by Shari Randall
At a recent author panel, I was asked a most intriguing question: When you write several books, how do you avoid repeating yourself?
This is an especially good question for someone who writes mysteries in a series. A good question and a good challenge. How do you avoid using the same murder weapon over and over? Or motive? One doesn’t want too many crimes of passion or sports stars/business moguls/garden club presidents killing their rivals, at least not in book after book.
Of course, authors have themes that concern them, and want to address those themes. Family dynamics, the ways the past affects the present (I personally love the long shadows of old sins), the ways people adapt – or don’t – to change are all topics that fascinate me.
But eagle-eyed readers will spot repetition, so how does one make sure to keep plots, characters, means, and motives fresh? God forbid you use the same character name, giving the impression of a recurring character, or the same murder weapon in book after book.
A good editor will help keep these issues at bay, but I also have my own homemade system.
I use index cards, much like a recipe card. A quick scan before plotting a new book lets me know what ingredients are off the menu for the new book.
Here’s one I made up (no spoilers for any of my books here):
“Death at Darby Lake”
Brake line cut in classic car
Digitalis in brandy
Red herrings: missing pill bottle,
Missing heirloom pearls
Author side kick
Fourth of July picnic at North Carolina lake house
Motive: inheritance
Main characters: Darryl, Mavis, Emily, Ann Marie, Pete, Skipper the Goldendoodle
It’s not fancy, but it works for me. I’ve also seen fun social media graphics with the plot elements included (see the one above for my latest book) but those, of course, can't have spoilers.
Authors, how do you keep track of plot elements when you write many books?
Shari Randall writes the new Ice Cream Shop Mystery series under her pen name, Meri Allen. The next book in the series, FATAL FUDGE SWIRL, is available for preorder now.
Oh, love this and stealing. So much more concise than my current method of relying on memory! We know how that goes...
ReplyDeleteI have a repetition problem that's even more basic. Sometimes I think of a word that just seems so right for the story, I repeat it. Ad nauseum. Once an editor pointed out (thank goodness when there was still time to change it!) that I used "swirl" something like 10 times in a short story. Trash swirled on the sidewalk. Snow swirled from the sky. Creamer swirled in a cup of coffee. And so on.
ReplyDeleteThose darn eagle eyed readers. :)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I do appreciate the time, effort, and thought authors put into keeping their books fresh. It makes it much more fun for us readers.
Kait, feel free to use my crazy my method!
ReplyDeleteKM, oh, I’ve done that, too! It was the word “ enamored” - everyone was enamored of something, lol. We won’t even get into my overuse of the word “just.”
ReplyDeleteHi Mark,
ReplyDeleteI love those eagle-eyed readers! They keep us on our toes!
I rely on my Series Opus, otherwise known as my giant OneNote, housing all my information. The idea of a notecard is great -- short & sweet!
ReplyDeleteShari, it's an excellent issue over which authors must have control. And it's not just series authors with this issue. Standalones that become same old, same old quickly become reading no more.
ReplyDelete