The instant I received the supply list from the instructor, I knew I was out of my element.  It took three craft stores, several hours and lots of questions before I’d assembled the basic supplies.  I didn’t like not knowing what I was doing.  I missed my cooking classes where I felt at home with the equipment, terms and techniques.  But I reminded myself that this was about creativity and sometimes being creative means trying the unfamiliar.

So what did I learn?

Sketch Book.  I didn’t realize how much artists preplan what they are going to create.  Many keep a sketchbook that they hold close at hand.  That book is where they can experiment and try different ideas without worrying about review or criticism.  Reminded me a lot of the notebook (or scraps of paper) I carry around when a story is brewing.  I am forever making notes, crossing out ideas, and most often reworking the concepts for greater depth and meaning.  And just as our art teacher would not share her sketchbook with us, I would never share my notes and scribblings even after the book is finished.

Exercises.  We started off class with a few art exercises.  Kind of like warm up for the primary piece we would work on in the afternoon.  This was our time to not only get used to the paints and papers but to figure out what appealed to us.  These exercises were all about discovery.  What colors did I like?  What shapes resonated?  Did I prefer pastels to ink?  Reminded me a lot of free writing…those pages I write in the morning before tackling the day’s work.  Free writing is my chance to experiment, to discover.  Instead of paints and charcoals I’m dabbling with point of view, setting, character motivations, or literary devices, but the concept is exactly the same.

Failing.  When I started writing years ago, I expected the words to flow perfectly.  Of course they did not.  And it wasn’t surprising that my first attempts in art class were dismal.  I didn’t have the right paper, broke two sponge brushes in the first five minutes, and got paint in my hair.  But with a little borrowed paper, more brushes and a promise to wash my hair, I kept working.  After a while I got more and more comfortable with the techniques and images.  Now I didn’t produce world-class art but I did get better over the course of the class.  I was reminded of something I often say to would-be writers all the time when our art teacher said, “Failings are lessons.”   You can’t let failures stop you.

The day ended up being great fun.  I not only came away with a few pieces of art and the desire to try again, but with a few more plot twists and turns for the latest book.

Cake

2 cups All Purpose Flour

1 cup Cocoa Powder

1-1/2 teaspooon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2-1/3 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs plus one yoke

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup milk

1/2 cup instant espresso powder

6 ounces dark chocolate

Glaze

6 ounces dark chocolate

1/2 cup whipping cream

I always gather all my ingredients before I begin.  This takes a few minutes but when it comes time to bake  the process is so much easier.

Mix together first five ingredients. I sift them together to make sure they are well blended.  Set aside.

In another bowl, beat together oil and vanilla.  Then add in the eggs one at a time.  In a saucepan, mix instant espresso mixture and dark chocolate into milk and stir until melted and blended.  Alternating espresso/chocolate mixture and flour mixture, beat slowly into egg batter.

Place batter in a parchment-lined springform pan.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes.  Let cool and remove from mold.

For the glaze, heat cream gently and mix in chocolate.  I chop the chocolate up so that it melts quickly.  Pour glaze over cake and once it has cooled dust with powered sugar.

I hit to the road this past weekend and headed south first to Greenville, S.C. where I signed at Fiction-Addiction.  What a great store!  It was so much fun meeting readers and signing books.

Three hours south of Greenville, S.C. is Woodstock, GA home to the FoxTale Book Shoppe.  I had the pleasure of speaking to readers about my writing, chatting and signing books on Saturday March 9.

After my signing it was right back to Virginia.

Despite many lofty promises, my writing day rarely is super-efficient.  I always manage to write my 15-20 pages, but the journey is never as smooth as I hoped.

6:00 a.m.                Rise/Coffee/Let the dogs out

6:30  a.m.               Head to the gym, shower

8:00 a.m.                Read email.  Check daily horoscope, weekly horoscope and reread monthly horoscope to see if any of it has come true.   Make sure my miniature dachshund is in her chair by the fireplace (so she doesn’t whine).   Feed the cat for the third time (she’s 15 and forgets she’s just eaten).   Read more email.  Quick check of Facebook.  Let my dog Buddy outside.  And then let him back inside.  Read a little research.

9:30 a.m.              Write 3 pages

10:15 a.m.            Repeat 8 a.m. schedule

11:15 a.m.            Write four more pages.

12 noon                Eat Lunch

1:00 p.m.             Feed the cat again and give Bella and Buddy chew sticks so I can make the final push to finish the afternoon pages.  Bella gets the big chew stick and Buddy gets two small ones (he hides the first in the backyard and then finally settles to eat the second)

1:00 p.m.           Start a spaghetti sauce for dinner (or put a chicken into the oven to roast)

1:30 p.m.        Burst of energy to finish the last thirteen pages.  (My children are in college but I still can’t help but forget the elementary school bus arrives at 2:35 and I feel a need to be finished by then)

4:00 p.m.        Finish up.  Walk the dogs.

After dinner is research time.  This is when I read the pile of nonfiction books by my desk.

First stop Hooray for Books!

Old Town Alexandria just after the sun set. Beautiful city!

Loved signing at Hooray for Books!

Signing at Turn the Page….

Signing at Turn the Page. I’m pictured here with Robin Kaye and Laura Florand.

Author Alyson Richman author of ‘The Lost Wife.’

A great crowd turned out for the signing despite the rain.

Left to Right: Robin Kaye, Mary Burton/Mary Ellen Taylor, Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb, Alyson Richman and Laura Florand.

You ever wondered how mystery/suspense/thriller writers create suspense in a novel?  It doesn’t happen by accident.  In fact, there are some tried and true techniques that you can use to punch up the suspense in your story.

Set the Stakes.  I almost always open with a prologue that not only introduces a likable character but also a dangerous killer.  Almost on page one I show the reader the killer’s capacity for violence, so that the reader knows the detective is up against a threatening foe.  Even if you opt not to write a prologue show the reader quickly what’s at stake.

In THE SEVENTH VICTIM the heroine narrowly escapes death in the prologue.

Setting.  I always consider the book’s setting a character.  I think about not only the novel’s location but also the time of year and the weather conditions.  What if your detective is working a crime scene in the middle of the hottest summer on record and thunderclouds loom?  What if the scene is set during a frigid cold snap in an accessible area on the banks of a wind-swept river?  Take time to craft your setting and you’ll not only put pressure on the characters but also kick up the novel’s suspense.

I’M WATCHING YOU is set in July. It’s 105 degrees and a thunderstorm threatens. In DEAD RINGER the cold was the enemy.

Pacing.   How fast or slow you move the story controls the suspense.  I like to begin my novels about 30 seconds before trouble begins.  I don’t spend a lot of time initially on back-story or the events leading up to the book’s opening.  I might take a moment to offer a glimpse into the character’s normal world but very quickly trouble arrives.  There are times when you can slow the pace.  In romantic suspense, I often use the less frenetic times to develop the romance.   This also gives your reader a chance to breathe—a little.   But as the book progress, especially the last 20%, the pace again picks up.

I rewrote the opening of DYING SCREAM nine times. Initially I started with too much back-story that had to be cut. In the end, the story starts less than a minute before the first threat appears.

False Clues.  In real life, the police shift through genuine and false clues so I force my fictional detective to do the same.  Not only do the detectives (and the reader) have lots of forensics to process, but they also might have many characters to interview.  Nothing like a misleading bit of evidence or a character that lies to keep everyone guessing and the suspense high.  Don’t forget to put in the real clues.  Your reader needs to be able to go back and flip through the pages and find what they missed.

I dropped more than a few false clues in SENSELESS. All lead to a big reveal on the last pages of the book.

Mini-Mysteries.  Not all the story questions have to be big to keep the reader turning the page.  Who’s on the other side of the door?  What’s inside the box?  What happened to the woman living at the end of the road thirty years ago?  These might be small questions that can’t sustain a story but they are still interesting enough to keep the reader reading.  Make sure you answer all those questions because you’ll frustrate your reader if you don’t.

Character Flaw.  Find out what your character is most afraid of and then use it against them.  If your hero is afraid of heights, send him up a tall rickety ladder to retrieve a clue.  If she’s afraid of snakes, put her in room full of snakes.  If the hero or heroine is on edge, the suspense will be higher.  Remember a character flaw is a belief or fear that is holding back your character.

From the very beginning of BEFORE SHE DIES I hint that my heroine has a big secret. I was careful not to reveal it to the very end.

Ticking Clock.  All my chapters are date-stamped because I want the reader to know that from the first page we are on the clock to catch a killer.  I also keep the time frame of the book short.  My books rarely span more than a couple of weeks because again, I want to maintain pressure on the detectives and the reader flipping through the pages to the end of the book.

And the best part of a roasted chicken is that you can not only make stock, but can use the bits of extra chicken in soups, enchiladas or as salad toppers.

Tip:  to make the perfect stock, I put the discarded bones in a pot of cold water along with a few sliced onions and carrots.  I turn the stovetop onto simmer and let the stock cook very slowly.  I never let it reach a boil because this will make the stock cloudy.  Slow and steady wins the race with a great stock.

After the stock has simmered for several hours, drain and then let the stock stand in cool place so that the fat rises to the top.  Once you’ve skimmed the fat off the top, the stock is ready to use!

Writing or editing a novel can be overwhelming. However, breaking down the process into steps or drafts not only cuts down on stress, but also produces a better product.

The First Draft/The Sloppy Copy:  Armed with a synopsis, set a daily page goal and start writing.  At this stage, no editing allowed.  If a scene comes to you out of order, write it.  The First Draft is all about getting the story down.

The Second Draft/A Sound Structure:  Start smoothing the story’s structure.  Make sure the scenes flow and are in order.  Don’t bother with real word crafting at this stage.  Start a running list of characters, time stamp each scene and record number of pages per chapter.

Third Draft/Fine-Tuning:  Focus not only what is said, but also how it is said.   Identify and clearly define story themes and character motivations.   Does each scene and chapter end with a page-turner? 

Fourth Draft/Polishing:  Really perfect sentences.  Weed out weak words, eliminate passive voice, use literary devices, and search for clichés.  See back for detailed tips.

Fifth Draft/THE BIG READ:  Print the book out, put it in a binder and read it.  You’ll be amazed what you notice on the printed page versus the computer scene.

Sixth Draft/Proof Read: Read the book out loud, have your computer read the book back to you, or reprint the book and give it to another reader.

 Perfecting Your Sentences Checklist

 1.  Weed out weak words such as:

That

Just

Very

Nearly/Almost

Seem/Appear

Begin

Felt

Few

Quite

Thing

Stuff

So

Then

Even

Only

Down

Got

‘ly’ words

2.  Rework passive verbs such as:

Is

Am

Are

Was/Were

Has/Had

Have

Been

To Be

3.  Dust off those literary devices and see if add a few alliterations or simile

4.  Search for clichés

5.  Make sure not only the first word of a sentence is strong but also the last word.