Three years ago I left Florida’s tropical Gulf Coast and returned to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, my city of origin. It was the right thing to do. I’d wrapped up my corporate career, and I loved reconnecting with family and friends daily versus only seeing folks on vacations and special holidays. Everyone assured me that due to global warming Western Pennsylvania’s climate had changed, that the weather’s lake effect had mellowed, and that “We don’t get big snow anymore.”
It’ll be fun, they said. You’ll love it. It’s like living in
North Carolina.
And then Snowmageddon hit. 21 inches of snow fell on Pittsburgh in two days. Lucky me. I was here to catch the fourth largest snowfall in the city’s history.
Sidebar for total disclosure: I was also living in
Pittsburgh during the Blizzard of 1993 when 24 inches of snow fell in one day.
In my defense I was much younger then, and it felt more like a snow day
adventure.
Being of a naturally sunny and optimistic disposition – and
being retired so that I didn’t need to go anywhere I settled in with my books.
I’m delighted to report that I cleared my TBR (To Be Read) stack to the point
that once the snowplow did clear the parking lot I needed to visit the library
to get something to read.
I picked Margaret Atwood’s latest tome, Book of Lives, A
Memoir of Sorts from the Recommended New Releases carrousel. Her memoir is a fat
stack and meant to be savored. Being in no hurry I slowed my usual reading pace
and uncovered some surprising parallels and perspectives between our two
completely different writing lives. She stopped me with this quote:
“There’s a set of emotions familiar to anyone who has been
the victim of a con artist. First, anger at the perpetrators. Why have they
been so mean? But also anger at oneself: Why have you been so stupid? You ought
to have figured it out sooner. Also again: Being conned has been a violation
of your trust, and trust is a thing you will never extend so easily again. You
will be endlessly wondering about hidden motives and stories: the ones you’re
being told, and the other one.
“You might become a detective. You might become a con artist
yourself. Or, a blend of the two: you might become a novelist.”
Margaret Atwood, Book of Lives, A Memoir of Sorts.
Now pause for a moment and give her quote some thought. Why did you become a writer? When did you know that’s what you wanted to be? Why did you choose the crime fiction/mystery genre? And did anyone else influence or guide you to make this choice and follow this life path?
I claim for an origin story that I have always been interested in financial crimes. Knowing I would not do well in prison, I decided to write about them rather than commit them.
ReplyDeleteHi Jim - LOL, good morning. That's funny! I've used the same reasoning for keeping away from criminality myself. It is interesting to me though that I've always had an interest in crimes, financial or not. After forty years in the financial sector myself, I've seen how the game is played, and followed some shady deals like Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme.
DeleteMy influences were the books I read, starting with WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN by Mary Higgins Clark, which I read when I was in my teens. Prior to that, I read and wrote in every genre out there. She steered me to crime fiction.
ReplyDeleteAnd speaking of Margaret Atwood, I highly recommend taking her writing course on MasterClass. It's worth the cost of the subscription.
Hi Annette - FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC by VC Andrews is the series that kept me awake in my teens. I heard a funny story about her once - spoiler alert! that while being interviewed she served the reporter powdered donuts. And Margaret Atwood, I've followed her writing for just about as long. What an incredible talent!
DeleteI've always lived in my imagination as much as in "real life." A character flaw, perhaps. But after a few minor flings with questionably legal activities, and even more questionable companions, I realized that I had two children to raise and they deserved a more stable situation. So I relegated my marginal experiences to my imaginary, and thus my writing, life.
ReplyDeleteI didn't really start to expand my imaginary, inner life until I was thirty. I think it took me until then to realize the story I had been given (and told) up until then was fiction. Once I understood that, it gave me a sturdy base to begin asking life questions, and that in turn led to the development of my mystery stories and characters.
DeleteCozy mysteries prodded me to the genre. I liked to see the backstory and explore motives of the victim and perp. In Cozies, we assume everyone is at least somewhat rational, leaving the crazies to the thriller or horror genres. What surprises me is when I write dark characters and motives, which I do from time to time. Nancy Atherton (a bit of supernatural) and Dorothy Cannell influenced me.
ReplyDeleteI also love exploring motives versus the wham! bang! of action thrillers. Seeing characters struggle with ethical or moral dilemnas is my cup of tea, even if or when they make what is to my mind the wrong choice!
DeleteI've discovered that I love to include a supernatural element in many of my novels. Why? I couldn't say.
ReplyDeleteHi Marilyn - I've added a supernatural element to my New Orleans Mysteries - why? Because the NOLA setting demanded it. And, since I love exploring character conflict, I made my hardshell Yankee non-believing protagonist the focus of the supernatural attention, whether she likes it or not. The question now is: is what she sees happening real or a symptom of her chronic PTSD condition? This whole thing interest me because I never saw myself adding this perspective to my writing.
DeleteThe Attwood quote is telling. I knew I wanted to be a novelist for as long as I can remember. I used to dress up in the remains of my mother’s wedding dress (She had cut the train for dining room chair covers before I was born, but kept the dress), and retire to my room with a pad of paper and a fountain pen pretending to be Jo March. I must have been seven or eight.
ReplyDeleteI began as a romance writer, and my crime fiction reflects that. I changed genres when I realized that all of my books, no matter the genre, involved crime in one way or another. As for influence. I think I got there on my own, and I still write romance!
Hi Kait - I knew I wanted to be a writer since I was eight. I remember hanging out on the porch with my grandfather and his brother and three sisters one day. One of my great-aunts teased me about getting married. I told her I wasn't getting married - I was going to be a writer! They all politely laughed - I was such a little card, but I caught my grandfather's eye. Pop knew that I meant it, and he approved. And here I am!
Delete