Crisis of Confidence Going On Over Here

Like most writers, I'm a big reader.  Loved to read as far back as I can remember (and at my age, that's pretty far).  But I never spent a lot of time analyzing how I felt about a book unless it really moved me in some way.  Most of the time, my reaction was I liked it or I didn't like it and that was all.  Now that I'm seriously trying to get published, I pay a lot more attention when I read.  What worked in the story, what didn't, and why. 

A couple weeks ago I attended a book signing.  I wasn't familiar with the author but the ads and all her bookcovers proclaimed she was a "National Bestseller".  The books were listed as "Suspense".  I bought two.  While I was there I also picked up the most recent book from an author whose blog I had started following.  She wasn't a bestseller but the book was number six in a series, so she had to be reasonably successful.

I started with one of the two from the bestseller.  It opened with a great action scene and pulled me right in.  The male and female lead characters (one was a cop) had the usual mild animosity and mistrust that I expected would be overcome later in the story.  The plot started to develop, clues and foreshadowing nicely layered in, then all of a sudden they were in bed.  No build up of sexual tension, almost no internal struggle with the attraction between them, just - bam - they went from dislike/mistrust to wild sex and I can't live with out you.  The abruptness of it destroyed the connection I was developing with the charactors which, in turn, pretty much spoiled the rest of the book for me.

So I moved on to the second book.  Maybe that just wasn't one of her better efforts.  The second book also started out strong.  A little stronger animosity and mistrust between the leads this time (again, one was a cop), good opening action, good hook.  I was really getting into it.  Then - bam - in the middle of a significant plot development the lead characters jump each other in a parking lot and head back to his place.  No build up, no tension, no internal struggle to speak of.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of romance.  I'm a little disappointed if a story doesn't have some romantic element.  And I'm certainly not against sex.  Nothing better than a good steamy love scene.  But it has to fit the characters and the plot.  These felt more like - "Oops, page 33, time for sex." 

I moved on to the third book (the other author).  A little softer tone, slower pace.  Nice character development.  But the story was incredibly weak.  The main plot line was an abduction.  For much of the story the police wandered around searching for suspicious vehicles and canvassing the neighborhood.  There was no interesting detective work, no putting together clues and developing leads.  I know police work is sometimes like that but it doesn't make for very interesting reading.  Finally the author cut to the POV of the abductee.  She wakes up in a dark room, realizes what's happened, frees herself from her bonds in a way that was too simplistic to be believed, and when her captor returns, knocks him over and runs to a conveniently located gas station to call 911.

Oh, come on.

So, what's wrong?  I read three books and picked out what I thought worked and didn't work in each of them.  That's good, right?  That will help me be a better writer, help me not to make the same mistakes. Except...   Author One is a national bestseller and Author Two has a successful series.  So maybe my judgement about what works and what doesn't stinks.

I'm currently polishing a my WIP and getting close to query stage.  I think it looks pretty good.  But now...[see title]

What do you do at times like this?

Groaner of the Day:  (long post, short pun) I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down.

Let's be Honest

Okay, I'll be honest.  I promised a post Friday on more of what I learned at the Writers' Police Academy.  But that means posting it now because I have another commitment in the morning. 

Well, I haven't written it yet.  I had theater tickets this evening - Young Frankenstein, the Muscal.  It was great.  Then I wanted to seen the end of the Tiger-Yankee game.  (I was rooting for the Tigers so that was also great.)  Then I got distracted by this and that, and now it's almost 1:00 AM and I'm too tired to write about the WPA.  So I'm putting off that promised post until Monday, with my apologies.

I will remind you that the Caption Contest from my Wednesday post is still open for entries.  Stop by and play.

My writers' group is doing a public reading at a local bookstore Friday evening.  I'm going to read the poem I wrote when we lost my mother-in-law, Eleanora, last year.  Saturday is the first anniversary of her passing.  I'd like to share it here as well, in her memory.

More Time

I thought we had more time.
The doctors said it would be weeks,
Not days. Not hours.
Not now.

There were things I planned to do.
Take a notebook with me,
Ask her questions about the old days
And write down the answers this time.

She asked me to bring her a card
For her great-grandson's birthday next month,
So she could sign it
Just in case.

I asked her about stuffed pancakes
From Bob Evans.
I could bring her some on Sunday.
She said that would be nice.

I thought there would be warning signs
That would tell us to stay there,
Close beside her,
Holding her hands.

Not a phone call in the night.
Not a stranger's voice
Telling me
She was already gone.

I thought we had more time.

 
Thanks for letting me share.  I'll try to get my act together on my posts before Monday.  Have a great weekend.
 
 
(I think I'll skip the groaner on this one.  I'll find a good on for Monday.)

Lighten Up on Flawed Logic?

My monthly book club met tonight.  The book we were discussing was a thriller with an element of time travel.  It was a good book; we all enjoyed it.  But I happened to mention a couple logic flaws in the story and I was told that, because it was sci fi or paranormal or whatever, rules of logic didn't apply.

I have a problem with that.  I've always believed that when an author creates any kind of alternate reality, he/she sets the rules for that reality and then has to write the story to fit inside those rules.  This author didn't.  He violated his own rules several times for plot convenience, with no explanation.

I explained that to the group and was told basically to lighten up.  So there were a few holes in his logic.  What difference did it make? It was still an exciting story.

What difference did it make?  Well, it made a difference to me because a couple hours before the meeting I'd been pounding my head against my desk (ouch!) over a logic issue I'd found in my WIP.  I'd inadvertenlty given my protag an easy source for some information in chapter one that she's not suppose to find until chapter three.   It took me quite a while to come up with a feasible solution and it's going to take re-writing several scenes to fix it.  But why go to the trouble when all these regular mystery readers don't care.  When they all shrugged and asked what difference did it make?

What difference does it make?  As a reader or as a writer, do you think having a few mistakes in logic is okay as long as the story is exciting and fun to read?  How many is too many?  Please weigh in on this one.  I'm really interested.

Favor for a Friend:
Many of you know my buddy, Maria Zannini, is in the running for a  Book Cover Award for The Devil to Pay.  Maria designed the cover herself and it's great.  If you haven't already done so, please take a minute to hop over to this site and give her your vote.  (The voting is on the upper right side of the page.)  I'd really appreciate it.

Personal Note:
I just need to say a couple words here.  Later today I'm going to the memorial service for my daughter in law's mom, Linda Cover.  Linda was a woman of extraordinary courage who faced adversity with style and grace. She was the kind of person the world needs more of and she will be sorely missed.

It seems almost inappropreate to follow that with my usual groaner, but so many of you said you enjoyed Wednesday's and Linda was also a person of laughter so I don't think she'll mind.

Groaner of the Day:
Once upon a time there were two canaries in a cage, one male and one female.

After a few days together, the male decided to meet the female. He scooted over to her side of the cage and said, "Since we're in this together, why don't I move over to your side of the cage!"

The female canary replied, "No, thank you."

The male went back to his side of the cage but after a while decided to try again.  He hopped over to her side of the cage and said, "I am sorry I was so forward before. Why don't we get to know each other first."

To which she replied again, "No, thank you."

Feeling very shot down, he languished about for a bit then made one final effort. "Well, could we at least talk?"

This time she replied, "I'm sorry if I seem mean. But I just learned I have a canarial disease called, "Chirpies" and I'm afraid it's untweetable."

(forgive me)

Sub-genres - Now There's a Mystery

Like a lot of writers, I belong to several writing groups that maintain e-mail lists for exchanging information, questions, support, etc.  I have one that falls under the parent organization Sisters in Crime (mystery writers) and one whose mama-ship is Romance Writers of America - because sometimes it's a thin line between a "mystery with a strong romantic element" and a "romantic suspense".

The other day, a member of the mystery group posed a question about mystery sub-genres, asking for a list and some definitions.  Oddly enough, there wasn't the usual stream of responses.  In fact, there weren't any.  That struck my as odd.  In Romance, things seem clearer.  Pretty much every other chapter of RWA holds an annual writing contest and they all use the same sub categories:

Contemporary

Historical

Romantic Suspense

Paranormal/TimeTravel/Fantasy

Young Adult

Single Title

 

So what about mysteries?  I did a little online digging and came up with these (all were on at least three of the many lists I found):

 

Amateur Detective

Classic Whodunit
Comic (Bumbling Detective)

Cozy  

Courtroom Drama

Dark Thriller

Espionage

Forensic

Hard-boiled (noir)

Heists and Capers

Historical

Inverted (howdunit)

Locked Room

Medical

Paranormal/Supernatural

Police Procedural

Private Detective

Psychological Suspense

Romantic

Serials

Technothriller

Thriller

Woman/Child in Jeopardy

Wow.  That's quite a list.  And I imagine a lot of mysteries have elements of more than one category, right?  So what difference does it make?  Well, the problem comes when the author is trying to describe a book to an agent or an agent to a publisher or a publisher to a bookseller or a bookseller to a buyer.  They all have to answer one question, "What is it?" 

And the answer is supposed to fit someplace on that lovely list.

Oh.  Well, it's a Paranormal Private Detective Thriller with a Romantic Woman in Jeopardy.  Sort of.  I guess.

Think about some of your favorite mysteries.  Where would they fit on the list?  Would they fit somewhere on that list?  I'll bet you have some that do and others that need a description like the one in the paragraph above.  Can you share an example of a multi-sub-genre mystery you've enjoyed?

As a writer, do you try to write to a sub-genre/category?  As a reader, do you choose books based on that sort of label?

Note:  Follow up to my Monday post - as I write this, we're in the middle of another torrential downpour.  Still on target to break the record for the wettest April ever.

I'm currently enjoying: Murder on the Mind by L.L. Bartlett  (I could have finished this last night but my grandson started playing with my Nook, got caught up in the story, and wouldn't give it back to me.)

Groaner of the Day: A linguistics professor was lecturing to his class one day. "In English," he said, "a double negative forms a positive. In some languages though, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However," he pointed out, "there is no language wherein a double positive can form a negative."

A voice from the back of the room piped up "Yeah, right."