Ask the Author: Bruce W. Most
Answered Questions (4)
Bruce W. Most
Being a mystery writer and primarily a mystery reader, I'll limit my answer to fictional couples in crime novels. Few come to mind, as romance tends to get in the way of crime-solvers. Just ask Raymond Chandler. The most obvious, and my favorite, is Nick and Nora Charles in Dashiell Hammet's Thin Man. Smart, funny, loving, and boozers! I suppose one could claim Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson as a couple, but I don't think that's the intended direction of the question
Bruce W. Most
Understand the difference between wanting to be a writer and wanting to be an author. Writing is not a lark. It’s hard work, at least for most writers. You have to love words, love stories, and love to write. You have to be hungry to write and finish a novel (or a nonfiction book for that matter), and then put in the work to publish and promote it. I love creating and writing words to bring that creation to light. I look forward to it every day. I’ve met many “wannabe” writers who “have this great idea for a book” and think it would be cool and easy to be an “author.” Yet they lack a deep-down desire to actually write.
Don’t wait for the muse. Published writers don’t wait for the muse to strike before writing, they lure the muse to strike. They do this by putting their butt in the chair every day, or at least most days, preferably at a set time, and write whether the muse is sitting on their shoulder or not. They put words down—good, bad, indifferent words. They keep writing and rewriting until at some point, the magic strikes and the muse arrives.
Be disciplined. Write as many days and hours as you can every week, preferably on a regular, uninterrupted basis. Or write a set amount of words each day or week. Whatever inspires you the best. Make writing a priority.
Write one day at a time. Write 100 words, 500 words, 1,000 words, whatever you can manage each time you sit down to write. Good, bad, indifferent words. Then do it the next day and the day after that. Don’t look up. Don’t flinch and think, my gosh, I’ve got 75,000 words to go, or what I’m writing isn’t very good. Just keep writing each day. Trust me, the words will pile up and before you know it, you will have finished your first draft. Then you begin rewriting and do it all over again until your writing is the best you can make it.
Don’t wait for the muse. Published writers don’t wait for the muse to strike before writing, they lure the muse to strike. They do this by putting their butt in the chair every day, or at least most days, preferably at a set time, and write whether the muse is sitting on their shoulder or not. They put words down—good, bad, indifferent words. They keep writing and rewriting until at some point, the magic strikes and the muse arrives.
Be disciplined. Write as many days and hours as you can every week, preferably on a regular, uninterrupted basis. Or write a set amount of words each day or week. Whatever inspires you the best. Make writing a priority.
Write one day at a time. Write 100 words, 500 words, 1,000 words, whatever you can manage each time you sit down to write. Good, bad, indifferent words. Then do it the next day and the day after that. Don’t look up. Don’t flinch and think, my gosh, I’ve got 75,000 words to go, or what I’m writing isn’t very good. Just keep writing each day. Trust me, the words will pile up and before you know it, you will have finished your first draft. Then you begin rewriting and do it all over again until your writing is the best you can make it.
Bruce W. Most
I’m writing a sequel to MURDER ON THE TRACKS published September 2015 by Black Opal Books. MURDER ON THE TRACKS is about a 1949 Denver patrol officer, Joe Stryker, who finds a body on the railroad tracks with a crushed head and missing hands—a nameless victim who “won’t rate space in the want ads.” But Joe discovers the victim may be linked to the fate of a missing wealthy banker and the murder two years before of Joe’s partner. This is his shot at redemption for his partner’s death. But as Joe soon learns, redemption can come at a high price. The sequel, with a working title of DARK RIDERS, occurs two years later. Joe is trying to rebuild his career and his marriage in the aftermath of MURDER ON THE TRACKS. All he wants to be is a good cop, a good husband, and a good father. But his efforts are put in jeopardy when the unthinkable happens—another partner is murdered almost in front of his eyes. To find out why his partner was killed—possibly while committing a crime—Joe must once again defy his own corrupt police department and put his marriage at risk.
Bruce W. Most
The genesis for Rope Burn, which involves cattle rustling and murder in contemporary Wyoming, came from two sources. I have in-laws who run a cattle ranch in Wyoming and I’ve been there many times, including for numerous community brandings. The novel includes a scene right out of those brandings. I’ve long thought it would be interesting to write a mystery set in ranch country. The rustling component came from my days as a freelance writer. I wrote two magazine articles years ago about modern-day cattle rustling. Most people, including my novel’s protagonist, a city-slicker ex-detective from Baltimore, think cattle rustling belongs back in the 1880s. But it’s surprisingly common today, particularly in Western states. Instead of driving off a herd on horseback, today’s rustlers use stock trucks to drive stolen cattle several states away and sell them at unsuspecting sale barns. With today’s high cattle prices, rustling can be very lucrative. Rustlers in Idaho recently stole 150 head valued at $350,000. With rustling and the vastness of the Wyoming landscape as my backdrop, all I had to do was sprinkle in a few murders and I had my mystery.
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