Why Do We as
Writers Kill? by Debra H. Goldstein
Why do the
writers on this blog kill? What perverse joy do we or our peers get from dead
bodies, dismembered body parts, bashed brains, or subtle symptoms of poisoning?
Secretly, do you think our families wish we wrote literary works instead of
books and stories in the mystery genre?
What makes us
listen to two people in a restaurant and immediately discern a conflict that
will result in the death of the one of the two we least like? Do other people
observe their surroundings and think about where a dead body can be shoved?
Outside of our sphere of friends, are we classified as “normal
The answer
probably is “no,” but who cares? I can’t speak for my fellow bloggers, but I
write in the mystery genre, because I love it. Although I have written and been
published in the non-fiction and literary areas, my passion is whodunits.
Despite
reading every aspect of the genre, I
primarily write traditional or cozy mysteries. In my other life, I traveled a
lot and found traditional or cozy mysteries to be easy plane or beach reads
that completely took me away from the stress of my everyday world. Often
character driven and with crisp dialogue, these mysteries quickly invested me
in their stories and challenged me to figure out the murderer before the great
reveal. My goal in writing them is to provide the same fun for other people.
To some, the fun may seem a bit
macabre, but I think I can speak for all of us --- we wouldn’t want it any
other way.
I grew up reading Nancy Drew and the Hardy boys; my first "adult" reading was my aunt's Agatha Christie (children weren't allowed to check out books from the adult section of the public library.)
ReplyDeleteWhile I have certainly expanded my reading since then, I retain a fond spot for mysteries, and they remain my favorites.
I read and write mysteries. It's who I am. Potential plots are all around me.
ReplyDeleteI read and write mysteries because I want to figure out who the murderer is in the mystery books I read. I enjoy figuring out who the murderer was before the end of the book. Right now I'm working on my latest book that will soon be published and trying to decide who my murderer will be. I pretty much have decided who he will be, but now I have to figure out how the main character of my book will figure out who the murderer of two young men who were murdered earlier in the book. In this book I'm dealing with the opioid problem that is so large problem today.
ReplyDeleteAlthough mysteries are my favorite read, I read other books, too. Because I belong to two book clubs I'm usually introduced to books that are not mysteries.
Interesting... we write it, we read it, we think in terms of it...… Although all of you read other things, too …. this is in your soul (and what does that imply?)
ReplyDeleteI am not an author and I absolutely love mysteries. That said, I often find myself imagining what murder took place, how it happened, and who did it and why. I write these stories in my head whenever something triggers my imagination. I have fun doing that and have absolutely no intentions of writing any of it.
ReplyDeleteI love mysteries. I love literary fiction. I'm happiest when I'm reading both at the same time-- something literary and a fabulous mystery. My mood decides which will be my bedtime reading!
ReplyDeleteI read and write mysteries because I love trying to solve the puzzle of who did it and why. While I admit that I occasionally like a funny romance, I still gravitate back to mysteries. As I read, my mind is looking at every possible thing as a clue. I do this even while watching TV mystery shows like Midsomer Murders. It annoys my husband when I keep point out possible clues and motives, and sometimes I guess correctly who the murderer was. It's the challenge of it in reading. In writing, it's the challenge of being fair in presenting clues but making them hard to find.
ReplyDeleteI have heard it said that romance is the genre of emotion, sci-fi the genre of ideas, and mystery the genre of Justice. For me, crime fiction is a way to vicariously explore it, to practice my wings as it were, before attempting to deal with the real world, where justice is not guaranteed.
ReplyDelete