WWMD? What Would Mary Do?

 by Shari Randall

We writers are always looking for inspiration, aren't we? At least I am. And I don't mean pie-in-the-sky-visit-from-a-Muse inspiration. I mean inspiration to get butt in the chair and fingers on the keyboard. 

Some people have the hard-won inspiration of a disciplined routine. I have an erratic schedule, so that doesn't work for me. No, what works for me is plain old guilt.

When my self-discipline flags and I need to sit down and write I think, "What would Mary do?" Mary Higgins Clark was the author of over 50 books, including the mega-bestseller Where Are The Children? Dubbed "The Queen of Suspense," Clark crafted resilient characters who faced challenging, often deadly, situations with grit and determination.

That determination was part of her own DNA. Widowed with four children, Clark would rise to write at 5 AM until 7 AM when she'd ready her children for school and herself for work.

So, no excuses. If Mary could make time for writing, so can I.

What author inspires you?

Shari Randall is the author of the Lobster Shack Mystery series, and, as Meri Allen, the author of the Ice Cream Shop Mysteries.

Bad Dates, I've Had a Few: Or, Writing Inspiration Is Everywhere

 A Guest Post by Barb Goffman

Writing inspiration can come from anywhere. The news. Overheard conversations. Or, as in the case of one of my 2024 stories, a long-ago bad date. I'm talking about my story “The Postman Always Flirts Twice.” It was published in the Down & Out Books anthology Agatha and Derringer Get Cozy: Thirteen Tales of Murder, Mystery, and Master Detection. The book’s cozy mysteries are all written by winners of the Agatha and/or Derringer awards, and my mailman story is now a finalist for the Agatha Award.

You may be wondering about my story's title. Maybe you’re guessing that since The Postman Always Rings Twice was noir, I changed Rings to Flirts because Flirts sounds cozy. Not so much. I chose my title because it is fun and because it is much catchier than The Postman Pressured Me Into a Date.

Say what?

To steal from Sophia on The Golden Girls:

Picture it. Indiana. Summer 1994. 

I had my first full-time job as a newspaper reporter. My apartment complex had all the tenants’ mailboxes in one spot near the complex entrance, along with two newspaper boxes, one for each of the two—two!—dailies that small city had back then.

One day I stopped to get my mail while the postman was finishing filling the mailboxes. He started to chat. I’ve never been a fan of small talk, but I participated for a minute or two. The social niceties, you know. Then he glanced at the mail in my hand.

“I know your name from somewhere,” he said.

Wondering if I was being punked, I said, “Yeah, from the mail.” And I pointed at the envelopes in my other hand.

“No. That’s not it.”

So I nodded at one of the newspaper boxes. “I’m a reporter. You probably saw my name in the paper.” Back then, before everything was online, a lot more people read newspapers—on actual paper.

“No. That’s not it.”

I shrugged. “Well, those are the only ways I think you’d have heard my name. See ya.”

As I turned to go, he said, “Would you like to have dinner sometime?”

I offered him an uncomfortable smile. “Thanks, but I don’t think so.”

“Aw, come on. You gotta eat.”

That was true. But I didn’t have to eat with him. I shook my head.

“You sure? It’s just one dinner.”

Maybe it was his tone. Maybe it was my imagination. But I suddenly thought, if I don’t go on this date, I may never get my mail again. I was in my mid-twenties, nowhere near as assertive as I am now. And back then, all your bills came in the mail. I needed my mail. So, reluctantly, I said yes. We agreed to meet the next evening at that hot spot of romance, Denny’s.

All of you who love meet-cutes are probably thinking the dinner must have been wonderful. Sparkling conversation, love in the air, the beginning of happily ever after.

Dream on.

The conversation was forgettable. The food was … Denny’s. And the only future I was looking forward to was getting home.

As the meal wound down, he said, “What would you like to do now?”

It wasn’t even 8 p.m., but I yawned and said I was going to have to call it a night. I had to get to work early the next morning. You’d think my meaning was clear. Subtle but clear.Not interested. And maybe it was, but he was determined to go out swinging.

“How about if I come back to your place and give you a massage?”

I may have wanted my mail, but I didn’t want it that badly.

I thanked him for my burger, went home—alone!—and called my best friend to fill him in on the date. When I got to the bit about the massage, his outraged voice boomed through the line. “If that isn’t a sex invite, I don’t know what is!”

In the end, I never heard from my mailman again, thankfully, and my mail kept coming. Now, all these years later, I put the experience to good use in “The Postman Always Flirts Twice.” If you read it, you’ll recognize some of the details. It’s a whodunit about love, family, and friendship. Someone murdered Hazel’s mailman and hid his body in the woods behind her cul-de-sac. Desperate to point the cops in another direction so they don’t look to closely at her, Hazel starts her own investigation—focusing on her neighbors.

I had fun writing this story, and I am delighted it has been so well received by readers.

Circling back to the beginning of this blog, if you’re wondering if it’s a good idea to mine your past for story ideas, yes, it is. If you’re wondering if I killed my mailman, no, I did not. 

With the caveat that I write fiction, that is my story, and I’m sticking to it. 

In advance of Agatha Award voting at Malice Domestic at the end of April, all five nominated stories are available online for free reading. Click here: https://www.malicedomestic.net/agatha-awards/copy-of-agatha-nominations. The five short story titles link to pdfs.

If you would like to buy Agatha and Derringer Get Cozy, check with your favorite indie bookstore. You also can buy the book from:

• The publisher (buy the trade paperback and the ebook is included). Click here.
• Barnes & Noble. Click here.
• Amazon. Click here. 
• Amazon UK. Click here. 
• Amazon Canada. Click here.
• Kobo (ebook only). Click here.

Thanks to editors Gay Toltl Kinman and Andrew McAleer for including "The Postman Always Flirts Twice" in the book, and thanks to Writers Who Kill for allowing me to join you all today.

And now a question for you all: Have you ever had a bad date whose details are begging to be shared? Believe me, we all want to know. Here is your chance!

Barb Goffman  www.barbgoffman.com

Current Agatha Award finalist for "A Matter of Trust," from Three Strikes—You’re Dead! Read it here on my website. Or if you prefer to read a PDF, click here.

Current Agatha Award finalist for "The Postman Always Flirts Twice," from Agatha and Derringer Get Cozy. Read it here.

Current Derringer Award finalist for the anthology Murder, Neat

Travel with Benefits

by Paula Gail Benson

[Note: many thanks to K.M. Rockwood’s suggestion for the title!]  

From: https://clipartix.com/travel-clipart-image-21712/

I’ve often heard that the most important thing a writer can do is finish the draft. Whether it’s a novel or short story, it can only be improved and perfected if you have a whole product on the table. Besides, by pressing forward, even if you’re not certain where you’re going, you sometimes encounter the unexpected.

Recently, I’ve been trying to observe this recommendation. I took a few days off to focus on a brief vacation and writing. During the day, I would write by hand, starting at the beginning of the story and advancing steadily. If I reached a point where I didn’t know the specifics of the action or a character’s response, I just noted what I thought happened and kept going.

So far, it’s been working well. (BTW, during breaks, I enjoyed time with friends and exploring new restaurants and locations—also very enjoyable! It’s important to encourage progress with rewards!)

I’ve always discovered ideas during travel. There is something about the mind being free to speculate while the body moves toward a destination that somehow leads to inspiration. In 2013, I wrote a post for Writers Who Kill about How Travel Benefits Writing. In that message, I mentioned how Robert Louis Stevenson was able to finish Treasure Island after traveling with his wife and stepson to Switzerland. I also listed three things travel makes you do: (1) face your fears by determining to go somewhere and actually starting on the journey; (2) leave your comfort zone and set off with the minimal required items packed; and (3) move. To humbly quote myself: “Motion provides its own momentum.”

Because I’ve kept my pen writing the next scene in my story, I’ve found unexpected developments. I’ve become very cognizant of pacing and the need to vary the types of action taking place. My characters have revealed themselves as they faced the next hurdle. I’ve been able to forget that the prose isn’t perfect. I know I’ll fix it in the editing process.

I’ve kept track of my story’s word count because the anthology to which I’ll submit has a limitation. Even so, expansions and contractions are what comes with revision. For now, I’m letting the story grow on its own, without restrictions or worries about holes.

Now that I’ve returned from the trip, I’ve continued the practice. When I take a break from the handwritten work, I type up the previous portions. That reminds me about details and gives me a chance to do some beginning editing, but I don’t dwell on major fixes. I don’t want anything to stop the momentum.

This past week, I sought some feedback on the rough product from a writing group. I did this with trepidation, hoping it would not stall my progress or inhibit my beliefs about the story. While I was surprised about some of the comments I received, I did not let them divert me from the forward propulsion. Onward! The end is in sight! I’m still moving ahead.

What’s your process? Does travel provide inspiration? What keeps you going until you reach the end?

Time Flies by Mary Dutta

2024 is here and with it some noteworthy historical milestones. This year marks the 110^th anniversary of the start of World War One and the 85th anniversary of the outbreak of World War Two. It’s been 80 years since D-Day, 70 since Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four-minute mile, and 60 since the Beatles first touched down in New York.

 

This year also marks the 40^th anniversary of the Macintosh computer. I still remember the Orwellian Super Bowl ad that introduced it. It’s also the 35^th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which I watched in real time. And somehow, it’s been 20 years since Facebook got its start. Suddenly, it seems like history is just my own lifespan.

Tempus Fugit, Virgil famously declared 2500 years ago. Time flies. Before you know it, the countries you grew up with (East Germany, anyone? How about Czechoslovakia?) no longer exist and the rock-and-roll rebels of your youth are octogenarians.

The full Virgil quote is actually “fugit irreparabile tempus,” irreplaceable time flies. As every year ends, regrets for lost time can accompany the inevitable year-in-review articles and top 10 lists. But a brand-new year brings new beginnings, opportunities, and motivation. New chances to, in another favorite Latin phrase, carpe diem.

My takeaway from the new year and the ancient wisdom: Life’s too short, so get writing. And lucky us, 2024 is a leap year. That gives us an extra day to seize.

 

Does the start of a new year motivate you to seize the day?