Because I was away this weekend, taking in Left Coast Crime
Mystery Conference in Sacramento , California ,
I thought I’d give you a glimpse of some of the advice, tidbits and insight I got from one particular panel session called Criminal Minds.
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Since one
of the basics of fiction writing is “show”
don’t “tell,” John was asked how he shows what is in the mind of his characters. For one
particularly difficult character, he wrote out 150 pages of interior monologue
expressing how this character would think, act and approach life. When he went
to write this character, he was able to show through his actions what was in his
character’s mind. He used none of the 150 pages —those he discarded because they were for the sole purpose of getting him deeply into
the mind of his character.
When he
begins a new novel, he starts by taking out his list of 14 motives for murder,
and picks a motive. Asked what his 14 motives are, he said to email or Tweet
him and he would give you the list (he didn’t have it with him).
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William Kent Krueger http://www.williamkentkrueger.com/books.html
"William Kent Krueger can't write a bad book. Northwest Angle is
one of his best. A complex crime novel that contains meditations on the
difficulties of loving and the paths we take to reach God, this Cork O'Connor
novel has everything you want in a great read: depth, action, and credibility."—Charlaine
Harris, NYT best selling author
He was
delightful to listen to, and on the recommendation of my friend, he is going on
my TBR list.
L.J. started out as a reporter. She would search out the
stories and when she was frustrated with not getting all the answers, she
started writing fiction. “When we can’t find the real story, we make one up.” Human
are made for stories—we must have them. She writes thrillers and mysteries.
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A mystery and thriller writer, she also moderated another
panel I caught on Sex in Mysteries
which was hilarious.
So now I need to digest all the fun and get back to my own writing.
Do you like mysteries?
Have you ever read a mystery?
Do you have a favorite mystery author?
5 comments:
Sounds like it was a great weekend for you! Thanks for the great links. I'm going to have to try writing out interior monologue for my characters. That seems like a really good idea to get into the character's mind more deeply.
I do like reading mysteries, though I'm not reading many these days.
Thanks Tami, it was fun. I thought that was a great idea, too.
The whole con was great--and I truly love Kent Krueger's books. It doesn't hurt that he's a really nice guy too. And Cora, it was fun having a chance to spend some time with you too.
Marilyn
Always a pleasure, Marilyn.
I liked your blog, thanks for sharing this.
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