How Fast Do You Write?

By Kait Carson

“The mind travels faster than the pen; consequently, writing becomes a question of learning to make occasional wing shots, bringing down the bird of thought as it flashes by.” — E. B. White

“There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly; sometimes it’s like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges.” Ernest Hemingway

“Writing is easy: All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until the drops of blood form on your forehead.” — Gene Fowler

I always knew I wanted to be a writer. My parents were great readers and my dad taught me to read at age 2. In his defense, teaching me to read was his best offense. He hated the Prince Valiant comics in the Sunday paper and, being possessed of curly hair, I loved the Prince’s stick-straight do. Toddlers pitch epic fits, and he turned mine into a teaching moment. Once I discovered that all those marks on the page made words, I was hooked. And I wanted to make my own marks.

By the time I turned nine, I had read Little Women and set my goal higher. I proclaimed I would be just like Jo March and write for a living. Every day after school, I would hurry home, put on the remains of my mother’s wedding dress (she had cut the train for chair covers years before, but kept the gown), pull out my fountain pens and ink, and write. I don’t remember any of the stories, but I remember lots of gigantic exclamation points.

Writing, I decided, was easy. I mean, look at all the books out there. How hard could it be? A monster stroke of luck confirmed my assessment. I wrote a letter to the editor, and the publication resulted in an offer of representation. I accepted. The poor guy never knew I was twelve when I signed the contract. What followed were sales to various teen fashion and lifestyle magazines. All that changed when I went to college. My agent passed away, and I put writing aside in the name of fun and experience.

The writing bug remained dormant until I hit middle age when it returned with a vengeance. In my memory, the only requirement for churning out stories was sitting at a typewriter. No plotting, planning, or even a topic required to unleash the flow of words. I can’t say if maturity, or computers and keyboards changed my style, but suddenly, the Gene Fowler quote made perfect sense.

Writing, I discovered, is not only hard, it’s glacial. At least my writing. I have writing friends who write ten to sixteen books every year. Good books, well-written and edited books, and since I’m writing this in 2026, I need to emphasize the books are NOT the product of AI. How can I know that? Easy. They’ve been keeping up the pace since before AI was a gleam in Silicon Valley’s eye. These authors are simply fast writers. And I envy them.

As for me, my writing speed stalls at a book every two years. At first, I blamed the day job, but that hasn’t been an issue since 2020. And I’ve taken steps to speed up the process: classes, how-to books, bullet-point outlines, detailed outlines, no outlines but shooting from the cuff. Nothing works. I putter along at the same snaillike pace.

If you’re looking for a big reveal here about how I solved my problem, you’ve come to the wrong place. I finally accepted that every writer has their own style and pace, and wishing does not change that. All of this introspection and speaking with another writer friend offered a clue to my less than snappy pace, and it’s one I’m fine with. Against all writing advice, I edit as I write and refuse to leave any chapter until it’s as polished as I can make it. Slow in the execution, but fast in the editing.

Have I gotten faster? Yes. Part of that is learning the craft, but most of it is consistency, and it’s possible that my secret sauce is working on more than one project at a time. Right now, I have two books in the works, and I get up every day looking forward to reconnecting with the characters and stories of each book. Variety is the spice of my creativity.

I will never write sixteen books in a year. Heck, I can’t type that fast!

Writers, do you stress over your production? Readers, how do you feel about slow writers?

 Kait Carson writes the Hayden Kent Mysteries, set in the Fabulous Florida Keys, and is at work on a new mystery series set in her adopted state of Maine. Her short fiction has been nationally published in the True Confessions magazines and in Woman’s World. Kait’s short story, “Gutted, Filleted, and Fried”, appeared in the Silver Falchion Award-nominated Guppy Anthology Hook, Line, and Sinker. Her nonfiction essay was included in the Agatha Award-winning book Writing the Cozy Mystery. She is a former President of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime, and a current member of Sisters in Crime and Guppies.

How Writing is Like Running

By Kait Carson

Many of you know I’m a runner. More when I lived in Florida than now. Maine has these things called hills. Something I never trained on and tend to avoid. Still, come spring and early summer, I’m out there running the circumference of our mowed field. On the hill. I should know better.

My running days began in the 1970s. I belonged to The Book of the Month Club, and I bought Jim Fixx’s book, The Complete Book of Running. I ran daily until Son of Sam appeared and murdered women in Kissena Park, six houses from mine and home to my running trail. Screech. Slide to a stop. After Sam’s capture, I took up the sport again, and then we lost Jim Fixx. Running might not be all it was cracked up to be, and I stopped.

Then I started working for lawyers. I’m sorry. I know several of my blogmates are Bar members, but truly, lawyers were the proximate cause of my rededication to the sport. Legal work is stressful. Running provided an outlet, and all the law firms I worked for fielded teams for the Miami Corporate Run. I never was much for racing. Not that I’m not competitive. Boy howdy, I am. It’s just that I’m SSSSSLLLLLOOOOWWWW, but preparing for and running is a great team-building exercise and it’s fun. Group suffering is the best.

What in the Sam Hill (who was Sam Hill? Anyone know?) does any of this have to do with writing? Oh, more than you think.

The hardest part of running isn’t ticking off miles. It’s lacing up the shoes. The hardest part of writing isn’t accumulating the word count. It’s butt in chair, fingers on keyboard. Once you get past the prelims, clear sailing. Not.

As with running, writing, at least my writing, proceeds in fits and starts. New ideas bring endless hours of plotting, pounding out chapters, working up characters, red herrings, clues, and research. Then, here comes the hill. Life gets in the way, or something doesn’t flow, or, and this happened to me twice, a key bit of story changes or disappears and it’s back to the drawing board. The setbacks may be temporary or permanent, but either way, they slow you down, or, in the case of losing a publisher (or agent) put your writing life on hold.

Then there are the days, weeks, and months when the ideas flow and you wish for a second set of hands to pound the keyboard. In running, this is called the runner’s high. It’s a real thing, and it is directly analogous to a writer’s high. When it’s good, it’s good, and the author knows it. Those are moments to crave and cherish. True confessions—I’m in one of those periods now, and I wish I could bottle it.

As an aside, lawyers figured in my writing life as well, and they are the reason I use a pen name. You see, in my first book, I killed off a lawyer. The book was a work of fiction, but after twenty years in the legal field, people knew me, and the firms I worked for, and I wanted to avoid the ever-popular game of pin the crime on the attorney!

How about you? Where are you in your writing life? Smooth sailing, on hold, or laboring up the hill?

Kait Carson writes the Hayden Kent Mysteries, set in the Fabulous Florida Keys, and is at work on a new mystery series set in her adopted state of Maine. Her short fiction has been nationally published in the True Confessions magazines and in Woman’s World. Kait’s short story, “Gutted, Filleted, and Fried”, appeared in the Silver Falchion Award nominated Guppy Anthology Hook, Line, and Sinker. Her nonfiction essay was included in the Agatha Award-winning book Writing the Cozy Mystery. She is a former President of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime, a member of Sisters in Crime, and Guppies.

 

What Do You Do In Your Free Time?

 By Kait Carson

A friend asked me that question, and it gave me pause. It wasn’t one I expected or had anyone ask before. Unless you are a well-known author or under contract to a publisher, the more usual question is: But what do you do all day? Writing is work, hard work, but it doesn’t entail regular hours or punching a time clock, and years can go by before a writer’s efforts bear fruit, so civilians may not recognize our labor. Those of us in the trenches know better. My friend is not a writer, but she was a full-time mom. She understands that perception often differs from reality. Her husband once asked her what she did all day. She had a wonderful, pithy response, but not one I can share in this space.

Because most people think writing is what I do in my free time, the question took me by surprise. And I had to think about it. The answer is: a lot. I haven’t thrown pots in a while, but if I can find a place to rent kiln time, I hope to get back to it. I crochet and have graduated from afghans to sweaters. Living in Maine, I’ve paused scuba diving in favor of snowshoeing in the winter and hiking in the snowless seasons. Wildlife and nature photography is another passion. And let’s not forget baking, much to my waistline’s detriment. Spring is coming, and that means gardening. I’m grateful for the sixteen-hour days we have in my part of Maine. Lots of time to write all day and still head to the garden after work. So, that about wraps up what I currently do in my free time, but wait, as they say on daytime game shows, there’s more!

I’ve got a fistful of bucket list projects. My mom was a fantastic knitter, but she never had the patience to teach me. Last week’s Wirecutter (the product review section of the New York Times) featured the best fiber craft kits for adults, including two scarf knitting kits. Coincidence? I think not. Now I’m on the hunt for a needlepoint kit. That’s a skill I’d like to refresh. And while I’m at it, embroidery sounds pretty good.

What about you? What do you do in your free time?

Kait Carson writes the Hayden Kent Mysteries, set in the Fabulous Florida Keys, and is at work on a new mystery series set in her adopted state of Maine. Her short fiction has been nationally published in the True Confessions magazines and in Woman’s World. Kait’s short story, “Gutted, Filleted, and Fried”, appeared in the Silver Falchion Award nominated Guppy Anthology Hook, Line, and Sinker. Her nonfiction essay was included in the Agatha Award-winning book Writing the Cozy Mystery. She is a former President of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime, a member of Sisters in Crime, and Guppies.

 

Memories of Thanksgiving

By Kait Carson

This will be my last post until the New Year, and I want to say thank you. To all of my readers, and to my blogmates. To my friends and family. To people I know and to those that I don’t. You all have taught me so much and enriched my life in so many ways. I am so very grateful. They say everyone needs a crew. I’m lucky to have found mine. Thank you.

2025 has been a helluva ride. On November 27^th, I’ll be sitting at my Thanksgiving table with my husband (closely attended by three cats and a dog because, well, food) and reflecting on all the wonderful, crazy, breathtaking experiences of 2025. Our traditional Thanksgiving dinner is simple. Roast chicken, mashed potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. If we’re lucky, a light snow will be falling. We may dream of a white Christmas, but I’m here to tell you that a white Thanksgiving has a charm all its own.

We’ll talk about Thanksgivings past. The days when I worked with law enforcement as a civilian volunteer and issued an open invitation for anyone working the holiday to stop by for a bite. A police car occupied every bit of lawn and parking space at my house. My newly moved in next-door neighbors, understandably concerned that something awful had happened, called in a panic. When I explained what was going on, they came over to join in the fun. Turned out they both worked for the District Attorney’s Office and knew a lot of my guests.

Then there is the indelible childhood memory of watching the turkey go up in flames. I grew up in apartments, and they had tiny galley kitchens with even smaller appliances. My mother had a big family. Dad would cook the bird outside on the grill when he could, but some years, that didn’t work out. As a religious devotee of Gourmet Magazine, my mother spatchcocked the bird, baked it, and intended to finish it under the broiler. It went well until a wee bit of the skin got too close to the flame and ignited. Still would have been fine, except Dad reached for the first glass that came to hand. Scotch. Yep. Turkey Flambé. I liked it, but I think I was alone in my preference. Sometimes it pays to be seven.

While we eat, we’ll talk about our plans for Christmas and the year ahead. After dinner, we’ll light the Christmas houses display my husband inherited from his mother. Then we’ll watch Planes, Trains, and Automobiles for the twenty-something time and debate whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie. I’m a no. Hubs is a yes.

What does this have to do with writing? Nothing and everything. It’s moments like these that fill the well and sometimes provide scene fodder.

What are your holiday traditions? Have any of your holidays been blessed with outlandish events? Will you dish?

 Hope that all have a very wonderful holiday season, and that the balance of 2025 brings all you desire. See you in 2026!

Kait Carson writes the Hayden Kent Mysteries, set in the Fabulous Florida Keys, and is at work on a new mystery series set in her adopted state of Maine. Her short fiction has been nationally published in the True Confessions magazines and in Woman’s World. Kait’s short story, “Gutted, Filleted, and Fried”, appeared in the Silver Falchion Award nominated Guppy Anthology Hook, Line, and Sinker. Her nonfiction essay was included in the Agatha Award-winning book Writing the Cozy Mystery. She is a former President of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime, a member of Sisters in Crime, and Guppies.

Space/Time Continuum

by Kait Carson

Way back when in the Stone Age, before YouTube or even MTV, there was a TV show named The Twilight Zone. It was hosted by Rod Serling, who had one of those fantastic announcer’s voices that made you see his words. That was the first time I heard the phrase space/time continuum. I didn’t understand it until I became a writer. 

Because we write on deadlines, our backs are always to the wall. Add in day jobs, family commitments, general life, and it becomes apparent that twenty-four hours in a day are simply not enough. Honestly, neither is thirty-six. Maybe seventy-two would be adequate. Every writer handles the time drain differently. Some carry notebooks or keyboards to all of their appointments. Using the waiting time to outline, write, polish, draw characterizations, study people and take notes (makes ‘em nervous I can tell you). Others set aside a sacred writing time and warn their families that if it ain’t bleeding, broken, or on fire, don’t interrupt. That doesn’t work at my house. As soon as I hang out the “do not disturb” sign, my family beats a path to my door. It's frustrating, but there's nothing to be done about it short of murder. That won't work, it's my family, and I love them. Besides, my research suggests there isn’t much writing time in prison either. 

How do I solve the problem? Dark of night. I’ve always been a night owl. I can do fine with six hours of sleep and get by with four. And something about the dark sparks my creativity. It may be the absence of outside stimulation. We live in the country, so night is…night. Few cars pass, no party noise, no street lights. Just deep, buttery darkness that is broken by the occasional moon or meteor shower. Images flow across my imagination in the night. I can turn myself inward and watch the movie of my book unreel in my mind. Characters speak, scenes unfold, situations deepen—every move or word draws on all the senses, and the book almost writes itself.

Bring on the dark.

What about you? Do you have a favorite time to work? If you could, would you rearrange your life schedule to accommodate your preferred schedule?

Kait Carson writes the Hayden Kent Mysteries, set in the Fabulous Florida Keys, and is at work on a new mystery series set in her adopted state of Maine. Her short fiction has been nationally published in the True Confessions magazines and in Woman’s World. Kait’s short story, “Gutted, Filleted, and Fried”, appeared in the Silver Falchion Award Finalist Guppy Anthology Hook, Line, and Sinker. Her nonfiction essay was included in the Agatha Award-winning book Writing the Cozy Mystery. She is a former President of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime, a member of Sisters in Crime, and Guppies.

An Interview With Kait Carson

by Grace Topping

Anyone who has entered the world of writing and publishing can speak of the highs and lows of living in that world. Kait Carson, a member of our Writers Who Kill group, has gained a wealth of experience writing and publishing novels, short stories, and magazine articles. It was a pleasure interviewing her about her breadth of experience both as a writer and publisher. Her Hayden Kent Mystery Series also incorporates her adventures as a certified scuba diver.

Death by Blue Water: Underwater, no one hears your screams 

Paralegal Hayden Kent knows first-hand that life in the Florida Keys can change from perfect to perilous in a heartbeat. When she discovers a man’s body tangled in an anchor line one hundred and twenty feet beneath the sea, she thinks she is witness to a tragic accident. When the victim is revealed to be the brother of the man who recently jilted her, she becomes the prime suspect, and she has no alibi. As the evidence against her mounts, she joins forces with Officer Janice Kirby. Together, they uncover long hidden secrets, a web of lies, and criminal activity at the highest levels. Trapped in a deadly chase, Hayden follows clues underwater and through gorgeous tropical settings, desperately fighting for her life and freedom.

                                                                        www.kaitcarson.com

 

Welcome, Kait. 

 

 

How long have you been writing, and have you always written mysteries?

 

This is actually a more difficult question than it should be. I have to say all my life. My earliest writing memories are in the second grade. We were assigned to write a poem to teach us rhymes. The two lines I remember foreshadowed my career as a mystery writer. They were "Pop, Pop, Pop. Here comes a cop." 

 

I somehow snagged an agent when I was thirteen and wrote teen drama stories. Back then, magazines like Ingenue and Seventeen published fiction. Life got in the way after high school, and I paused my writing career until the 1990s when I began writing novels. The earliest were romances, set in the Caribbean and Florida. I pull them out from under my bed occasionally. Since then, it’s been mysteries all the way. 

 

Your books have been published traditionally and you have also self-published. Please tell us about your experience with traditional publishing. Would you go that route again?

 

Interesting question, as I am currently querying small presses with the first book in the Maine Lodge series. 

 

I was fortunate to sign with a small press during their start-up years. It was a heady experience, and I learned a lot. Editing, cover design, proofing, printing, and production are all handled by the publisher. That’s an amazing benefit. Marketing, however, is left to the author. That surprised me. I wasn’t prepared for it. It was quite the learning curve, but paid dividends for my self-publishing journey. It was an interesting experience, and I miss the deadlines!

 

What has your experience with self-publishing been like?

 

I enjoy it. There’s a sense of satisfaction in personally handling all aspects of your publishing life. Self-publishing also gives you the freedom to pivot, which you don’t have in traditional publishing. It’s a lot more work, but I’m fortunate to have a great team to assist me. 

 

What would you recommend to a writer who is considering self-publishing?

 

Learn everything you can about the process before you attempt it. There are multiple classes available online, and some of the best are available through Sisters in Crime and Guppies. When you self-publish, writing’s the easy part. It’s more than loading an epub or print file to Amazon or Draft2Digital. 

 

The short story market seems to be growing. Have you written many? Do you find writing short easier or harder?

 

I love to see the short story market growing. It’s fun to take a break from the marathon of writing a novel with a short story sprint. It’s almost as if shorts use a different part of the creative brain. I’m always on the lookout for themed anthologies. It’s fun to experiment with different voices and subgenres and see where they take you. As for easy or hard, it depends. The long form is easier, but the short is very satisfying. 

 

You’ve written for magazines. Please tell us about that. Is there still a market for writers wanting to submit to magazines?

 

Oh, I miss the "Trues." True Confessions, True Experience, True Story. They were wonderful venues for a writer and a great way to break into the market. Alas, they have been gone for more than ten years now. Paid markets are scarce, but they do exist. Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen magazines are two of the best known. There’s also Woman’s World, which buys both short mysteries and romances. Anyone who is interested in writing for magazines might consider joining the Short Mystery Fiction Society on groups.io. They sponsor the annual Derringer Awards. Guppies also has an active short mystery subgroup. 

 

In your Hayden Kent series, Hayden is a scuba diver. The diving scenes are so realistic. Are you an experienced diver yourself?

 

Thank you, Grace. I certified as a diver in 1971. Hard to believe, but true. Diving has been a major influence on the Hayden Kent books. The premise for Death by Blue Water came to me during a dive on a deep wreck near Marathon, Florida. The wreck sits upright in 130 feet of water. I was looking into the wheelhouse when I heard the bong of a goliath grouper, and a plastic bag floated in front of me. My heart stuttered. For a brief instant, the floating bag looked like a hand, and Death by Blue Water was born.

 

You’ve lived in a number of locations, including Florida and Maine. Does where you live influence what you write?

 

Great question. I thought it did, but it doesn’t. When I moved to Maine, I immediately changed writing venues to pay homage to my woodland home and wrote the first of the Maine Lodge Mysteries. Then the tropics called me home, and I’m hard at work writing the Southernmost Secrets Mysteries and continuing the Hayden Kent series.

 

Are any of your characters a bit like you?

 

Yes. Hayden Kent is clearly a case of write what you know. She’s an avid scuba diver and a paralegal. The first of the Kent books was written in 2007/2008. That was the year that my part of Maine experienced snowfall totals in excess of two hundred inches. I was definitely Florida dreaming, and I wrote parts of myself into the story.

 

What is happening to your Catherine Swope series? Anything?

 

Ah, that’s a cautionary tale. The Swope series was not quite ready for prime time, but I wasn’t a seasoned enough writer to realize that. I have removed them from sale with the intention of rewriting and releasing them in the future. There’s much to be said for experience. 

 

Do you plot or just wing it?

 

LOL. I so try to be a plotter. I even bought Plotrr software. I envy plotters. They have a roadmap. As for me, I’m a bit of both. I sketch what I consider to be the five key scenes, often write the full climax scene, and then it’s off to the races. I use a program called Scrivener for drafting. It has a sidebar for notes which I use to bullet point the key points of each chapter. It helps keep me from falling down too many rabbit holes.

 

Living in a remote section of Maine, how do you stay connected to other writers? Or is that important?

 

Oh, yes. Very important. I call it the blessing of the Internet. My key connections have come from Sisters in Crime. Especially the Guppy chapter. It’s important to find your group and to develop a trusted team. 

 

What do you wish you could tell your younger self starting out as a writer?

 

Don’t be in such a rush. Slow down, get it right. 

 

What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned since you started writing?

 

The value of a team. Without trusted feedback, it’s impossible to learn or grow. 

 

What are you working on now?

 

Death by Deception, the fourth of the Hayden Kent series. It’s a bit of a change for Hayden as it introduces her love interest. We’ll see where it goes. I’m also knee deep in querying small presses for No Return, the first of the Maine Lodge series.

 

Thanks so much for interviewing me, Grace. It’s been both fun and insightful. 

 

Thank you, Kait. 

 

 

To learn more about Kait Carson and her books, visit www.kaitcarson.com

 

Bio:

Kait Carson writes the Hayden Kent Mysteries set in the Fabulous Florida Keys and is at work on a new mystery set in her adopted state of Maine. Her short fiction has been nationally published in True Romance, True Confessions, True Story, True Experience, and Woman’s World magazines, and in the Falchion Finalist Seventh Guppy Anthology Hook, Line, and Sinker. She is a former President of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime, a member of Sisters in Crime, Guppies, and of Sisters in Crime New England. Visit her website at www.kaitcarson.com. While you’re there, sign up for her newsletter and receive a yummy, authentic, key lime pie recipe.

 

Like her protagonists, Kait is an accomplished SCUBA diver, hiker, and critter lover. She lives with her husband, four rescue cats and flock of conures in the Crown of Maine where long, dark, nights give birth to flights of fictional fantasies. Oh, yes, Kait loves the color blue!

 

 

The Attitude is Gratitude by Kait Carson

This will be my last post until the New Year, and I want to say thank you. To all of my readers, and to my blogmates. To my friends and family. To people I know and to those that I don’t. To those that like me and those that have…well, let’s say the opposite viewpoint. I am grateful to every one of you. You have all taught me so much and enriched my life in so many ways. Thank you.

This coming Thursday I’ll be sitting at my Thanksgiving table with my husband (and closely attended by four cats and a dog because, well, food) and reflecting on all the wonderful, crazy, breathtaking experiences of 2024. Our traditional Thanksgiving dinner is simple. Roast turkey breast, Hasselbach potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce, stuffing, ambrosia, and steamed asparagus. Dessert will be pumpkin pie. We’ll talk about crazy past Thanksgiving events. The time my dad smoked a turkey, and it was so cold only half the bird cooked. The time his uncle showed up in a new Corvette and the brakes failed. The hay bales in the barn stopped him. The time we invited neighbors to Thanksgiving dinner, they showed up with their second pitcher of something pink and very alcoholic, and passed out in their plates like synchronized divers. The fun, weird, wacky stuff that makes memories. Then we’ll talk about our plans for Christmas and the years ahead. After dinner, we’ll light the Christmas houses display that my husband inherited from his mother and we’ll watch Planes, Trains, and Automobiles for the twentieth time. 

What does this have to do with writing? Nothing and everything. It’s moments like these that fill the well and sometimes provide scene fodder.

What are your holiday traditions? Have any of your holidays been blessed with outlandish events? Will you dish?

Hope that all have a very wonderful holiday season, and for those who don’t celebrate, may the balance of 2024 bring all you desire.

Kait Carson writes the Hayden Kent Mysteries set in the Fabulous Florida Keys and is at work on a new mystery set in her adopted state of Maine. Her short fiction has been nationally published in True Romance, True Confessions, True Story, True Experience, and Woman’s World magazines, and in the Falchion Finalist Seventh Guppy Anthology Hook, Line, and Sinker. She is a former President of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime, a member of Sisters in Crime, Guppies, and of Sisters in Crime New England. Visit her website at www.kaitcarson.com. While you’re there, sign up for her newsletter and receive a yummy, authentic, key lime pie recipe.

It’s Personal by Kait Carson

 Or is it?

 If you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll know Kait Carson doesn’t exist. It’s a pen name chosen because my first book dealt with legal issues and the law firm I worked for was concerned. I couldn’t blame them, but the book was my first foray into self-publishing and I don’t think it sold four copies. It’s undergoing a heavy re-write and if I decide I still like it when I’m done, I plan to re-release it.

Those who follow me on social media sometimes comment that I never post about political issues. That’s not a reflection of my personal beliefs. It’s because, well, Kait ain’t gonna vote and doesn’t have standing to have opinions. Frankly, I come from a generation that kept some things private. Politics was one of them. I am often gobsmacked by the things I read online. That stuff lives on forever and, as a former paralegal, I know those bytes can come back to bite you.

Over the course of the last few years, I’ve loosened my hard and fast rule of not posting personal information. I’m not sure why. Sometimes, it’s because I see a need for the information, other times I feel it’s time. The same holds true in my blog content. I’ve surprised myself several times. As the world becomes more frightening, there’s comfort in reaching out and sharing.

I was raised with the archaic axiom that a woman’s name appears in print three times in her life: when she’s born, when she marries, and when she dies. This social media thing is a brave new world for me. Readers and writers, how do you feel about it? Are you all in with all personal, or do you draw a hard line when it comes to sharing? How much is too much?

I suspect we will find different answers among different generations.

Kait Carson writes the Hayden Kent Mysteries set in the Fabulous Florida Keys and is at work on a new mystery set in her adopted state of Maine. She is a former President of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime and a member of Sisters in Crime, Guppies, and Sisters in Crime New England. Her short fiction has been nationally published in True Romance, True Confessions, True Story, and True Experience magazines, and the Falchion Finalist Seventh Guppy Anthology Hook, Line, and Sinker. Visit her website at www.kaitcarson.com. While you’re there, sign up for her newsletter.

Writing Aids and Other Mythical Objects by Kait Carson

 First, an announcement. The second draft edits for No Return are complete. It is entirely possible that this book may see the light of day in 2024. I know. You’re right to be skeptical. But an author can hope. I wanted to share that bit of information with you since you’ve been through the strum und drang of the past year or more of writing woes with me. We now return to our regularly scheduled blog.

Over the past year, I’ve realized that writing is like exercising. If you don’t continually use and challenge the muscles, they get flabby and weak. I’ve had sentences like that. And I may have just written one. Never mind. Bear with me. That’s part of the reason why this book has taken so long to write. I was out of practice. The second reason is simpler. I was afraid I had forgotten how to write. To accommodate that fear, I spent a lot of time casting around looking for systems and aids. Foolish? Maybe. And if you think most of them are bogus, I wouldn’t contradict you. There are some, however, that worked for me, and one debuted this morning. I’m looking forward to making use of it.

I won’t discuss the mythical objects. That wouldn’t be fair, as what works for one is not necessarily effective for others. There were, however, two programs that I fell in love with:

Fictionary. Yes, it uses AI. I refuse to use any AI program to generate words, but to help point out structural flaws. I’m all over it. Let me confess, I am a visual learner. Give me pictures, charts, or my very favorite thing, lists, and I’m happy. Fictionary has these and more. When I began writing, I learned the value of a spreadsheet for keeping track of details. The program offers that in a sidebar next to each chapter. It also asks plot and flow questions and generates charts with the information you provide. Wonderful stuff for a pantser like myself who writes out of sequence.

The newest arrow in the Fictionary quiver is the tension and conflict report. This is an AI analysis of the scene that studies the scene goal, the consequences of failure, and whether the tension and conflict support the goal. When it came to editing, it was a game changer. There were times I disagreed with the results, and times it was flat out wrong, but there were also times it brought a weakness in the scene to my attention. There’s an adage in writing. Kill your darlings. The weaknesses I found were often my darlings. Tears were shed, but the story improved.

ProWritingAid. ProWritingAid has long been in my personal arsenal. It’s an AI based program that suggests editorial improvements. I especially appreciate its comma suggestion capability because high school comma classes apparently put me in an unresponsive coma and I now have a terminal mental block about correct usage. Today ProWritingAid unveiled a new feature. The program integrates with other programs, including Scrivener. In the past, my habit has been to write a scene and run it through ProWritingAid. It worked well, but it was time consuming. With the new integration, ProWritingAid suggestions are available in Scrivener. I have full control over when or if I see them. It’s a fabulous timesaver. Write once, edit, move on.

Neither of these programs will write your story for you. Nor will they take away the creative edge. Fictionary was developed by a writer who codified the system that she used and that other writers had found valuable. They also offer excellent customer service, so you are never writing alone. Between Fictionary and ProWritingAid, I’ve found a system that works for me.

Kait Carson writes the Hayden Kent Mysteries set in the Fabulous Florida Keys and is at work on a new mystery set in her adopted state of Maine. She is a former President of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime and currently serves as a Member at Large. Visit her website at www.kaitcarson.com. While you’re there, sign up for her newsletter. 

The Ups and Downs of Writing Full-Time by Kait Carson

 

Part-time writer dreaming of full-time

Today I’m riffing on Heather Weidner’s recent blog, Getting Your Writing back on Track. In 2020, the pandemic brought me a massive surprise. After what felt like a zillion years of working sixty-to-eighty-hour weeks for a law firm in Miami, Florida, and carving out time to write, I found myself laid off and ultimately, unemployed.

The writer in me shouted “Yea!” I had visions of cranking out books by the score – well, that’s a slight exaggeration, but you get my drift. For the first time in forty years, my time was my own. Real time. Not time carved out from vacation, or turn the phone off and huddle in for a long weekend time. This was nobody is watching and you have only yourself to report to time. Bliss, luxury, nirvana. Reality check! 

Full-time writer office ready to rock

It's been almost four years. What did I do with all that delicious time? Not nearly as much as I planned. In fact, last night while I was procrastinating, I mean writing, I discovered my writing calendar from 2013. It was eye-opening. I was far more productive while working a full-time job. How was that even remotely possible? Let’s circle back to that ‘my time is my own’ statement above. It is, and then again, it isn’t.

 

I was far more protective of my time when someone else was paying me for my hours. Come to think of it, so was my husband. Well, there was that one time he interrupted a Zoom hearing because he couldn’t find his cell phone, but hey, that happens. And he learned to knock. Now he breezes in and out of my office on a regular basis. And I let him. So, where’s the problem? It looks at me from the mirror every morning. The situation hasn’t changed. I’ve changed. I allow myself to be distracted and interrupted, and seriously, oftentimes I’m my own worst enemy. While I was writing this blog, I took time off to do dinner prep. Take gun, roll cylinder, shoot self in foot.

 

Piper wondering when the magic begins

Finding that ancient calendar was quite the revelation—and a lesson. The luxury of “all that time to write” still exists. The onus is on me to use it properly. Since I opted to self-publish, my day cannot be entirely writing. There’s marketing, social media (for fun and hopefully profit), and volunteer work that keeps me connected to the writing world. All of that takes time, but it’s also writing related. Clearly, I’m one of those writers who needs structure. And possibly a deadline. It’s time to re-think this luxury, make a plan, and stick with it. It also wouldn’t hurt to set a deadline or two and make those happen. It worked before.

 

I’m taking several of Heather’s suggestions and rededicating myself to the writing life. How about you?

 

 

Why Wait? By Kait Carson

 

My third-grade teacher made us write an essay on the topic: Procrastination. The Thief of Time. Had to be a heavy subject for me to remember it all these gazillion years later. If memory serves, the topic rose from a super 8 movie we watched on the subject. Who else remembers the joy of seeing the teacher pulling the shades while the maintenance team wheeled in the projector on its table? Nine times out of ten, the joy was dashed by the flapping sound of a broken film strip. On this particular day in 1960, things worked out. I’m sure I put off writing the essay until the night before it was due. Why? Well, procrastination.

The aim of the movie and the essay was to impress upon our young minds the need to do things in a timely fashion. For the most part, I agree. My favorite phrase is “eat the big frog first.” Do it, put it behind you, get it done. Whew – imagine me wiping my brow. Ah, no one warned me that eating the frog was another term for procrastination. When I’m faced with a task I enjoy, I fill the time eating that danged frog. Need to edit. No worries. One of my favorite parts of writing. I’ll get to it right after I check my email, comment on blogs, write my planner journal… Oh, dang. Look at the time. I don’t have the bandwidth to dig into edits now. Well, I’ll do it tomorrow. See what I mean?

At the end of the day, when I am at my desk, red pencil in hand, time flies. It’s so easy to keep the flow going. I cannot imagine why I delayed starting. I hate to think about stopping. Hands come to a screeching halt. Is that another form of procrastination? Not wanting to stop? I’ll think about that another time.

It took a lot of years and a quickie telephone conference with a friend who is also a practicing psychologist to figure it out. We discarded the first diagnosis—that I don’t feel worthy of the fun. Nope, we’d known each other too long for him to believe that of me. Instead, he pointed out that I behaved like many members of my generation, especially those who attended parochial school. I believe I must earn my fun. Hence, eating that frog. We have the quintessential no pain/no gain philosophy. Was he feeding me pop psych on a spoon to get me off the phone? Maybe. But the statement struck a chord. And it helped me move on.

These days I get to my desk and do the fun stuff first. It makes the rest of the day so much more…fun.

Readers and writers – do you feel you need to pay your dues first? Does it work for you?

Where Everyone Knows Your Name by Kait Carson

My husband often asks me why I blog. Does it sell books? Do your blogmates share your posts? Do they participate in your social media? What’s the deal? He’s not being rude. He really doesn’t understand why I take the time to write a few hundred words on a monthly basis and then spend time throughout the day responding to comments. We are talking about a genuine rocket scientist here—he doesn’t have a Facebook or Instagram account and knows more about Space X than X.

 I confess, my knee jerk response was along the lines of, “That’s what writers do. It’s not about sales, it’s about catching interest and learning.” And yes, that’s partially true. Like most things, the first response is seldom the complete story. Blogging is time-consuming. The brainstorming, writing, and responding all take away from the next book. So, what’s the real payoff? Sure, there is some exposure. My newsletter program lets me track the numbers of clicks on links I provide. Every month, a handful of folks click on the link to my two blog posts. That’s nice, and while they rarely comment on the blog, they do often send me emails. So, there’s that.

 Humans are social critters. Blog groups help fill that need. My group is very supportive of my writing. They share my posts and often help promote my books. That’s the commercial side. On a personal level…did you ever belong to a club, or build a clubhouse with friends when you were a kid? My blog group serves as my club. It’s the place I go to share my personal life (off the page, of course), the people I turn to for guidance, my cheering squad and problem solvers. They share my joys, my celebrations, my hopes, and my plans. We are in this together. And we support each other.

 In my much younger days, I lived in New Yok City, where my friends and I met often at McAnn's Bar. It wasn't about the drinks. New York City bar prices have always outstripped the finances of the working stiffs. It was about the friends and the camaraderie. A meeting place for first dates safe under the ever-watchful eye of Pete the bartender. Blogmates are like that. They always have your back. We may never meet in real life, but the ties that bind are firm. My first readers, editors, and early reviewers are my blogmates. I trust them implicitly to give me honest feedback, and I return the favor. It’s safe to say I couldn’t do this job without them.

Photo Melissa Askew
on Unsplash

 Why do I blog? It’s my family. I believe the warmth and friendship shows in our posts, and readers and commenters respond to that.

 Happy 2024—may it bring you all you desire.

Kait Carson writes the Hayden Kent Mysteries set in the Fabulous Florida Keys. You can connect with Kait at https://tr.ee/IXf--iU6PD

Happy National William Day by Kait Carson

Writers get inspiration from various sources. When I was casting around for a blog topic this month, I hit the dreaded idea block. Writer’s block is bad enough, but idea block…that’s when you look inside your mind and find—nothing. Not an idea in sight. Gulp. Now what? Rather than bask in fear and pretend I forgot my blog day, I pulled out my handy dandy calendar of holidays. Every day is devoted to at least one holiday, and often more than one. October 28^th is no different. In fact, two dear-to-my-heart holidays are celebrated today. The first is National William Day; the second, National Chocolate Day. How to choose? Hum. I’ll think about it while I down a triangle of Toblerone.

 First, a word from our sponsor. Do you love Toblerone? Bet you’ve been eating it all wrong. Chocolate connoisseurs insist that the proper way to munch a bar is to push two triangles together, not pull them apart. Frankly, I don’t care. It tastes great no matter how you get your fix. Oh, and one other thing, by the end of this year, Toblerone is set to be made not in Switzerland but Slovakia, which explains the missing Alp on the package.

We now return you to our regularly scheduled blog. National William Day. I didn’t know the name William had a national day, but I’m quite pleased that it does. Last year my husband and I visited the Central Aroostook Humane Society. Hubs was looking for a dog. I wandered into the cat room. That’s where I found an alleged sixteen-year-old ginger tuxedo cat named William. I fell in love. Wee Willie came home with us that day.

The poor guy turned out to be very ill. The shelter workers thought it was a vaccine reaction. Instead, it was a serious infection, possibly congenital, that may have been triggered by the stress of finding himself in a shelter. With the help of our vet, he fought his way back from the brink and became the most loving cat who has ever owned me. William turned out to be an estimated six, not sixteen, years. He is my muse, my shadow, and my evening back warmer.

There’s more to William than merely being a survivor. Critters play a role in all of my stories, as they do in my life. Hayden Kent’s cat, Tiger, is based on Hutch. Catherine Swope’s cat, Paddy Whack, is based on Starlight. Catherine’s dog, Bullet, is aspirational. He’s the German shepherd I always wanted. Sassy Romano’s cat, Jellyroll, is based on Cub.

Critters in stories do more than imitate life. They humanize the characters and provide a touchstone for readers. You can rest assured that William will make an appearance in one of my books. Be on the lookout for a red and white tuxedo with a white splotch on his back that resembles a stylized Holt Howard cat.

 Happy National William Day, William!

An Interview with Kait Carson By E. B. Davis

 

A family scuba vacation. A dropped bit of equipment. Has the famous Blue Hole of Belize claimed another life?

Hayden Kent has more riding on the answer to the mystery than curiosity. She believes the diver faked his death. As a paralegal and newly minted claims investigator, it’s her job to decide if her company pays out the thirty-million-dollar policy. When her trip to Belize uncovers evidence of fraud, she returns to her beloved Florida Keys and digs deeper into the dead man’s affairs. Her boss’s advice to follow the money sends her to the Cayman Islands where privacy is king, and secrets can be deadly. Hayden’s inquiries put her in the cross-hairs of a killer who will stop at nothing to claim the thirty million. Can she prove the dead man lives before she ends up as shark bait?

Death Dive is the third book in the Hayden Kent mystery series. If you like fast-paced suspense that grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go, then you’ll love this series. Underwater, no one hears you scream.

Amazon.com 

WWK’s Kait Carson released the third book in the Hayden Kent mystery series yesterday. The first two books in this series, Death By Blue Water and Death By Sunken Treasure, can be downloaded from Kindle Unlimited. Although the third book, Death Dive, is a great stand alone, reading the previous two books will show major changes main character Hayden Kent has undergone in her immediate past.

 

By the end of the book, I knew two things. Hayden can trust her two female friends in law enforcement and her cat, Tiger, who literally has her back!

 

Welcome to the flip side of WWK, Kait!                                                              E. B. Davis

 

What’s a dive computer? How often do they get tested?

Besides being one of my favorite things, a dive computer is similar to a one-stop-shop visual record of your dive. Mine is air integrated, so it attaches to my tank via an air hose. That feature allows the computer to keep track of the air in my tank, my dive time, how much longer I can stay submerged within the recreational limits and other items. It also records my depth, and my rate of ascent. After my dive it will let me know my surface interval (the time between dives). A very handy gadget. Divers must remember that it is a gadget. For true dive safety, never rely on your computer, but refer to the dive tables for safety.

 

Computers should be serviced annually at an authorized dive shop.

 

What did Jacques Cousteau do to the Belize Blue Hole? Who allowed him to do it? In 1971 Cousteau and his team brought the Calypso to Belize. The limestone “wall” that surrounded the Blue Hole had openings too small to admit the Calypso. Cousteau used dynamite to widen the opening. History is silent about permission, but Cousteau later claimed it was one of his ten favorite dives.

 

Why are inexperienced divers air hogs? Excitement. It’s a gorgeous and breathtaking world under the sea!

 

How hard is it to get a person declared dead by the courts without a body? I thought there was a seven-year waiting period. Not hard, but it is a court process. The statutory wait in Florida is five years. That gap can create additional hardship for loved ones who are already grappling with their loss. If there is good reason to believe a missing person is dead, a suggestion of death can be filed. The court will look at the evidence and can declare the person dead. This not only provides closure to the family, but allows insurance claims to proceed and begins the probate process.

Why would Mallory ask Hayden to stay for a meeting with the deceased family? Wouldn’t that be a conflict of interest especially now that Hayden thinks the man faked his death? Why did Hayden stay? Mallory hoped Hayden would be able to answer any questions the family might have about the dive and knew her friend would keep an open mind. Hayden understood that without further investigation, her belief that Joe was alive was little more than a “gut” feeling.

 

How did Hayden get the job with Luis, her boss, who is an attorney for the insurance company? What does Hayden do there? Hayden is a paralegal. In her previous job, she handled probate – the process of settling decedent’s estates. At her new job, Hayden is training as an investigator, and she is a working paralegal responsible for the drafting and filing of legal pleadings, and reviewing policies and claims.

 

I found myself questioning Hayden and Mallory’s friendship. Mallory and her boss, Ed, tried to use Hayden. Then Mallory becomes angry with Hayden for doing her job. Why does Hayden put up with that behavior? Hayden and Mallory have been best friends forever. They are also each other’s devil’s advocates. They’ve worked together in the past. Now that Hayden’s role has changed and they are on different sides of the same case, they need to find their footing. As Hayden tells Luis, “We’ve known each other forever. We argue, don’t talk for a while, but we always have each other’s back. No matter what.”

 

What is well-known diver and author Kurt Milan doing in Belize? He’s been hired by clients to shoot a documentary of the Blue Hole. For all that is known about the Hole, there are many unanswered questions. Cousteau and his men did not get to the bottom, but they did determine that much of the structure was formed above ground and gradually submerged. The bottom of the Hole was not reached until 2018. The information discovered changed much of what we thought we knew about the Hole, and required a significant rewrite of Death Dive.

 

What is bad air? Air that is somehow contaminated with something, often carbon dioxide. It can occur innocently, the fill station too near a source of engine exhaust, but can be fatal. In specialty diving, it can be a poorly prepared gas mix that creates a safety hazard.

 

Hayden is almost left behind by the boat while she is still diving. Does that happen often? What system do they use to prevent that from happening? Not often, but unfortunately, it does happen. One of the most famous cases was depicted in the 2004 film Open Water. Dive boats use various methods to try to prevent a missing diver. Most common are sign in boards and roll calls. Less common are token boards where the diver takes a token before the dive and replaces it on the board when they return.

 

What is a safety sausage? Ah, ye olde safety sausage! They are three to six foot plastic tubes, usually bright orange, that the diver can inflate from their air supply or by blowing it up manually. I have often thought if the diver could manually inflate a safety sausage, they had the lung capacity to get back to shore! When not in use, the sausage rolls up and is secured by a clip to a dive vest. When a diver surfaces far from the dive boat, the best thing to do is get that sausage in the air. It makes you visible to your boat and can keep you from getting run over.

 

Why don’t rebreathers give off bubbles? I always thought of them as breath recycling machines. A diver’s exhale is returned to the device where scrubbers clean the carbon dioxide and recycle it back to the diver to rebreathe. Not only do they not produce bubbles—they’re silent. Spooky stuff.

 

Why are divers fascinated by other divers’ deaths? That varies by the individual, of course. As is common in most extreme sports, tragedies and near misses serve as learning experiences.

 

What differentiates recreational divers from technical divers? Not too much! Recreational divers use air in their tanks and stay at shallower depths. Technical divers use mixed gases depending on the dive and regularly end dives with decompression.

 

Why did Hayden try a risky dive she wasn’t qualified to make? Was her ego too engaged? Yes indeed. She was foolish and should have known better. To be honest, I tried to tell her. She insisted.

 

Can employees be personally sued for actions they took while on the job? In the legal world they can. As a paralegal I carried both errors and omissions insurance and liability insurance. It’s a scary world!

 

Hayden is a bit clumsy, isn’t she? She has her moments! I think she gets that from me!

 

After being shot at, Hayden is suspicious of everyone, even Luis. Has she become paranoid? No, not paranoid. Being shot at made her take a step back and dive deeply into the people involved in the case. One of her favorite tools is to create a mind-mapping chart of relationships. In this case, everyone had a personal connection to the decedent and Luis attempted to conceal his.

 

What’s next for Hayden? Hayden is at a crossroads. The past few years have been difficult. She’s changed jobs, but not professions, her heart is in the law and she always intended to attend law school. The pandemic threw a hitch in her plans, and now she’s trying to find her way.

 

Thank you for inviting me to the other side of WWK! This has been fun. Great questions, Elaine.