I passed a woman today wearing a shirt that said "unreliable narrator." Must. Have. It. See previous post regarding the complete lack of cool mystery merch here. Let us geek out in all our mystery loving glory!
But back to the convention. Today began so very early at the "meet new authors" breakfast. By early, I mean 7. Yes, 7am. I went both because I hope to be part of one of these things someday and because I was pretty sure I could score another free book. (I did - free book count currently at 17)
There were many, many newly published authors of all ages, backgrounds, public speaking abilities, and accents. Yes, I love accents. I can't help it. Each of these newbies took a minute to talk about their book or themselves or otherwise peak our interest enough to get us to the bookroom to purchase a copy of the manifestation of their toils, tears, and/or tirades. It works. I bought a book called In Bitter Chill. I can't wait to read it.
After the pre-dawn intros, I snuck off for coffee and a little quiet time at The Morning Times where I could finish up The Kalahari Typing School for Men and get a healthier snack than the muffins from the hospitality area. I'll probably go back tomorrow, if not for breakfast, then for a sandwich for the long drive home.
I attended a panel on romantic suspense which gained me two more names for my "want to read" list, Cathy Wiley and Jamie Mason, but little help with writing romantic suspense. The question was posed to the panel about writing sex scenes (see previous blog post about writing sex and violence here) and all of them preferred to leave it off the page. Some, in order to "leave it to the reader's imagination" but others candidly admitted that they just aren't good at writing sex scenes that sounded natural. While I felt somewhat validated in my choice of MFA essay topic and seminar - sex and violence being difficult subject to write, I was of course a bit disappointed that no wisdom poured forth that would propel my stories to the next level. Still, the panelists were, for the most part, witty and gracious, and I stayed to chat briefly with a fellow writer from Baltimore.
Coincidentally, there was an afternoon panel on the mechanics of writing violence. I find it incredible how much less self-consciousness exists when talking about violence in fiction versus sex. Mystery writers spend a lot of time thinking about how to kill people or make them disappear. It is the basis for nearly all mystery stories. We go at it with gusto, enthusiasm for the twist that makes the crime unique enough to warrant a pithy title or a catchy tag line. But even so, we mystery writers have an out if we aren't comfortable describing the stabbing by barbecue fork or the writhing death throes of cyanide. It's called the "cozy." The body will be discovered after all the nasty stuff has occurred and the story becomes a puzzle, an intellectual exercise.
I love cozies, too. I do. But I don't want to write them because I have to. Because I can't writer good sex or violence. I want the option.
So I might be cranking out some racy short crime fiction for a bit, getting some practice time in and flexing those muscles until I feel more comfortable enhancing longer stories with realistic details that bring to life the sensuality and horror that lives in well-written crime fiction.
But first, I am off to the panel about characters that remain in a reader's psyche. Good stuff.
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