Look Up, Look Down

When my husband was in the police academy, something they emphasized was, “Look up, look down, look all around.” That’s good advice for anyone investigating a crime, real or fictional.

Have you ever played one of those Search & Find games on the computer? Some of the objects you’re told to find will turn up in the most unlikely places. That’s true in life, too. I recently lost my car keys. Thankfully, I had an extra set of keys. I looked everywhere for those missing keys, including emptying out my purse (which would frighten a mere mortal) and all of my pockets. I’d had an appointment that day and finally decided I must have dropped them in the parking lot without realizing it.

I missed those keys because there were other things on the keychain besides my car and house key. The house key is another story. Whoever lived here before had different locks put on every door. Lots of keys for lots of doors. But I digress.

About two weeks later I put on a jacket to wear to the store, stuck my hand in the pocket and, surprise, surprise, there were the lost keys. I could have sworn I wore a different jacket the day of my appointment.

In Old Murders Never Die – A Sandi Webster Mystery, Sandi and Pete are stranded in a ghost town. To the best of their knowledge, no one had set foot in Wolf Creek for over a hundred years. Without much else to do, the two detectives started looking things over and they discovered unsolved murders from around 1880. Thus began their desire to solve the old murders. As the pair began searching houses in the town, they looked for clues, and Pete (an ex-police officer) offered Sandi the advice my husband offered me. She looked up, down and all around, and a few clues came to light after all those years. 

 This looks like a good hiding place.

Between my daughter and me, we have three dogs. Things disappear all the time. The little angels just love to walk off with whatever is within their reach. Very frustrating. The same advice works when looking for a lost slipper or sock. However in the case of the dogs, it’s also advisable to look under rocks or where it appears fresh digging has taken place.

Readers, including me, love secret rooms or passages. These things add to the suspense. So when our protagonists see something that doesn’t look quite right, they take a second look and generally, in a mystery, they’ll discover something unexpected. How about a secret room that houses a mummy? (Gin Mill Grill – A Sandi Webster Mystery)

When writing a mystery, have a little fun. Close your eyes and picture the last place someone might look for a clue, information, or a body. Of course, there are times these places need to fall short of offering help. Don’t forget red herrings. Also, don’t forget that not all mysteries include a death. The mystery might include a missing person, or as in my case, lost keys.

Speaking of keys, my grandfather had a key collection. Some of them were pretty old. I had a very old trunk that was locked and no one could figure out where the key might be. What’s the fun in calling a locksmith? I dug out Grandpa’s key collection and after trying several of them, I found one that opened the trunk. The case of the missing key? Solved, although I have a feeling that this might have been a skeleton key that would open many things.

So, whether we’re talking about fiction or real life, remember to look up, look down and look all around. If that doesn’t work, start checking pockets.

Have you ever lost something important and found it in a very unusual spot?

Until next time, take in your surroundings and look for the unusual or unexpected.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website

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Pantser vs. Outliner

I’m what’s called a Pantser as far as writers go. I think of an idea for a story and I run with it instead of doing an outline. It seems like once I come up with an idea, each scene leads to another idea and scene. I know, in general, where the story is headed, but I often change direction midstream. If I wrote an outline, I’d end up having to rewrite it and rewrite it until I found myself out of story writing time.

It works for me, although others have a different strategy – they outline and do things the right way.

Gin Mill Grill was inspired by a newspaper story from a vintage newspaper. I started with a basic premise and built on it, keeping two word notes so I wouldn’t forget little details later in the story. I guess I’m about as unorganized as you can get. Again, it works for me.

Someone once suggested using a board and writing each idea on a small stickie note and placing it on the board chronologically. I tried that and ended up with so many stickies that I couldn’t keep track of anything. Try it. Maybe it will work for you.

Someone else said they use an oversized calendar and write brief notes on each day. I tried that, too, and it didn’t work for me because of changing directions so often. Again, it might work for you.

I’ve written two books where life got in the way and I had to set the manuscript aside for a long while. Because I didn’t have an outline to refer to, I had to read the entire story to figure out where I was. An outline might have been easier, but in these cases I was able to pick up on some flaws before I started writing again. It worked to my benefit and saved me time later in the process.

Sometimes as I write, something insinuates itself into the story that I hadn’t expected. I can surprise myself at times and then I wonder where the idea came from. Every story idea is not cut in stone, at least for me. One simple idea leads to something more involved.

I’ve even been known to think of a title and then write a story to fit that title. One of my favorites is the last book, Gin Mill Grill - A Sandi Webster Mystery. The story idea and the title seemed to come simultaneously. A cold case from the 1930s? How appropriate to include a speakeasy.

Well, those are a few thoughts for today. If you’re a writer, what’s your process? If you’re a reader, what first grabs you and encourages you to read a book? Title? Book cover? Word-of-mouth? As a reader, word-of-mouth is high on my list of enticements. If I’m shopping with nothing in particular in mind, the title usually catches my attention. The cover would be next, and then comes the back cover blurb.

Curious minds (and some authors) want to know what floats your boat.

Until next time, share the title and author’s name of a book you've recently read with friends. Word-of-mouth works.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com