this year.
Would any of that have happened if I hadn't bit the bullet and self-published my book? Nope.
6. Mash-ups are delicious. In computing a mash-up is an app that combines data or functions from two sources. Classic example: you create a Google map using the addresses in a database of customers.
When I refer to a mash-up I mean taking several different sources to create something new. For example, I have published six stories about Uncle Victor. These stories are a mash-up of The Godfather, I, Claudius, and Jack Ritchie's Henry Turnbuckle stories. Uncle Victor is the eccentric relative of a mob boss. Like Claudius, he survives in a deadly family because no one takes him seriously enough to kill him. And his major asset as a private eye is the one he shares with police detective Henry Turnbuckle: self-confidence that is completely unjustified by reality.
Another example is my story "Brutal," which appeared in Alfred Hitchcock. It combines Jim Thompson's The Getaway - about a robbery that goes perfectly, followed by a disastrous attempt to escape - with Neil Simon's movie The Out-of-Towners. My story is about an assassin who completes his job perfectly and then is crushed by a series of average city-dwellers who are just carrying on with their lives, completely unaware of who they are dealing with.
7. Be nice to your editors and they may be nice to you. Obviously good manners are important. I am sure most editors have a list (at least in their heads) of writers who are Too Much Trouble To Deal With. But I want to give a specific example.
A few years ago I wrote a story which looked at the very first mystery, Edgar Allan Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue" from the viewpoint of the murderer (that's right; the orang-outang). I sent it to a magazine with which I had an excellent relationship. And then I saw a notice for an anthology of Poe-related stories. A perfect market for my tale! I didn't want to withdraw my already submitted story and risk the relationship with an on-going customer. So I wrote to the editor I had already submitted to and explained my plight. I said I would be delighted to have my tale in their publication, but would it be possible t jump the queue and get an early decision so if they don't want it I could try the anthology?
And the editor went above and beyond by pulling my story out of the long stack and giving it a quick read. Turns out they didn't want it, which was fine. I submitted it to nEvermore! and not only was it accepted but it was reprinted in two best-of-the-year collections. But this was only possible because the editor was willing to do me a favor by giving me a special read.
8. One-market stories are dangerous temptations. Ideally you want to write a story that could find a happy home in many different locations. But sometimes an opportunity comes up for a niche market, usually an anthology. Whether that's a good idea depends on a number of factors including: the speed you can write, the possible reward, and how intriguing you find the concept. After George W. Bush was elected someone announced an anthology called Jigsaw Nation, in which all the stories would take place in the United States after the blue and red states separated.
I thought it was a great concept and wrote "Down In The Corridor," about the consul from the Pacific States of America dealing with a nasty situation in the San Diego Corridor which connected the greatly diminished USA to the ocean. It was a crime story (my specialty) as well as a science fiction (or alternative almost-history) story. It sold to Jigsaw Nation which was great but the book was pretty much ignored by the world. Ah well.
A few years ago several cartoonists created an anthology called Machine of Death, with an intriguing concept. You put a drop of your blood in this machine and it tells you how you will die. Not when; just how. Car crash. Gunshot. Mary. Yeah, but which Mary? Your wife Mary or Hurricane Mary? Like all good oracles the machine is wickedly ambiguous. Suicide could mean that somebody jumps out a window and lands on you.
I loved the concept so much I wrote two stories for it: a historical and a police procedural. The editors rejected both. Those are two stories I can never use anywhere.
9. Network, network. Also: network. There are fine organizations out there looking for members: Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Private Eye Writers of America. There are conferences: Bouchercon, Left Coast Crime, Malice Domestic. And here is a shocking secret: a lot of mystery writers are friendlier than you might expect. They DON'T want to read your unpublished manuscript but they might be happy to hear what you liked about their latest masterpiece. And if you see a lonely author sitting alone at a signing table, go up and chat. It doesn't obligate you to buy anything. And don't forget to read SleuthSayers!
Well, that's nine jewels of wisdom down. In two weeks I will return to polish the last gem.
17 September 2013
SleuthSayers' Second Anniversary! Part 2
If I jumbled anyone's title or misspelled a name, I apologize. Those of you who use a middle initial may find that it comes and goes (as they seem to do on the blog). I'd also like to thank Dale for his leadership on this project. He's a good man to follow on a desperate enterprise. He doesn't daunt easily.
September 2012 - Part Two
Notes from the Penitentiary – September 2012 -- Eve Fisher's offbeat and insightful notes.
Five Red Herrings III -- Robert Lopresti on truth stranger than fiction.
A Bouchercon Mystery -- Dale C. Andrews draws us in.
Adventures in South Africa -- Leigh Lundin reports from South Africa.
Playing Detective -- Deborah Elliott-Upton offers a paean to hardboiled men and women.
October
A Non-iconic Writer -- Louis Willis remembers Shell Scott and Richard S. Prather fondly.
The Gifted Child -- John M. Floyd writes a great fan letter.
Things That Go Bump in the Night -- Dale Andrews stories for ghost story season.
The Shrink is in . . . Cyberspace -- Elizabeth Zelvin's fascinating day job.
The Dadaist Enigma of Claire DeWitt -- Dixon Hill offers a unique take on an author's "mistakes."
Mariel -- David Dean introduces one fascinating muse.
Developing the Series -- R.T. Lawton's great advice on keeping your friends close and your editors closer.
You Say Sensation, I Say Mystery -- Eve Fisher discusses the prehistory of the genre.
Great Sentences -- Jan Grape's good writing on good writing.
November
Ghost and the Machine -- Dixon Hill contrasts ghost stories and mysteries.
"The Unicorn in the Garden," or God Bless You, Mr. Thurber -- Eve Fisher remembers two comic geniuses: Thurber and Benchley.
Sometimes It's Magic -- Robert Lopresti reveals the true thing that keeps a writer going.
Distractions -- Deborah Elliott-Upton battles our common enemy.
Alan Furst: The World at Night -- David Edgerley Gates makes the case for Alan Furst.
The Great and Billowing Sea -- David Dean on great sea stories and a jaw bone.
Known Only to God -- Fran Rizer offers thoughts on Veterans Day for every day.
Not Being Preachy -- Elizabeth Zelvin on characters who carry the burden of an author's themes.
December
Literary Mystery -- Leigh Lundin examines a Hemmingway mystery.
We're No Angles -- Eve Fisher on a minor Christmas classic.
Maze of Bones -- Dixon Hill spreads contagious enthusiasm about a series for young readers.
I Never Saw a Strange Red Cow -- Robert Lopresti's fascinating fragments of lost stories.
Cold War Berlin: A Whiter Shade of Pale -- David Edgerley Gates evokes lost times and places.
The Dark Valley of Unpublished Stories -- David Dean describes a trip to a place where all writers have strayed.
Old Dogs and New Tricks -- John M. Floyd on old pros changing things up.
Tradecraft: Surveillance 101 -- R.T. Lawton provides information every crime writer should know.
January 2013
The Art of Detection -- Dale C. Andrews' review of a new book on Ellery Queen sparks thoughts on a writer's immortality.
Chekhov Wrote Crime Stories? -- Louis Willis offers a new way of looking at a master of the short story.
Rosemary &Thyme -- David Edgerley Gates celebrates a guilty pleasure.
Location, Location, Location -- David Dean's thoughts on location and the trap of writing from experience.
Doubt -- Janice Law explores the value of doubt in the mystery.
The Last Five Minutes -- Eve Fisher's last words on last words.
Professional Tips - John Lutz -- Leigh Lundin meets a favorite writer and discusses his writing tips.
The Silence of the Animals -- Dixon Hill tells a great story.
A New Project for the New Year -- Fran Rizer announces a very early Christmas present.
February
Bruce Lockhart: Memoirs of British Agent -- David Edgerley Gates delivers another great history lecture.
Ripped from the Headlines -- Jan Grape shares more stranger-than-fiction truth.
I Was Just Wondering -- Louis A. Willis on the toughest job a "fictioneer" faces.
An Anniversary -- Elizabeth Zelvin provides great pictures, word pictures and real ones, on her parents' wedding anniversary.
I Owe It All to Rilke -- Brian Thornton devotes his SleuthSayers debut to the networking challenge.
Readers Choice -- David Dean places his literary future in the hands of his readers.
And the Beat Goes On -- John M. Floyd on Robert B. Parker's second coming.
Gone South (with Travis McGee) -- Dale C. Andrews on John D. MacDonald's return to print.
And Where is THAT? -- Fran Rizer discusses some fabulous real estate.
March
Stalker -- Dale C. Andrews on extreme fandom.
SleuthSayers, SleuthSayers -- Robert Lopresti shows off his poetry chops.
Setting as Character -- Brian Thornton discusses the importance of setting in the mystery.
Doyle When He Nodded -- Terence Faherty's debut explores Sir Arthur's fascinating lapses.
Framed -- John M. Floyd on a favorite story structure.
The IDES Are Coming -- R.T. Lawton lets the ides have it.
The Dean of SleuthSayers -- Leigh Lundin on David Dean and his new book.
No Goodbyes -- David Dean's last regularly scheduled post, for now.
April
I Found My Thrill -- Fran Rizer explores the thriller.
Creating Deception -- John Floyd gives tips on building a solid short story collection.
The After Story -- R.T. Lawton on continuing a story beyond the climax.
Gratuitous Violence -- Dale C. Andrews thoughts on violence that interrupts the story.
Reading to Learn -- Jan Grape shares writing lessons she learned by reading.
A True Story of Crooks and Spies -- Dixon Hill reviews a true tale of wartime intrigue.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Want Something -- Robert Lopresti reveals the secret to creating great characters.
The Current Crop of Clichés -- Elizabeth Zelvin considers the continuing devolution of the language.
May
Memorial Day 2013 -- Jan Grape on Memorial Days present and past.
He Wasn’t The Best But He Was Good Enough -- Louis A. Willis on an almost-master, Carroll John Daly.
The Bank Robbery -- R.T. Lawton describes a bank robbery that never was.
Random Observations -- Eve Fisher's thoughts on travelling away from oneself.
The Double Dippers -- Terence Faherty revels in big screen minutiae.
Losing the Edge -- John M. Floyd examines the burnout phenomenon.
The Beachcomber -- David Edgerley Gates recreates a memorable interview.
Some Thoughts on "Cosplay" Fiction -- Brian Thornton coins a term for anachronistic characters in historical fiction.
June
Dumbing Down: Self-fulfilling Prophecies about the Loss of Culture -- Elizabeth Zelvin's title describes it and her essay nails it.
Some Thoughts on the Importance of Plot, Character and Conflict in Fiction -- Brian Thornton minces no words in his discussion of the interaction of plot and character.
Stay Creative - Jan Grape passes on some good advice from Holiday Inn.
Adolescent Sexist Swill? -- Fran Rizer pulls a Tom Sawyer on her friends with the help of Richard S. Prather.
Jesse James and Meramec Caverns: Another Route 66 Story -- Dale C. Andrews considers the line between history and legend.
The Haunted Wood -- David Edgerley Gates sets another record straight.
The Death of Laura Foster -- John Edward Fletcher tracks a North Carolina legend.
Beginners -- Janice Law on the art of learning a craft.
July
Show Don't Tell -- Dale Andrews on the difference between paper and flesh and blood.
Voice? -- Fran Rizer talks about good writing's most elusive quality: voice.
The Detroit PI -- Louis Willis on Loren Estleman's Amos Walker.
Who's on First -- Terence Faherty addresses the challenges of the PI point of view: first person.
Hiaasen on the Cake -- John Floyd's tribute to Carl Hiaasen.
Two Writers, One Set-up -- Robert Lopresti on Jack Ritchie and the starting gun.
The Crazy Crawl -- Dixon Hill on yet another technological innovation that makes life less intelligible.
Pam, Prism, and Poindexter -- Leigh Lundin hits a nerve with the subject of domestic spying.
August
Marketing 101 -- John M. Floyd reveals his marketing secrets in this very popular post.
You Can't Make It Up -- Eve Fisher opens her file of newspaper clippings.
The Hardy Boys Mystery -- Dale C. Andrews rediscovers a lost first love.
Going to Great (or Short) Lengths -- Janice Law on the lengths to which authors will go.
Lessons Learned -- Jan Grape discusses putting your writing on automatic pilot.
Fatherlands -- David Edgerley Gates on alternate histories.
Wherefore Art -- Toe Hallock on the fascination of words.
Some General Thoughts on Character -- Brian Thornton tracks down an elusive (definition of) character.
Anybody Down Range? -- R.T. Lawton helps mystery writers handle firearms.
September
Regrets, I've Had a Few.... -- Brian Thornton on the secret character ingredient: regret.
Suddenly, I Got a Buzz -- Robert Lopresti on words that need watching.
Criminal Book Covers -- Leigh Lundin on book covers that should be covered.
17 July 2021
Voices from the Past
by John Floyd
Years ago, back when you could watch network TV without endangering your brain cells, there was a series of United Airlines commercials I especially remember. One of the two reasons they made an impression was their background music, Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," which I love, and the other was the voice of the always-unseen narrator. The first time I saw one of them and heard it I knew that voice was familiar--but after repeated viewings I still couldn't figure out whose it was. (No Google or Alexa around in those days.) Finally it came to me. See if you recognize the voice--it starts at about the halfway point in this one-minute commercial from the late '80s.
For some reason I thought about that the other day, and it triggered other memories of overhearing movie or TV dialogue from another room and thinking, I know that voice. Part of that's probably due to the fact that I watch so many movies, but part of it's also because certain voices are just unique--so recognizable that hearing them for only a few seconds can tell you who's speaking.
That got personal a few months ago, when I'd plugged in a Netflix DVD of the James Franco film As I Lay Dying and walked into the kitchen in the middle of the movie to get a snack. As I was heaping ice cream into a bowl I heard a voice so surprising it made me stop in mid-scoop. I hurried back to the TV to see that one of the actors was an old friend from my IBM days named Jim Ritchie--we worked together for years--and who has a voice unlike any other in the world. (Jim also played Matthew McConaughey's father-in-law in A Time to Kill many years ago, but I hadn't realized he had a part in this movie as well.) I later played that scene for my wife after telling her not to look at the screen, and when she heard it she too gasped and said, "Is that Jim Ritchie?" If you want to hear Jim's voice for yourself, here's one of his recent videos.We as writers understand that physical voices aren't as important to our work as they are in some of the performing arts, unless maybe we're doing a reading or an interview or a podcast. What we produce (thank goodness) is usually intended to be read, not heard. But in the TV or movie business, a distinctive voice is an asset. I can think of several actors like Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson, Tommy Lee Jones, Rosie O'Donnell, Gary Cooper, Slim Pickens, Ben Johnson, Kathleen Turner, Alan Rickman, and others, whose voices also tend to fit in with the characters they play. And some--Bernadette Peters, L.Q. Jones, Fran Drescher, Strother Martin, Steve Landesberg, Jennifer Tilly, Lorraine Bracco, R. Lee Ermey, Holly Hunter, G.D. Spradlin, etc.--whose voices are certainly unique but maybe not immediately familiar to the general public.
You know, of course, where all this is leading. It's leading to a question.
In your opinion, who are the actors and actresses with the most recognizable voices?
My picks:
Katherine Hepburn
Lee Marvin
James Earl Jones
Lauren Bacall
Jack Nicholson
Henry Fonda
Steve Buscemi
Cary Grant
John Wayne
Kirk Douglas
Suzanne Pleshette
Humphrey Bogart
Morgan Freeman
Michael Caine
Samuel L. Jackson
Christopher Walken
Audrey Hepburn
Jimmy Stewart
Jeff Goldblum
Al Pacino
Burt Lancaster
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Sam Elliott
Rosanne Barr
Sean Connery
I think I could identify any of those people after ten seconds of listening to them speak.
As you can see from my honest but unscientific list, a voice doesn't necessarily have to be pleasant to be distinctive or easy to recognize. So my second question is, Which actors'/actresses' voices do you LIKE the most?
My top-twenty choices of voices:
Morgan Freeman
Billy Bob Thornton
Judi Dench
Katherine Ross
J. K. Simmons
James Earl Jones
Patrick Stewart
Jane Seymour
Dennis Haysbert
Emma Thompson
Gerald McRaney
Sam Elliott
Melanie Griffith
Diana Rigg
Ben Johnson
Lee Marvin
Kim Dickens
Barbara Bel Geddes
Powers Boothe
Gregory Peck
Why do I enjoy hearing these folks' voices? I'm not sure. If I had to give reasons, I guess some of them--Freeman, Thornton, McRaney, Dickens--bring back good memories of my southern childhood, and some are soothing and relaxing, and some have a foreign accent that I like . . . and some are just interesting. I think my all-time favorite voice is that of Lee Marvin.
A closing note: I always found it fascinating that the voices of brothers James Arness (Gunsmoke) and Peter Graves (Mission: Impossible) sounded exactly alike. If you're not old enough to remember those guys, take my word for it.
Here's another video I saw on YouTube the other night, on this familiar-voice subject. It's part of an episode of the updated game show To Tell The Truth (one of those many remakes that are sometimes fun and sometimes irritating).
And FYI: If you didn't recognize his voice, the narrator in the aforementioned United Airlines commercial was Gene Hackman.
See you in two weeks.