Writing Life

My writing groups and organizations
Sisters in Crime
Mystery Writers of America
Short Mystery Fiction Society
Historical Novel Society
CrimeSpace
Historical Mystery Writers Online (founder, moderator)
Strictly Genre: Ithaca Fiction Critique Group (founder, leader)

Where I get ideas
I’m lucky to be a historical fiction writer. All I have to do is pick up a history book about any period, any place. Ideas fly off the pages. If I go to a museum, drive by a battlefield, travel, come across a web page or news item, or watch a historical movie, I’m assaulted by ideas. More ideas than I’d be able to use in several lifetimes.

How I write
Every day. Sometimes I slip. Occasionally I become a time-wasting, procrastinating, twittering sloth. But typically I write every day. Some days are better than others. My personal rule is: spend at least a few minutes each day writing, or doing something directly related to teh writing such as researching or plotting rather than actually getting words onto the hard drive. Which is a version of Roger Zelazny’s rule (via Doyce Testerman), “four small bites of writing a day.” During the week I use my lunch hour, when I take one, for writing, and afterwards, in the evening, I try to write for an hour or two. I like walks, pencil and paper in hand for brainstorming. Weekend mornings are sacred to writing–no errands allowed. Working on a piece every day helps keep me primed and the engines running. Just 250 words (one double-spaced page) a day for 365 days is a novel in a year.

How I revise
A lot. Constantly. You sometimes hear writers express the fear that they’ll lose their voice through revising and editing. Don’t know what they’re talking about; revising helps me refine the voice.  BUT, every writer’s different. For me, writing the first draft is the relatively easy part; revising is the crucial, and to me, painful, part. Even so, I spend a lot of time revising. Examining every word. Scouring out extra words. Reading aloud.  Reverse outlining (outlining after you’ve written). Printing out many many versions and marking them up. Taking long breaks between versions so that when I return to a work it’s fresh.

My critique group
Simply the best. If you’re insanely brilliant and naturally talented, and you don’t need a group, more power to you. The rest of us can use all the help we can get, especially in these highly competitive publishing times. Seek out feedback. Listen to everything anyone will tell you about your work. Don’t get defensive. Listen, thank them, then go home and consider. I learned those lessons the hard way. Don’t let it happen to you.

What I’m reading
Part of being a writer is reading a lot.  I mostly read crime fiction, mysteries, historical fiction, thrillers, short fiction, and historical mysteries.  In recent years, I’ve become quite addicted to audiobooks. Listening to them in the car or when I’m taking a walk or occasionally even doing a house project like painting allows me to read a couple extra books per month.  Audiobooks have also been great for helping me develop my writer’s “ear.”

My list of favorite authors changes every day and I’m always acquiring new ones. On August 16, 2010, at 9:11pm EST, it is, in no particular order: Ruth Rendell, Tana French, Elmore Leonard, Adrian McKinty, Ariana Franklin, Martin Cruz Smith.