Monday, July 21, 2014

Look Up, Look Down




They Call Me Ace - A Bogey Man Mystery is now available in both ebook and paperback format. CLICK HERE if you're interested.


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An ex-cop (my husband) said one of the most important things he learned while attending the police academy was to “look up, look down, look all around.” And he’s right. As a mystery writer I need to remind myself of this advice from time to time.

If I were at a crime scene, I wouldn’t want to miss evidence or a clue. I wouldn’t want my protagonist to miss anything, either. You never know where something important might turn up. And, as a writer, I need to remember to leave clues for the readers to follow.

Have you ever lost your car keys? Probably. You looked everywhere, you thought, but they didn’t turn up. Look up, look down, look all around. Sometimes they turn up in the most unexpected places. Do you have small children? If one of them picked up your keys, they could be anywhere. Gotta love those innocent little minds and hands.

We really need to pay attention when confronted with situations. Okay, I’m going to give you a silly example. Over time I’ve mentioned Gertrude from time to time. She was a roadrunner (bird) who came to our yard every day, looking for a handout. We fed her and became accustomed to her. She was so used to us that she’d sit on my patio chair, even while I sat on it. She was an unusual bird and came around for four years. She’d “talk” to me in her bird language. She was very entertaining and imitated the sounds of other birds, which surprised me. She’d eat out of my hand, and with that sharp beak I was really glad she was gentle.



And then she disappeared. I never saw her again.

In her place, another bird starting making the daily visits. I called her Gertrude II. She wasn’t as friendly as Gertrude I, but still, she came every day.

Gertrude II kept taking her food and leaving, which usually means the roadrunner is feeding babies. It turns out something unexpected was going on. Gertrude wasn’t Gertrude. She was actually Larry. (Don’t ask me why we name the roadrunners. I have no clue.) Anyway, when a roadrunner wants to mate they take a “gift” to the female bird and try to entice them into some, uh, lovemaking. Yes, Larry was a horny little male bird. I should have paid more attention to the things he was doing, like the tail feathers swinging back and forth, a sure sign of… Never mind.

The point is, things aren’t always what they seem. I didn’t look all around, or I would have seen Larry offering a female his gift of food while his tail feathers went wild.

Enough of the birds.

In Old Murders Never Die, Sandi and Pete find a clue on the floor of an old cabin over a hundred years after a murder was committed there. How? Pete looked up, down and all around.

When putting a mystery together, let the reader look all around through the eyes of the protagonist. Let the reader feel like they’re right there, on the scene, searching with the character. The reader would like to participate in the story, and this is one way to let them inside the situation.

Even if you’re not a writer, looking everywhere is good advice. Don’t leave anything to chance and don’t assume what you want will be in a specific place. Be aware of your surroundings and the people near you.

If you’d like to leave a Comment and offer some investigating advice of your own, please do. Sometimes our books make investigation sound too simple, and it’s not easy at all. Okay, sometimes in my books…

Until next week, look up, look down, look all around, and see if you can do it without being obvious. It’s good practice.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website
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COMING SOON: What Are the Odds?  - A Sandi Webster Mystery

13 comments:

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    1. Thank you, Marilyn, and thank you for stopping in!

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  2. Good advice, Marja!
    The first thing that came to mind when I read, "Look up, down, all around," was that I learned to do that when I go to an antique or thrift store. Sometimes, those places are overflowing with interesting things to see - right in front of you - and I would often forget to look up, down and all around. Once I started doing that, I discovered some of my best finds.

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    1. One of the best places to do up, down, all around is the grocery store. LOL They put the more expensive things at eye level. (Love antique stores, by the way.) Thank you so much for stopping in today, Pat!

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  4. Good advice and cute roadrunner stories. I've never considered what the mating habits of birds are, especially roadrunners.

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    1. LOL I hadn't either, but they're pretty open about it, and not like other birds. I'm glad you enjoyed the story, and thank you for stopping in!

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  5. I love your Gertrude and Larry story. The closest I came to that is feeding the squirrels over the very rough winter, first time I started doing it. One grey squirrel would always notice when I opened the back door and it would come running to the tree where I would scatter the food underneath. Yes, POV is very important in a story. If you're in one POV, you can't see things other people see.

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    1. You're right, Morgan. Love everywhere for a good POV. Love the squirrel story. Yeah, Larry now sits in front of the sliding glass door until he gets our attention. The dogs are so used to him that they just ignore him. Thank you so much for stopping in!

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  6. Great advice, Marja. And I love your Gertrude/Larry story.:)

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    1. Thank you, Marilyn! I never thought I'd see the day when I'd have fun with roadrunners. LOL

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  7. Love this advice, Marja, and how you illustrate it with the roadrunner. I've never seen one. And the photo of you with Gertrude/Larry is a keeper.

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    1. Thank you, Eileen. Gertrude is in the picture. Too often when we're looking for something we develop tunnel vision, at least I do. I need to take my own advice. Thank you so much for commenting!

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