Identity crisis May 31, 2008

I’ve been pondering for a long time just what my Finnegan stories really are. As well as I can tell, they don’t really match the current conventions of a mystery novel, not even the “ultra cozy” genre I have tried to define for them.
I’ve noted before that I don’t have a murder in my mysteries. [...]

Ask for Me Tomorrow May 26, 2008

I grabbed this novel because I had heard that the author, Margaret Millar, often introduces a startling twist to the plot on the last page, even in the last sentence. I’ve thought sometimes that I would like to try doing that with one of my Finnegan stories.
Ask for Me Tomorrow was published in 1976, and [...]

More work Afoot May 25, 2008

Every time I think I am finished with the first draft of Finnegans Afoot, I find myself returning to fix this or that or add some essential point that I had left out. When I do, I generally find some typo or spelling error that I had overlooked, and I realize that there is still [...]

Easy as ABC May 23, 2008

I like Hercule Poirot much more when he has room to spread out. I listened to an audio version of The A.B.C. Murders on my iPod recently, and though I embarked with a little trepidation, I found I enjoyed the story.
I’d guess that Poirot has made most of his appearances in short stories — or [...]

Genre dilemma May 21, 2008

I have a dilemma. I’m not sure what category of the mystery genre my novels belong to.
My stories don’t involve murder. So far, only one of the three even involves an actual crime. The next two I plan to write have no crimes in them at all. The Finnegans face a classical puzzle, assemble clues, [...]

Afoot read through finished May 17, 2008

I finished the first-draft read through of Finnegan’s Afoot this morning. Despite all of the inevitable parings and prunings, I managed to add more than three thousand words to the total, bringing it within the range I understand is acceptable for a novel. (It currently stands at 62,979 words.)
The story is told. There really isn’t [...]

Continuity May 15, 2008

I didn’t set out to write the Finnegans novels as continuous stories. Now that I have three novels written, though, I’m beginning to see some effect like that.
I realize that any novel has to stand on its own strengths and story line, and I think I’ve written them to do so, but I have plot [...]

Short story stuff May 10, 2008

With the first draft of Finnegans Afoot completed, I allowed myself to get started on a short story. Although unrelated to Finnegans Afoot in terms of character and plot, I have set it in the same community and even made use of one of the core motifs of that novel. It really could stand alone, [...]

Character or Caricature May 5, 2008

Given that characters in a novel don’t really exist, I think they should still feel as though they do. It’s that whole “willing suspension of disbelief” thing we bring to reading fiction. We know it didn’t really happen, but we’re willing to set that aside so we can immerse ourselves in the story more fully.
In [...]

Writing is rewriting May 3, 2008

I’ve begun the read through of Finnegans Afoot. I’ve been making lots of notes about things to add or emphasize and things to review for continuity problems (are they hiking up the mountain or down it? is the scene set on a Wednesday or a Thursday?). Plus I want to smooth the areas where I [...]