Friends, Both Fictional and Real

When I started my first book four years ago, to say I knew nothing about writing, would be a gross understatement.

I remember sitting in the writing group, hearing the term ‘protagonist’ tossed about, and I had no idea what they were talking about. But I wanted to learn.

I made notes at every meeting. If anyone reading this knows me, they’d be shaking their head and saying ‘of course she made notes’. I wrote down any words I didn’t understand and looked them all up once I was home.

Given this lack of knowledge, what made me think I could write a book? I don’t know, but write a book I did.

I had my brother’s notes from his creative writing course, some ‘how to’ books and a copy of Writer’s Digest magazine. More importantly, I had an idea, and I had the drive, even if I was lacking in experience and confidence.

There was something else I had in my favour, or rather someone, my friend and neighbour. She suffered through the writing of that first book, word for word and page by page, right along side of me.

I wrote the first few chapters, printed them off and gave them to her to read. After, we sat down with a cup of tea and talked about what I had written. This became a routine, the sharing, the discussion, the tea, or sometimes, maybe a glass of wine. She was my sounding board, as she listened to my struggles with plot, characterization et cetera, with unwavering encouragement.

We talked about the process of writing, almost as much as we talked about my story. I was an eager student, wanting to share everything I learned. And she loved education, her career having been spent in the public school system.

Midway through the book, I remember sitting at her place, as we rehashed the new chapters, talking about what Katie, my female 'protagonist', was up to.

I started to laugh. “Look at us,” I said. “We’re sitting here gossiping about this fictional character like she’s someone real, someone we know.”

We were invested in this young woman’s struggle, for she had become very real to us. For me as I wrote, and for her as she read, we were emotionally involved in her life, her heartbreak and her desire to start over, to find her place.

At that point in my life I was also trying to find my place, and needed something, some outlet to keep me busy and challenge my need to be creative.

For more than thirty years, I had been a dedicated nurse. A career I lost, suddenly, due to the worsening of my chronic illness.

Writing became my solace, it filled that void in my life the way nothing else could. As pain and fatigue are with me constantly, writing is something I can do even when I feel at my worst.

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you, to my friend, Joyce. I don’t know if I would have finished that first book without your support.

That experience was unique, and was not to be repeated. I've gained confidence, and though we still discuss what I’m writing, I only give her a manuscript to read once the first draft is complete. She’s one of my regular readers now, and I prefer to have her feedback after she’s read the book at her own pace, instead of having it doled out in pieces.

She once told me she doesn’t read with the same sense of enjoyment as she did before. She reads with a more critical eye now, looking at the details and how the book has been written.

I think she’s reading more like a writer.

 

 

Friends, Feedback and a Final Revision

The completion of a novel, for the writer, is not ‘The End’ (play on words), it’s just the beginning…of a demanding cycle of rewrite/revise and endless editing. Many of the books and articles on writing will say, put it away, distance yourself, take the time so when you’re ready to start the revisions, you have a fresh outlook.

If you have trusted readers, this is the time to share, knowing full well that when you hand your manuscript to someone else to read, you’re asking for feedback, for suggestions to make the story better.

In the beginning, my readers were friends and family. The problem, most of these readers were not writers, and knew nothing of the writing process. They’re readers, and as such, know what they like, even if they don’t know why.

My first readers were my brother and his wife. As my brother was also a writer, he understood how fiction worked and gave me a lot of constructive feedback. His wife is an avid reader, with a sharp analytical mind. She gave me honest opinions of what worked, what didn’t, who she liked, and why.

My other readers at the time were friends, who were excellent at finding grammatical errors, misspellings, repeated words and such, but were terrible in giving plot and character feedback.

I say were, for as I’ve grown as a writer, they’ve grown as a reader, and I get more from them now than ‘It’s a nice story”.

My best reader, also an excellent editor, is an old friend, and fellow writer. We share excerpts back and forth, a sort of edit as you go kind of thing. As most of our sharing is done by E-mail, there’s an honesty in what we share that might not have been comfortable in a face to face discussion.

Sometimes I need to step back, from what might initially be taken as criticism, to give my emotions a chance to settle. I’m the first to admit that once I take the time and calmly think about what she had to say, I can see her point.

Her voice is in my head now as I write. I’m more aware of how I tend to change point of view in the middle of a scene, and how I need to break up long narratives with some dialogue.

A few times I’ve shied away from a difficult scene, and let the plot move forward in back story, instead of dialogue. She calls me on it every time. “You copped out” or “You missed an opportunity here” and I’ve gone back and done the rewrite. Sometimes I just needed a bit of distance, before the scene could be written. Distance and a kick in the ass.

Books ONE and TWO I never shared with anyone, other than friends and family. They were written and put away in the drawer. Now that I’ve pulled them out into the light, so to speak, my friend is giving me the benefit of her time and experience and I see some more editing in my future.

Book number THREE, was my murder story. I shared it with other writers in my writing group, and received some excellent feedback. I was told when a character’s behaviour didn’t seem realistic, and where I needed to beef up the action. This was Death by Drowning, and by the time I did the final revision, I was confident enough to self publish with Amazon, for Kindle.

I’ve made some sales, which is great, but more important…I finished a book, all the way from A to Z. From an idea, to a finished piece of writing that I can be proud of, and am confident enough to share with the reading public.

I’ve started too many projects, and left them unfinished.

Old manuscripts may be hidden away in a drawer, out of sight, but they are never out of mind. At least writing is easier to store, a simple flash drive will hold everything I’ve ever written and more.

I have too many canvases and framed works of art stored in the closet, taking up room and collecting dust. I’ve been at this so long, my friends and family have run out of available wall space.

What do you do with it all? It’s frustrating, this need to create, and having to deal with the ongoing accumulation of work.

And yet, as creative people, we have this need to have our work recognized, appreciated, and to feel that we’re growing as an artist, as a writer. We may be solitary in the completion of our work, but once it’s done, we need to share; the process, the struggles and the final triumph.

 

There’s an excitement in knowing that creation, whatever it may be, came from our hand, our imagination.

And isn’t that a hell of a thing?

Book Number THREE, continued, the Murder Investigation

Everything I knew about how to investigate a murder, prior to writing Death By Drowning, I learned from watching television and reading books. Not the best authority, I’ll admit, but a beginning.

So, I was back to the internet for some information. I found an excellent article called Police Procedure-Elements of Murder, by Tracy Hawkins. You can find it at; http://www.writing4successclub.com/public/284print.cfm.

I looked up the local police services website, which gave me the members of the investigation team. The titles may be different in other provinces and countries, but I think the basic set up would be the same.

First, you have the investigating officers, often part of a Criminal Investigation Branch, and then there are the crime scene investigators, CSI like on television, or locally SOCO, Scene Of the Crime Officers.

I got familiar with the terminology, things like warrants, affidavits, and autopsy. Then there are the short forms: TOD for time of death, DNA for, well, DNA, and CSI for crime scene investigation.

I made copious notes, from numerous websites, about investigating a death, particularly a murder. In my reading I gained an understanding for the intricacies of the legal system, and a respect for the officers conducting an investigation.

Here’s some of what I learned.

Coroners are called to the scene, and may or may not be the Pathologist who conducts the autopsy. The who, when, and where of the autopsy varies as to the location of the murder, urban or rural, and of course, if urban, the size of the city and its resources.

There's the Miranda Warning, given to suspects when in police custody, or before the suspect is interrogated. That’s all that ‘you have a right to remain silent’ stuff. It has to do with what can and can’t be used in court. Without the Miranda Warning, police can act on information learned, but can’t use it to incriminate the suspect.

Questioning people, who may be involved, as a suspect or a witness, is tricky. You’ve all seen TV examples where the police are questioning someone, a suspect most likely, who decides not to cooperate, and says to the police, ‘Arrest me or I’m out of here’. Everyone has rights, until proven guilty, of course.

Miranda deals with testimonial evidence, and then there is the physical evidence gathered at the scene of the crime. This might include handwriting, voice exemplars, fingerprints, DNA, hair samples and dental impressions. This is where you see the TV crime scene techs swab for blood, or other bodily fluids, and gather evidence into plastic bags or bottles. Everything is dated, timed, and initialled for…Chain of Evidence.

Chain of evidence is to prevent any tampering, to ensure the evidence will hold up in court. Evidence can also be gathered away from the crime scene, and is perfectly legal if it’s from, say, garbage at the roadside, or in plain view. Otherwise the police need a warrant.

You know, if you watch crime shows, how many times the police call for warrants. Search warrants to, of course, search, a suspect's home, car or office. Warrants can also be obtained for financial records, phone records, or any other place the police might gather information, information that might not be readily handed over. There’s that sticky area, called confidentiality, usually pertaining to medical records. This might also include hotel guest records, membership lists and such places where the client has an expectation of privacy.

Here’s another term I found interesting, Fruit of the Poisonous Tree. This refers to evidence that is excluded from trial because the evidence came from an illegal search.

Are you bored yet? And I haven’t even mentioned what’s needed to get an arrest warrant, what an affidavit is, or a subpoena.

Any investigation begins with the nucleus of people around the victim, and moves out in a widening circle as evidence is gathered.

As I learned during the writing of my book, there are a lot more details involved in a murder investigation than are immediately apparent. I had my murder victim, a plausible motive, and a group of suspects. And, of course, I had my detectives, discovering clues, gathering evidence, and identifying the murderer, by the end of the book.

I added in some elements that I hoped would make the story more interesting, the witness’s troubled history, the threats against her, and the immediate attraction between she and the detective.

I’ve said before that I like to reread books, same as I watch the same shows or movies over again. If you ever thought about writing a murder story, I suggest you read one, and then reread it. Second time around, pay attention to how the author discloses information, that, at the time given, seemed to have little or no importance, but later proved vital to the investigation.

Writing this book was an interesting experience. I felt I grew as a writer, for this book required more planning, more attention to details, and required research outside my comfort zone. I think the story has credibility, even though I never interviewed the police personally. The internet offers endless information, on any subject; it’s up to the researcher to know what’s true and trustworthy.

Death by Drowning is published in E-format, on Amazon, for Kindle readers.

Now, for my fourth book, I really got into the research. A story about how a young woman, and an old man, both alone in the world, meet and discover you don’t need a blood connection to be a family.

 

Book Number THREE, Researching my "Who Done It?"

A Who-Done-It? Where do I even begin? Then, I decided to go with 'write what you know', kind of.

I remembered a frightening incident when my son was about four years old. He was out with his Dad, looking for a pair of lost hunting dogs. On the edge of town, they pulled into a dead end street with a large turn-around. Seeing no sign of the dogs, they moved on with their search. There were two cars parked in that same area, with a man and a woman sitting in the one car. Another man, up the street, was shovelling snow from his driveway. It was a beautiful winter’s day.

Sunday, I was reading the paper and came across the story of a murder, reported to have taken place in our town the day before. When I read the details to my husband he was shocked, for he had been there, close to the given time. The article stated the police were looking for the driver of a blue, half ton truck, and, of course, that was my husband.

Nut shell version, an angry boyfriend, not willing to be an ex-boyfriend, stabbed his heart’s desire, multiple times. He tried to make it look like he was also attacked, by stabbing himself, before he drove his car into a snow bank up the road.

Perfect situation of wrong place, wrong time. It gave us a few bad days, something you don’t easily forget. By the way, the guy had a violent history, and caught in a lie, he eventually confessed.

So, back to my story. I’m thinking, a witness to a crime, her being on the scene is just happenstance.

But who is my victim? Here I needed to diverge from my reality, and thought about another murder in our fair town. This time a body was found in the lake, a young woman from the city, whose identity was not immediately known.

I don’t want to give you the wrong impression about our usually peaceful, small town. These violent episodes were thirty years apart, though it's an unfortunate sign of the times, crime and violence can happen anywhere.

I had my beginning. A woman sits by the lake on a winter’s day, witness to a couple having an argument, she leaves the area. Days later, a woman’s body is found at the edge of the lake, her identity unknown.

Here was where my research began. I searched the archives of the local paper, plus the city paper where the real murdered woman lived. This gave me an idea of how the investigation proceeded, by what the police reported to the media.

I admit I use places that are familiar in my writing, as I like a visual in my head, so everything falls under the disclaimer…

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

My murdered woman lived in the city, so she needed a job and a place to live. And there had to be a tie in to the small town. In my web search, I found downtown hotels that cater to out of town businessmen. I viewed maps, read all the promotional material and finally decided on the Delta Chelsea Hotel. Within walking distance to the downtown core of hospitals and the U of T, it was large enough to offer a sense of anonymity.

For a place to live? Not the real estate ads this time, but the rentals, my victim was not affluent enough to buy in the city. I found her a lovely rental on Yonge Street, steps from shopping and the subway.

My witness also needed a place to live, and I gave her a rental apartment in a converted triplex, loosely based on one that I had been in a number of years ago. She also needed a career, something in the medical field, I thought, but not a nurse.

I decided on Medical Transcriptionist. I researched the education requirements, and the daily job description. I had reason to be in the hospital, and wandered up to the Medical Records Department, and actually spoke to one of the staff. I also talked to a nurse I knew about computerized health charts, as I’m an old time, old-school nurse, and computers were after my time.

A word of advice, don’t waste your time, or  the time of someone you’re hoping to interview for their expertise, by being unorganized. If you have questions that, up to that point, you've found no answers for, write them down. Think it through, figure out exactly what you need to know before any interview. Like the Girl Guides, 'Be Prepared'.

As we’re in a hospital setting, you know there’s going to be a doctor. But what’s his specialty, and for what purpose would he be in the city?

I searched the data on several large teaching hospitals and learned how the physicians have their specialties, and their responsibilities as Clinician, Educator or Lecturer. It was very interesting, and just what I needed to develop one of my characters.

 

I had pages and pages of notes, a slew of print-outs and added everything to my story binder. You will always have more research, more information, than will ever make its way into your book, but it's all important for you to understand who and what you're writing about.   

So, I have my setting, my precipitating incident, and a cast of characters, what was I missing? Oh yeah, the police and their investigation.

Next time.

 

 

 

Book Number TWO, Better Research

I liked the character from my first book, and decided to go with another female, fighting through some conflict and coming out stronger, more sure of herself.

Yeah, I know, a little bit of the ‘I am woman, hear me roar’, kind of thing. But at that stage in my writing career, I still had to go with the female perspective.

So, Rebecca, called Becca by family and friends, came to be.

 

 

Becca was young, just starting her career, but what career?

 

Nursing, teaching came to mind, but then I drove by a country veterinary clinic, and I had it.

 

Now, to do the research.

 

 

 

 

Veterinary Assistant or Technician. I found all the information on the internet, what the job entailed, the education requirements, even found a course description for a local college.

I gave her some conflict, had her moving from that small town to a city, not too far away. Using my own small town as reference, I looked up the cities both east and west of me for possible locations I could use for inspiration. You have to love the web sites designed for any town or city. They are a wealth of information.

You can get a map of the city, a list of all the services available, plus businesses, such as hotels, malls, and restaurants. And veterinary clinics, if you were looking for such a thing.

So now I had home town, new town and was writing away. New character entered and he needed a career and a place to live. Big city this time, so Toronto. No end of material available on line about Toronto.

Decided my guy was educated in a small city, not the same one mentioned before, and relocated to the city after graduation. I made him an accountant. Who knew the education process was so complicated, and that there was an internship involved? The things you learn when you’re writing a book. Now I’m keeping a file on careers, never know when I might have a need for an accountant again.

Where could he live? The real estate ads were extremely informative; location, services, proximity to subway, and sometimes, a virtual tour.

I found my guy the perfect condo, on Yonge Street, with a shopping complex and access to the subway from the lower level. Just the spot for a young, career oriented bachelor who works downtown and wants to live near by.

I printed all this information for my story binder, added photos from a decorating magazine that looked perfect for my condo, I mean his condo.

When my characters need to go shopping, I can find everything they need, with a detailed description of each item, on the store web site. In the first book I sent Katie to La Senza, this time my male character shopped at Tiffany’s. Too bad it was only virtual shopping.

I was still following the theory of ‘write what you know’ with some added internet research. I haven't ventured too far out of my comfort zone.

But, I've seen the acknowledgments in books I've read, usually the author thanking people who have helped in the research. I read them, and understand the author has talked to them for their expertise, maybe for their career or hobby or for their specific knowledge, such as medical data or weaponary.

I don’t know, being one out of a great sea of unpublished authors, if I would be brave enough to seek out others for research information. What credibility do I have, that they would give me their time and attention?

 

I have a problem calling myself a writer, yet writing means more to me than just a hobby, it’s something I think about constantly and feel a need to do. What would it take to make me confident enough to make that claim? Publication? That’s a tough one.

The first book I wrote for me, to prove I could do it. I sent it to Harlequin, and it was rejected. I took the advice they gave me in their kind rejection letter, and wrote the second book, more romance than the first, full of inner doubt and conflict, and was again rejected. Back to the drawer it went for years, until this heat wave had me confined to home and I pulled it out for a rewrite, a further edit.

Now, for the third, I went for something a little different, a murder story. Out of my comfort zone, so lot’s of research. More later.