A Journal Entry from my MC

A fun contest from Matthew Delman at Free the Princess.  The rules are listed below, but first, my entry...

Hey Journal,
Met a murderer today at a crime scene.  I don't mean he was there, but I could feel him like I always do when the body is still in situ.  How could I not feel his intent?  After all, I've killed, too.

R. Bell


Here are the rules:

1. Your diary entry must be three to four sentences long.


2. You are allowed as many entries as you can come up with.

3. It doesn't have to be funny; if you can come up with a poignant entry in four sentences, then feel free to submit.

4. You can write it from the perspective of any FICTIONAL character you choose. (If you write historical fiction then you're excused from this rule -- contact me otherwise if you want to write it from the viewpoint of a historical person)

5. It must be posted in the comments of this post no later than 12 am U.S. Eastern Time on Tuesday, June 29, 2010.
 
My journal entry is from the perspective of my MC, Det. Ryan Bell of the Nashville Police.  It was fun to write from his perspective.  It got me thinking how he would talk, and even begin the journal--dear, hi, yo...I'd love to read all of your entries, so include them in your comment, or leave your link.  And don't forget to link back to Matthew's site if you're participating in the contest.
 
Thanks, Matthew, for a fun challenge that helped me get into the mind of my MC.

How adaptable are you?

Are you as adaptable as a 2yo?

My husband and I took our kids to the beach over Memorial Day weekend.  My daughter, who is 2, finally got up the courage to go out in the water, but she couldn't do it alone.  So Russ held her hands in his and gently swung her over the waves as thtedey broke.  He was so careful to keep her joints loose and bent, and this worked for about 15 or 20 swings.  But, on the last swing, something went wrong.  We don't know how, but the pressure on her right wrist changed and she screamed out in pain.  I mean screamed.  The wrist immediately swelled up and she refused to use it.

For the next three days, Natalie used only her left arm.  It was amazing.  The change was immediate.  No right arm for anything--holding books, eating, climbing, playing, dressing up...nothing.  She adapted not on quickly, but well.

Could I have done that?  I don't know.  I've certainly had my fair share of injuries, but I usually sulk for a bit and let it rest.  Not Natalie.  In true 2yo form, she didn't let this slow her down.

Not only was I impressed, but it also got me thinking.  We write characters that have to adapt top tough situations in their everyday lives.  If we didn't write them that way, we wouldn't have very interesting books!  We may not literally tie a hand behind their back, but we certainly handicap them.

How are your characters 'handicapped?'  Are they adaptable?  As adaptable as a 2yo?  What about you?

As to the last question, I am having to be very adaptable right now.  As a freelancer, I take many different shifts at the station--one day working 8-5, the next day 2:30 to 11:30pm.  In addition, neither my kids nor I are used to my working three or four days a week.  Everything is adapting!  My sleep schedulel, my doctors' appointments, my day plans...It's tough.  And I've been sulking and feeling sorry for myself for a bit.  But I'm over that now.  Despite disappointment and frustration, I am sucking it up and adapting.  This is it for now, and this, too, shall pass.

Adaptable--the word of the day. : )

Sunday Foreign Post Roundup

1. A beautiful look that evolution of character and love: guest blogger Davin Malasarn on The Secret Archives of the Alliterati.

2. A small story, but bursting with thought.  Smile plays at your mouth with you read A New Language an Rayna's Coffee Rings Everywhere.

3.  Fun Friday indeed...Check out these fantastic signs on Elspeth's It's A Mystery.

4.  Two book recommendations from Mysterious Matters..and they're both new-to-me authors!

5.  The Queen of Writing Advice tackles 'steps to publication.'  That's right--I mean Elizabeth Spann Craig!

6.  A veritable 'Vegetable Soup' of information at Mason Canyon's Thoughts in Progress.  I found two reads to add to my shelf--what will you find?

7.  An interesting look at the Germany v. England rivalry from British author Dan Waddell at Murder is Everywhere.



Just a few links this Sunday b/c  I haven't been touring blogs much in the past few weeks.  But the ones I have hopped to have been SFP Roundup worthy!

Facebook apps

The world of social media is upon us, and there is seemingly no end to the amount of widgets and apps one can find.

But is all of it necessary?

How do you know what is and what isn't going to be a useful tool in pumping up your blog or your book?

Twitter.  Facebook.  Dig.  And now I find this link: social plugins from the Facebook developers.

So I added a Facebook "Like" app to my sidebar.  See?  Look right.  See it now?  Right below "The Writer."  Pretty spiffy, eh?

But now I'm wondering, do I have to make a Southern City Mysteries fan page for everyone to "Like?"

Oh, goodness.  Another technology to learn.

What apps/widgets do you use and recommend?

Genre Boundaries (Comment-driven post series)

Before my recent traveling absence, I posted a 'comment-driven post series' article titled 'Do you write yourself?'  This is the next in my comment-driven post series...This one stems from a comment made by Elizabeth Spann Craig on my Touching the Rain post.  Here's what she had to say:

Oh, I have a LOT of boundaries I need to let go! :) I'm not quite ready to with my writing, but that's okay...I'm writing a genre with some boundaries of its own.

- Elizabeth Spann Craig

Elizabeth mentions writing in a genre that has boundaries.  In case you don't know, she writes Cozy Mysteries.  Mystery writing, of course, has its own basic boundaries...or does it?

In 1929, priest, English theologian, and crime writer Ronald Knox created the Ten Commandments for detective fiction in his 'Decalogue.'  Here they are:

1. The criminal must be someone mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has been allowed to follow.



2. All supernaural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course.


3. Not more than one secret room or passage is allowable.


4. No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used, nor any appliance which will need a long scientific explanation at the end.


5. No Chinaman must figure in the story.


6. No accident must ever help the detective, nor must he ever have an unaccountable intuition which proves to be right.


7. The detective must not himself commit the crime.


8. The detective must not light on any clues which are not instantly produced for the inspection of the reader.


9. The stupid friend of the detective, the Watson, must not conceal any thoughts which pass through his mind; his intelligence must be slightly, but very slightly, below that of the average reader.


10. Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must not appear unless we have been duly prepared for them.

Needless to say, the rules have been broken.  In fact, in Josef Svoresky wrote a book in the eighties titled The Sins of Father Knox, in which he attempted to break all of these rules.   But Knox had set them up specifically for writers of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, which speaks specifically to those writers of the 1920s and 30s.  These authors include Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, John Dickerson Carr and Ellery Queen.

According to Knox, a detective story "must have as its main interest the unravelling of a mystery; a mystery whose elements are clearly presented to the reader at an early stage in the proceedings, and whose nature is such as to arouse curiosity, a curiosity which is gratified at the end."  I think we can agree on that!

What defines your genre?

Viagra what?

I just got a Viagra comment on an old post...What?!?

I'll try to get a real post up this afternoon...:)

What is this "organization" thing?

Many of you work and write on the side...or write and work on the side...So here is my question for you, right at the beginning: how do you do it?

Most of you know I am a freelance news producer.  Freelance has become a more regular 2-3 days a week for the last month and the next one.  Last week I worked 4 days.

Writing?  Non-existent.

When it was just me and the kids (a full-time job, don't get me wrong) I basically knew how my day would go.  Their schedule didn't allow for much "me time," but at least I knew how tight things would be.  If I am to work a professional job on top of taking care of the kids...when will I write?

I once met a doctor who woke at 5 every morning to write before surgery.  Sounds great, right?  (Not to me, actually, but sounds like a plan at least.)  But he didn't have young kids to come home to after work.  Rest was on his own schedule.

When do you who work outside the home find the time to write?  Do you set up a schedule?  Am I going to have to become "organized?"  (I've heard tell of such things...)