Leading a Fiction Writing Workshop by Marilyn Levinson

Last month I gave a fiction writing workshop at my library. I called it a workshop and not a class because I don't think you can teach someone to write fiction. What you can do is help a new writer develop his or her story.

Having written novels for many years, I was well aware of the numerous lessons I wanted to impart to my students. Among them: make every dialogue and scene reveal character and advance the plot; consider your pacing; include backstory only as needed. We factor in so many different elements as we write, but I didn't want to overwhelm these new writers with rules and regulations. I felt it best to dispense any "words of wisdom" as needed.

I was pleased that everyone was eager to start a project. "How do you start?" someone asked.Ah. Excellent question. I read them the opening lines of a few novels and pointed out how each author awakens the reader's interest. How jumping right into the story is the way to go. How we authors are like puppeteers as we introduce our characters, setting, time and a bit of conflict easily and simultaneously. 

I had them read aloud excerpts of what they'd written so the others could critique them. I talked about the importance of forming a critique group and learning how to critique--determining what kept their interest; what took the reader or listener out of the story. And how critiquing others teaches us how to critique ourselves.

We spent time on each student's project. We analyzed story lines and discussed how to move ahead. I read them a heartfelt blog by a multi-published author I know who wrote about the excitement of writing those first few chapters then not being sure how to move ahead and not giving up. I talked about the importance of having writer friends with whom you can discuss your plot. How sometimes by simply asking for help, the perfect idea comes to mind.

I loved their enthusiasm and their willingness to continue writing. I didn't hesitate to repeat what I considered of vital importance: become part of a critique group; join a writing organization; engage your reader's emotions. I had hoped I'd set them off on their own, but was touched when they asked me to hold another workshop.

 

A Plotting Predicament by Marilyn Levinson

Plotting has always been an uneven experience for me. While the basic theme/idea of each book usually comes easily to mind, there are many times in my writing when I have to stop and figure out how to move on. After all, a mystery writer's cast of characters includes suspects, murder victims, and a murderer all of whom have secrets, tell lies, and present red herrings. Rather a complicated situation. Still, I believe those of us who write mysteries have somehow trained our minds to create and resolve solutions that might first seem unsolvable. I've learned to trust the process will reveal to me how my sleuth will identify the murderer, hopefully in a new and unique manner.

New and unique are the key words here, because after having written sixteen mystery and suspense novels, I don't want to repeat myself. Sure, certain themes like friendship, romance, and  family relationships appear in my work, but I want every story to be fresh and different. When I began writing Death on Dickens Island, the first book in my Books on the Beach series that I write as Allison Brook, I knew exactly what the main issue would be and how it causes conflict that lead to deadly secrets and murder. However, the second book presented a problem. I often develop two storylines that conjoin near the end of the book, but this wasn't happening. My characters simply weren't cooperating. I knew I wanted the murder to be connected to both a white collar crime and a romance gone wrong some years ago, and it all starts at a book club meeting in the Dickens General Store's Book Nook. But what crime would fit my plot?

While I don't have Beta Readers or critique partners, I am part of a group of mystery writers. For the past twenty years or so, we've been helping one another with suggestions--from handy murder items found in everyone's home to catchy book titles. A friend sent me a list of white collar crimes; others threw in possible ideas, and voilà! I chose the non-violent deceitful crime that suits my future novel and fits right in with my series. Somehow knowing that, has allowed me to plot most of the novel.

For me, it's the crimes and time-lines that require deep thinking and the occasional suggestion from my writing pals. The problem is never my characters.  Since I write series, my characters are well-developed and new ones quickly take on a life of their own. I especially love to see how they interact and mature, how they cope with secrets from their past.

Plotting a mystery is a challenge. The more books you write, the greater the challenge to do something fresh and unique. To explore a new setting, a unique situation, an intriguing reason why one character murders another. What do you do to keep each book and story that you write distinctive?

My Almost Vacation by Marilyn Levinson

As December of 2024 drew to a close, I found myself looking forward to a vacation. A staycation, actually, but time off from writing. 2024 was a busy, often stressful time for me. I'd written two novels, one of which was the first book in a new series, as well as a short story for an anthology. I'd done edits for four novels--the first book I'd ever written and three books that were republished--along with the edits for two of the four books scheduled to be republished in 2025. As I emailed DEATH ON DICKENS ISLAND to my editor, I drew a deep sigh of relief. Ahead was January 2025--a month of free time, rest and relaxation.

Of course I had some writing-related chores to attend to. Aside from my monthly blog and newsletter, I wanted to master BookBrush and Canva to some degree and venture into BookTok. I needed to arrange promotion for my mystery scheduled to come out in the fall, and I had to start plotting the two books due in 2025. But no writing.

I started arranging lunch dates with friends and playing with my kitties. I'd go shopping; stay up late reading and streaming show after show into the early morning. I'd be on vacation, sort of, and have time to unwind and give the creative workings a sorely needed rest.

And then they arrived--the edits for my middle-grade novel. On one level, I knew they'd be coming eventually, but did they have to come so soon? My editor was very pleased with the manuscript, but like all editors she had a few suggestions, suggestions that I agreed would enhance the book. And so, after a few days that I granted myself free of work, I set about rereading my manuscript and incorporating some of these suggestions. Alas, adding scenes to a completed manuscript is always more time consuming than writing daily pages.

What have I learned from my failed plans for an almost vacation? Often edits will arrive when you least expect them, along with other writerly obligations. And so I've decided to take vacation days here and there, whenever I need a break. And if things should get too crazy and I need more time to myself, I'll make use of the Out of Office card so many of us have received.

Writing More than One Series At a Time by Marilyn Levinson

For years I marveled at how so many authors I know managed to write more than one series at a time. I have friends who write three cozy series. How? I wondered. Don't you get your plots mixed up? Call your characters by the wrong name? A few told me they finished one book, then wrote another. But some, because of their contracts, ended up writing at least two books simultaneously. How did they do it?

Eventually, I found out when I was in a similar situation. My agent, now deceased, got me a four-book deal for a middle-grade series. The first book had been published; the second book was written and about to be released when the publisher went kaput. I'd even written two-thirds of the third book, Rufus and the Dark Side of Magic, so I hadn't much farther to go.

Meanwhile, I'd been writing an 80,000 plus word cozy mystery every year. This year I was writing the first book in a brand-new series that required a good deal of planning. I had to finish Rufus and the Dark Side of Magic. Now I had two books due within a few months of each other. I felt a surge of panic. What to do? What to do?

First off, I went over my Rufus book, made sure it was in good shape, and plotted out the final third which includes a lot of conflict. Then I concentrated on Death on Dickens Island, my first Dickens Island mystery, and its complications. I told myself I'd try to write a little more than I had been each day. But as the due date for my Rufus book was fast approaching, I now had to write pages for both books. I wasn't sure if I could manage this.

I reminded myself that I read and listened to several books at the same time. I'd been doing this for years and never got the stories mixed up. Hopefully, this ability would work when I wrote my books as well. I discovered that going over the pages I'd written the day before helped get me into my work In progress. When I was writing my cozy, I was in the head of a thirty-eight year old divorcée who often didn't know how to deal with her teenaged son because she'd left him in the care of her parents for twelve years. Next, I was writing about ten-year-old Rufus who'd been lured to the dark side of magic by his evil uncle. Because the books are so different, I had no trouble going from one manuscript to the other.

I am managing to write two series simultaneously, though there are days I only write pages for one of my WIPs. The truth is I prefer writing one book at a time because other writerly "homework" always crops up in the form of edits for a previously-written book, blogs, newsletters, and answering interview questions. 

If you are a writer, are you comfortable writing more than one book at a time?

Starting a New Series by Marilyn Levinson

Recently, I started writing the first book in a new cozy series. However, there was much I had to work out before I could write the first word of the first chapter. For one thing, my new series takes place on an island that you will never find on any map. Dickens Island is my creation. It's situated smack in the middle of the Long Island Sound and belongs to New York. Creating an island requires all sorts of planning—its size; its shape; how many people live on the island year round; how many come during the summer months; what ferries link the island to the mainland; what the school system is like; its local government; its history.

I researched the islands off Long Island to learn how they deal with many of these issues, and came up with many methods of my own. Setting, as any cozy author will tell you, is a very important element. It is the world where our characters live, work, interrelate, and commit murders. 

My main characters came to me early on. I knew I wanted my sleuth to be a savvy woman around forty—divorced for many years and the mother of a fifteen-year-old son. And so Delia, short for Cordelia, was born. Twelve years earlier, she divorced her abusive husband and left three-year-old Connor on Dickens Island to be raised by her parents, while she lived and worked in Manhattan. When she moves back to Dickens Island to resume her maternal duties, is it any wonder that Connor resents her? That he's distant and difficult, and bound to get into more-than-typical teenage trouble?

Graham Dickens, Delia's father, is the patriarch of the family, and feels it's his responsibility to keep the island running smoothly. Not that he holds any position in the island's government. Those positions are held by his brother, Brad, the president of the town council, and Reenie, Brad's wife, who is the island's manager. Unfortunately, Brad and Reenie are fiercely at odds over most issues. Their open discord has begun to affect their marriage and to divide the island into two hostile camps. 

 What fun it is to create new characters that will live on in future books. Helena, Delia's grandmother, has left Delia a large Victorian house when she died the previous year. When Delia discovers her grandmother's hidden room filled with sailors' logs and journals, Helena appears in ghostly form. She fills Delia in on events that occurred many years ago that shed light on the  recent homicide.

 A shaggy dog starts to follow Connor about, often spending the night at the house with Delia and her son. Delia has no success in finding his owner. She's surprised when she sees the spitting image of the dog in an early photo with her grandmother.

 And so I've begun writing the first book in my new series. I've had to stop a few times to understand my characters' relationship with one another. I'm glad I did because that enriched the texture of the story. Now all I have to do it write about the murder, why it came about, and how it gets resolved. And a few other things, of course. That should keep me busy for the next several months. 

Some Thoughts Upon Completing a Novel by Marilyn Levinson

I've just finished writing the sixth book in my Haunted Library mystery series that's published under my pseudonym Allison Brook. I enjoy a sense of accomplishment for having completed another novel—my nineteenth or twentieth. Perhaps the writing gets easier for some, but not for me. Oh, sure, my Internal Author is savvy enough to create plotlines full of twists and turns with some characters creating murder and mayhem that other characters investigate and resolve. However, one problem remains. I've no idea if I have ADHD, if I'm hyperactive or simply a procrastinator, but every day I require a good deal of effort to settle down and add at least two pages to my manuscript. I'm fine once I get into my writing groove, but honestly, sometimes I wonder how these books get written.

I love writing a series because I adore my characters. They're real to me and I never tire of watching them develop and grow. Always active and relating with one another, they have plenty to do and say.  My sleuth Carrie Singleton first appears in Death Overdue as a goth-looking young woman approaching thirty. She is restless, unhappy, and ready to move on. In Dewey Decimated, Carrie is a solid citizen of Clover Ridge. Not only the well-respected head of programs and events at the local library, but she's also filling in a vacancy on the town council. A product of a dysfunctional family, now Carrie is surrounded by friends and relatives and is engaged to be married.

Social media being what it is today enables me to engage in many exchanges with my readers. I'm delighted by the number of them who tell me they love my series. They can't wait to see what's happening next in Carrie's life. Recently, a fellow mystery author reviewed Death on the Shelf, book number five in the series that makes its appearance November 9th. He gave the book an excellent review, and when I thanked him he told me he thought this book was the best in the series yet.

I was delighted to hear this. And yet it makes me wonder. Will the book that follows measure up to this high praise? I mean, when readers come to expect another great book to read, will I be able to deliver? Odd to think that we not only must keep up with our previous books, but top them if possible. Such pressure! This must be one fraction of what was working on Simone Biles at the Olympics as she competed against her own past achievements.

These are a few of the thoughts that run through my head as I pause between finishing my latest mystery and start to edit it. I can only say I hope that the result is an enjoyable book for whoever reads it.

What Do You Write? by Marilyn Levinson

There are many ways of categorizing the various forms of writing. Writing can be divided into prose and poetry; fiction and nonfiction; into genres like mystery, sci-fi, and romance; into subgenres such as mystery's cozies and thrillers.

Like almost every other Writers Who Kill blogger, I write mysteries. These days, cozy mysteries with a touch of the paranormal. I also write novels for kids, the occasional romantic suspense, and if I go back far enough—short stories.

Many of us write more than one type of fiction. Best-seller Nora Roberts, probably the best known romance writer, also writes futuristic suspense as J. D. Robb. Closer to home, this is evident among my friends and fellow mystery writers. Daryl Gerber writes cozies and novels of suspense. Kaye George and Debra Goldstein are probably as well known for their short stories as their mysteries.

I think we write in various genres because we're creative beings and find that different types of stories require different genres. Though I've included ghosts and witches in some of my books, I must admit I was surprised when I found myself writing a YA horror—The Devil's Pawn. But a long time ago I learned to allow my thoughts to play themselves out so I could decide if they'd make a good story.

Though we're all fiction writers, we also do a good deal of so-called "non-fiction" writing. Think of how much, we as writers produce in the service of promoting our books and our "brand." (I think I'm beginning to hate that word.) We write blog posts (which are often essays), articles on writing, book reviews, interviews for fellow writers, answer interview questions, write blurbs, flap copy, bios, letters to editors and letters to agents to name a few. Some, like Nancy Cohen, write books on writing and cook books. And I'm not even mentioning all of the support we give one another on Facebook, Messaging, via email and other electronic devices.

Regardless of the type or genre, we sure spend a lot of time writing!